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Food, housing, & health care costs are a source of major stress for many people

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Re: Food, housing, & health care costs are a source of major stress for many people

#51

Post by bombcar »

Workaccount2 wrote: post #30
micromacrofoot wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's getting pretty bad, I wonder where the floor is. A growing number of people are using credit to purchase groceries — buy now pay later schemes are also resulting in people putting ubereats on credit https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/02/business/buy-now-pay-late... ( https://archive.is/Cmzis )

It's important to note that using credit isn't purely an indication of struggling. A lot of those payment programs offer 0% incentives, and from a purely logical standpoint, the correct thing to do is put everything you buy on a 0% loan for as long as possible.

This is exactly how they trap people. That a few bogleheads escape with a few hundred dollars doesn't bother them at all.

Banning unsecured loans would fix so many problems.

Re: Food, housing, & health care costs are a source of major stress for many people

#52

Post by redleggedfrog »

deanmoriarty wrote: post #46

> About half the public identify the cost of groceries as a major source of financial stress. And some other portion of the population, anecdotally much larger than what I would have thought, orders DoorDash/UberEats regularly, what a stark contrast. I am in a good financial situation, but I still could never stomach the prices of those apps, $30-40+ for any item once one includes fees and everything. I recently got…

That's not at all who the article is talking about. You're piers are not representative, and what you describe is not the issue.

Re: Food, housing, & health care costs are a source of major stress for many people

#53

Post by hansvm »

aeblyve wrote: post #16
whatamidoingyo wrote: post #4

Protip: look for an Asian market in your area for food. I get an entire shopping cart full of food for $60-100 and that lasts for ~2 weeks. When I go to Publix (or any other grocery store), I get like 2-3 bags for $60... Discovering the Asian market has been one of the best financial things to happen to me. Although I'm not really sure how their prices are so low. If someone could answer, that would be awesome!

I would love to learn more about the unit economics of groceries. How is it that a small grocery store can sometimes provide things (much) more cheaply than a megacorporation? [0] If the latter was functioning well in a competitive market, I would expect their play to be on lower margins but higher volume. [0] Mostly I'm referring to offal TBF, which I think most firms are happy to make any money on at all.

When you control most of the market it works out a little differently. People can only eat so much food, but you can price gouge them relatively easily.

Re: Food, housing, & health care costs are a source of major stress for many people

#54

Post by hackrmn »

N_Lens wrote: post #25

The current financial system and various corporations see the majority of consumers like livestock - a kind of resource to be exploited. It's better to be free range organic though, in my humble opinion, but the majority seem to be trending towards battery/cage chickens.

With "free range organic" are you describing people or food? As in, "it's better to be a free range organic human [vs. battery/caged livestock human-like resource for exploitation]", or "it's better to _eat_ free range organic [food]"? These are two different things, and in either case I'd argue not an option for the people who struggle affording food that is health(ier) by modern standards.

Re: Food, housing, & health care costs are a source of major stress for many people

#55

Post by lurking_swe »

tossandthrow wrote: post #35

No, no. The US has the strongest GDP! The world's biggest stock market! So. Much. Wealth! How can this be!?

I know you’re joking / being sarcastic. I will say though, nobody claims wealth in the US is evenly distributed…quite the opposite.

Re: Food, housing, & health care costs are a source of major stress for many people

#56

Post by seanmcdirmid »

bix6 wrote: post #43
jvanderbot wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a fairly well to do/employable person, and so is my wife. Together, we should be all kinds of financially stable. But the two largest costs to our finances are ridiculously outsized: Child Care and Health Care. We pay more for our children and health insurance / care, than our house + cars (+student loans) combined. These seem like two areas where intervention is not only possible but likely to help just about ev…

Curious where you live that healthcare is more than housing?

If they are paying out of pocket for health insurance, it’s definitely possible.

Re: Food, housing, & health care costs are a source of major stress for many people

#57

Post by jvanderbot »

bix6 wrote: post #43
jvanderbot wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a fairly well to do/employable person, and so is my wife. Together, we should be all kinds of financially stable. But the two largest costs to our finances are ridiculously outsized: Child Care and Health Care. We pay more for our children and health insurance / care, than our house + cars (+student loans) combined. These seem like two areas where intervention is not only possible but likely to help just about ev…

Curious where you live that healthcare is more than housing?

Childcare + Healthcare is more than housing.

Healthcare alone would be more than the house we had before this one.

Re: Food, housing, & health care costs are a source of major stress for many people

#58

Post by Aurornis »

bombcar wrote: post #44
jvanderbot wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a fairly well to do/employable person, and so is my wife. Together, we should be all kinds of financially stable. But the two largest costs to our finances are ridiculously outsized: Child Care and Health Care. We pay more for our children and health insurance / care, than our house + cars (+student loans) combined. These seem like two areas where intervention is not only possible but likely to help just about ev…

There's a "middle class dip" where one spouse working barely makes enough to cover the increased costs from child care and other incidentals (like eating out more often). The poor either have a non-working spouse or get subsidized child care, and the rich don't know what a banana costs.

Many of my parent friends have gone through the debate about having the lesser-earning parent quit work for a few years to care for children or to pay for daycare.

In the long run remaining employed generally comes out ahead due to the continued career growth and employment.

The one friend who quit their job now regrets a little because the expensive early childcare years were over quickly and now they’re trying to get back into the workforce in a rough economy with a resume gap.

Re: Food, housing, & health care costs are a source of major stress for many people

#59

Post by siliconc0w »

mathiaspoint wrote: post #40
siliconc0w wrote: post #34

Our health system is so amazingly bad. Even if you have insurance, you roll the dice getting even basic care. Very easy to end up with hundreds or thousands of dollars in bills if your provider codes something wrong or your insurance denies payment. Much less an actual medical issue that requires repeated trips to a specialist, an expensive medication (even generic), or hospitalizations.

God forbid we touch Obamacare though.

Obamacare was a gift to insurance and healthcare providers. It mandated buying government subsidized plans that enabled both sides - to continuously increase costs.

Still it's a bit unfair to Obama, the real problem is Congress and the Supreme Court which mandates we allow political bribery.

Re: Food, housing, & health care costs are a source of major stress for many people

#60

Post by seanmcdirmid »

mathiaspoint wrote: post #40
siliconc0w wrote: post #34

Our health system is so amazingly bad. Even if you have insurance, you roll the dice getting even basic care. Very easy to end up with hundreds or thousands of dollars in bills if your provider codes something wrong or your insurance denies payment. Much less an actual medical issue that requires repeated trips to a specialist, an expensive medication (even generic), or hospitalizations.

God forbid we touch Obamacare though.

The ACA was a huge compromise and didn’t really do anything to tackle why American healthcare costs are so high. I can see it being washed away for a plan that is actually better, and that isn’t going back to the way things were before it.
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