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U.S. annual inflation rate drops to 8.5%

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Re: U.S. annual inflation rate drops to 8.5%

#511

Post by ghaff »

cjrp wrote: post #491
deanmoriarty wrote: post #369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No? In the US a residential mortgage is almost always fixed rate, locked in for the entire term (i.e. 30 years). So it can basically never go up, just down if the opportunity arises and you can willingly refinance your loan as interest rates drop.

That's interesting, in the UK it's generally fixed for 2/3/5 years but then reverts to a pretty lousy rate (unless you remortgage to another fix). If you're lucky you fixed just before this all started, and won't have to remortgage for another few years when rates might be dropping again.

There are adjustable rate mortgages in the US, but far and away the norm is 15 or 30 year fixed.

Re: U.S. annual inflation rate drops to 8.5%

#512

Post by inflationish »

scottLobster wrote: post #266

Great. All I know is I'm trading a lot more time for money this year. Way less takeout, avoiding toll roads unless it saves at least 30 minutes, fewer streaming services (will renew on a show-by-show basis), and food is getting so crazy I might start going to multiple stores to try and save money instead of my one consolidated trip to Wegmans. I'm also stuffing my freezer with meat and have a year's supply of non-per…

Just read about the inflation trimming. It is one of the ways the government make inflation to appear lower than it is, making people happy. In US, the 31% of the goods with highest inflation are excluded, but only 24% of the goods with lowest inflation, making the inflation appear much lower than it is.

Re: U.S. annual inflation rate drops to 8.5%

#513

Post by hunterb123 »

banannaise wrote: post #444
nradov wrote: post #410

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Buying extra meat when it's on sale and storing it in a chest freezer is probably the best "investment" that most families can make. It usually has a higher ROI than buying stocks or whatever. Even during inflationary times, retailers occasionally end up with excess supplies of some cuts of meat or advertise loss leaders to boost store traffic so you can buy a lot if you have freezer space to store it. Just be carefu…

You should also have a high-rated chest cooler ("marine coolers" are great for this) in case of power outages. Move the freezer contents to the cooler, pack with dry ice, place in a cool shaded area, do not touch. It will stay frozen for close to a week.

Or pull your generator out and power your cooler and other essentials.

Much easier than trying to get and find dry ice in an emergency.

Re: U.S. annual inflation rate drops to 8.5%

#514

Post by jonnycomputer »

honkkong420 wrote: post #378
jonnycomputer wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course it goes down. Take a look at this chart, expand to 10y or max; inflation was about -0.75% in early 2020. In fact, it went into negative territory many times in the last decade. Prices go down during recessions, particularly. https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/inflation-rate-mo... OTOH, the Fed has goal of maintaining a 2% inflation target; so in the long run you can expect it to go up. For many many…

But our unemployment rates were so low in 2019, how could they have been lower with higher inflation?

high employment and higher inflation can go hand in hand, actually, just high unemployment and deflation can (in a recession).

Re: U.S. annual inflation rate drops to 8.5%

#515

Post by jagraff »

DontchaKnowit wrote: post #323
scottLobster wrote: post #288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Careful with that last line. Toward the end Trump was making some serious moves towards not accepting the outcome of the election, and the idea that the election was "stolen" is still the going line in Trump circles. Say what you will about the Biden administration, at least it's not threatening to burn the house down out of spite.

Really? Cause democrats are openly talking about abolishing the filibuster and packing the Supreme Court currently. Same shit different day, different faces.

I'm not sure how anyone could honestly support the filibuster. It's extremely undemocratic and has mostly been used to prevent civil rights legislation and keep racism enshrined in law in the US. It wasn't even an intended mechanism of law in the constitution - it was introduced by accident, and only "discovered" as a mechanism to delay government action decades later.

Re: U.S. annual inflation rate drops to 8.5%

#516

Post by blhack »

UncleMeat wrote: post #493
soupfordummies wrote: post #193

Some random things I've noticed in my personal experience during the last few weeks that are inflated at way above 8.5%: Gasoline (gallon) - 3.00 last summer, 3.75 today (25% increase) Towing a Car (~50mi Round Trip) - 125 last summer, 350 today. (180% increase!) Bag of Dorito's - 4.50 last summer, 6 today (33% increase) Can of Spray Paint - 4.25 last Summer, 6.50 today (54% increase)

That's how it works. Inflation is not a force that acts on all prices. It is a measurement of a weighted average change in prices. One thing can be up a lot while another thing is flat, or even cheaper.

What has gotten cheaper?

Re: U.S. annual inflation rate drops to 8.5%

#517

Post by atyppo »

kjkjadksj wrote: post #453
weberer wrote: post #335

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you live in the USA, a Costco membership is very worth it.

Its tough when you live in an apartment with no storage. You often are paying more because you dont have room for bulk. Costco is great if you have a garage or basement though

I'm in a pretty small apartment in Manhattan (albeit with an abnormally large kitchen). I can always get the value of my Costco membership in my first trip there, even without a car. Basic goods like Advil, laundry detergent and dishwasher detergent are miles cheaper than other options in Manhattan.

Re: U.S. annual inflation rate drops to 8.5%

#518

Post by _ea1k »

krzyk wrote: post #114
post_break wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My previous plan was 8c per kWh, it's now 16c per kWh. I live in Texas where you shop for rates. Before you're quick to crap on comments give a little benefit of the doubt.

I wonder, is solar popular in Texas? From my vague memories it is quite sunny there.

At .08/kwh probably not, but at .16kwh, I'd bet they start gaining momentum very quickly!

Re: U.S. annual inflation rate drops to 8.5%

#519

Post by Balero »

lettergram wrote: post #463
asah wrote: post #386

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where do you get this "fact" that Russia won't surrender? More powerful armies have been forced to retreat from unsuccessful invasions.

I dont see any way Ukraine can win. There’s a lot of real information out there (military reports). I’m not going to dive into that and debate it. There are also many channels covering this topic mostly neutral: Here’s one: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KILAY2miQdI Here’s another: https://m.youtube.com/c/AlexanderMercourisReal In short, for Russia to lose would be the end of Russia. They have to be seen as hitting th…

You are right there are lots of real information out there.

You have picked a 1. random unpopular youtube channel (which might be good, I couldn't verify anything from it, as I couldn't find who ran it, if you know I am happy to be proved wrong) and 2. A disbarred barrister https://twitter.com/markgaleotti/status/927087181532991489?l.... There is much better information to pick than this! Any information will have a bias, and if they claim to be neutral I personally get suspicious of what that bias is.

Your assertion that you can't see anyway for Ukraine to win is based on "If Russia loses, it would be the end of Russia". Well, if Ukraine loses it will be the end of Ukraine, so I guess by your logic Russia can't win either? (TBF, everyone losing to some degree is right with war).

I won't get drawn into a discussion about how the war will go. People qualified to make a guess have been wrong and wont make prediction. Neither of us is qualified, so I will not be weighing in on this except to say that unexpected things happen all the time in conflict.

Re: U.S. annual inflation rate drops to 8.5%

#520

Post by mjh2539 »

ghaff wrote: post #507
mjh2539 wrote: post #427

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mortgage payments are composed of: principal, interest, taxes, and insurance. Some people may have their HOA dues also bundled in, but most don't. In any case, HOA dues are usually pretty small (like less than $500 per year), unless you live in a condominium or a neighborhood with really expensive stuff owned by the HOA, in which case they can sometimes exceed the other components of the mortgage payment. Most folks…

Of course, maintenance goes up over time as well--as do utilities. Not part of the mortgage but certainly part of the cost of living in a house over time. Value often increases over time as well but this isn't cash in hand over the course of living in a house.

True.

> Value often increases over time as well but this isn't cash in hand over the course of living in a house.

You can "cash out" the value increase without having to actually sell the property by remortgaging the house, but that only makes sense when rates are low.

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