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US inflation means families are spending $709 more per month than two years ago

cnn.com

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Re: US inflation means families are spending $709 more per month than two years ago

#151

Post by adventured »

hikingsimulator wrote: post #113
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> is a _LOT_ of debt being added, household debt is up to something like 17 trillion dollars Household debt to GDP is around at a multi-decade low [1]. Payments as a fraction of disposable income, similarly low [2]. Total debt is rising [3]. But non-housing debt rose 5.8% from Q2 2022 to the same quarter '23; that's about inflation. [1] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/HDTGPDUSQ163N [2] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/…

GDP isn't a good metric to compare household debt to. The US has an incredibly unequal society (see Gini index) and a lack of welfare compared to other Western countries. In aggregate, it means that debt is likely higher for households where that matters. The poor.

It's not the technical poor that suffer the most in the US, it's the next block up, the low income working class.

The US has free healthcare for the bottom ~25%, including the poor. If you are in the low income working group, you're often largely out of luck. Those are the people suffering the most. They often don't qualify for EBT cards, they don't qualify for free healthcare, they don't qualify for housing subsidies, and so on.

Re: US inflation means families are spending $709 more per month than two years ago

#152

Post by sarchertech »

Waterluvian wrote: post #68
candiddevmike wrote: post #4

As a parent with kids, I really don't know how folks are getting by with the prices of everything. I know folks who keep eating out, buying new vehicles, and even building new houses and I'm left scratching my head wondering how they afford all of this. I'm not saving nearly as much as I was years ago and I think my "lifestyle" has decreased post COVID (few vacations, eating out is a treat, gifts are for birthdays/ho…

I think a lot of people get into a mindset that a 25 year mortgage is meant to be paid off in 25 years, so that mindset guides their entire frame of reference for how large a lifestyle to adopt. I’m not saying to rush through a mortgage. Do whatever you want. But consider not getting into a situation where you’re somehow struggling even though you’re one of the lucky few who can afford to even own a home. When times…

Paying off your mortgage early only really makes sense when you're getting close enough to retirement that you need to move more of your money to less risky investments with a lower rate of return.

Re: US inflation means families are spending $709 more per month than two years ago

#153

Post by bluGill »

gruez wrote: post #78
bluGill wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is base. How many people buy the base model?

That's moving the goalposts, because the original claim was that "There are almost no cars under $30k now".

The existence of one car under that price doesn't dispove anything. Almost no cars are under 30k.

Re: US inflation means families are spending $709 more per month than two years ago

#154

Post by lotsofpulp »

Auracle wrote: post #143
coolbreezetft22 wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With kid moving up to public school from pre-k we'll be saving an extra 2500$/month now. And in a couple years when our younger one is old enough that'll be another 2500$/month saved so I'm feeling pretty optimistic.

Those prices are insane. I'm in a rural area but our daycare is $150 a week.

Now that is an insane price. I don’t think it even pencils out assuming the daycare is following minimum teacher student ratios and minimum wage, which means there is under the table pay going on or corners being cut somewhere.

Re: US inflation means families are spending $709 more per month than two years ago

#155

Post by zer8k »

Fraterkes wrote: post #127

Just out of curiosity, what are people here spending on groceries weekly? (Around 40, 50 for just me I think)

$150 or so. That's my fault because I like to eat good food. However, even then, my bill has gone up about 30% or so. I love coke zero and I have had to cut back, probably for the better, because a 12 pack has not moved off the $10 mark for a year now.

The real killer has been gas, electric, water, property tax, etc.

Re: US inflation means families are spending $709 more per month than two years ago

#156

Post by brnaftr361 »

Auracle wrote: post #66
qbasic_forever wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not nearly as much as inflation. Groceries alone are up something like 40% in the last 2-3 years. Your and everyone else's wages have not risen that fast on the whole.

On the whole? No. People that were making near minimum wage before absolutely have though, and I think that's been a huge driver of the inflation. Pre-pandemic, the Walmart in our area had a starting wage of $10 or $11 an hour. It's now $18.

Can you verify the position, hours, benefits, and expectations of those offers?

'Cause I can offer (up to!) $18.50 and then negotiate down. I can also give somebody 10 hours a week and duly provide no benefits. When I worked there they took me on PT no benies, and only after proving myself did they extend an offer for FT employment. PT can be highly flexible as to the definition. Whether it's a permanent or temporary position is also something noteworthy. I think these are just some of the elements we should be considering if we're going to say wages have risen.

Re: US inflation means families are spending $709 more per month than two years ago

#157

Post by ralusek »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #100
qbasic_forever wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a _LOT_ of debt being added, household debt is up to something like 17 trillion dollars from like under 10 trillion pre pandemic. IMHO vehicles are huge drivers of debt. There are almost no cars under $30k now, and the average sale price of new cars is pushing up near $50k. This is for bog standard stuff like Hondas and Fords, not luxury cars. Used cars are incredibly expensive too. People are financing cars…

> is a _LOT_ of debt being added, household debt is up to something like 17 trillion dollars Household debt to GDP is around at a multi-decade low [1]. Payments as a fraction of disposable income, similarly low [2]. Total debt is rising [3]. But non-housing debt rose 5.8% from Q2 2022 to the same quarter '23; that's about inflation. [1] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/HDTGPDUSQ163N [2] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/…

What about debt to wages?

Re: US inflation means families are spending $709 more per month than two years ago

#158

Post by jliptzin »

nine_zeros wrote: post #85
supernova87a wrote: post #28

I think a big problem, especially with companies, is that as soon as any cost of some input touches a new price level, that price now starts to get baked into the planning. Even if it was only for a very short blip, and even if the actual average costs later go down. It gets very sticky, but only in the up direction. Have you talked to any kind of building work contractor, insurance company, etc. lately? They've all…

This is accurate. Once the unit price is calculated with the temporarily higher input price, they are not going to reduce the unit price for as long as possible, even if input prices go down. And what's worse? The FED does not want negative CPI. They want slowly rising CPI. A negative CPI is deflation, something they want to absolutely avoid. They don't want prices to go down. They only want them to rise up slower. W…

It’s a pretty easy problem to solve, just have wages increase automatically on an annual basis in line with changes to the CPI. That would be in addition to any raises due to good job performance or a promotion. Or even on a monthly basis during periods of high inflation. Obviously, companies avoid this simple solution because they make money on the delay between raising the price of the product they sell and when they actually start raising their worker salaries. Ideally, they want you to keep your head down and never ask for a raise.

Re: US inflation means families are spending $709 more per month than two years ago

#159

Post by scarface_74 »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #144
fullshark wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it not meant to be paid off in 25 years?

Definitely pays off to invest more than the minimum required payments over 25 years. Not going to find better non callable leverage.

Why? I refinanced in 2021 and my mortgage rate is 1.97% fixed.

Re: US inflation means families are spending $709 more per month than two years ago

#160

Post by rayiner »

TuringNYC wrote: post #147
rayiner wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That said, basic expectations of things growing up are just unreachable for many. My parents lived much more comfortable lives than I do. My grandparents even more so. My wife’s grandma got married as a teenager to a trucker passing by because her family couldn’t support all their kids. This was not unusual in that generation.

Firstly I'm sorry to hear about your family's situation. I certainly dont mean to imply everything was rosy. I will compare very roughly and anecdotally across generations. I'm an Engineer (CS). So was my father, though he ended up doing accounting. So was my grandfather (civil.) My grandfather owned a home by 23 on his engineering salary. My father owned a comfortable home by 35 on his salary. The salary:homeprice r…

You’re talking about perceived downward mobility within a relatively elite segment of society. I recognize your original comment was about your grandparents, but it’s important to recognize that on average our generation is far better off than our grandparents. Two generations ago, the disparity between the north and south was comparable to the disparity that currently exists between the US and Panama.
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