Also, $12k a year for family benefits package($100 a month) is not great, but it sounds about right for a small/midsize company. Big corporate benefits should be better, but anything smaller than a Fortune 500 is going to have expensive health insurance.
Might want to check your math on that one... $12k a year is $1000 a month, not $100.
When I worked for a small company in the US, my insurance was just me and was around $60 a month IIRC. The employer paid 85% of the health insurance cost. Now I'm in Canada, and enjoying free healthcare with free "over and above" coverage from my employer, and my income tax bracket is about the same as it was in the US.
Just to echo others here - if I were personally in your situation, I'd definitely start looking at other places. If you really think you are being paid significantly below market value, and since you've asked your boss about a review and keep being told repeatedly "something's coming" - That's generally a sign that there isn't really anything coming. Perhaps they simply can't afford to pay you what you're worth, but that shouldn't be your problem; find someplace that can. I realize it can be tough when you enjoy the work and the people you work with, but - for myself at least - employment is primarily a means to get to financial independence, not a place to find friends. If that happens along the way, cool, but it's not my main reason for employment.
