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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

#221

Post by itake »

scarface_74 wrote: post #214
itake wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always sell my RSUs as soon as I can, but the proceeds never touch my checking or savings account. I directly purchase ETFs. When my base salary was $150k in SF, I worked a side contracting job to cover lifestyle costs so I could max out ESPP and 401k. Certainly if you have a family, you may not have the time to do that.

I promised myself since I got (re)married in 2012 that I would never work two jobs. Whatever I couldn’t do with one job, wouldn’t get done. The reason I’m not at Amazon is for the same reason. I don’t work more than 40 hours a week on a normal basis and that’s what my new manager wanted me to do to show “improvement”. Don’t cry for me. I saw it coming two months ago and I already had a few feelers out and I am 99% su…

As you probably know, working multiple jobs doesn't mean you have to work more than 40 hours per week.

There are a many jobs that only require 20-30 hours per week. You can still limit yourself to 40 hours per week of work, but enjoy the benefits and security of multiple jobs.

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

#222

Post by therealdrag0 »

tiffanyg wrote: post #174
TuringNYC wrote: post #25

I feel blessed to work in Tech, where -- however bad the economy is -- most of us dont face absolute deprivation as those in some other industries. 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. Recall how food inflation was a major suspected cause of the Arab Spring ( https://www.pbs.org/newshour/…

My parents lived much more comfortable lives... grandparents even more so... Interesting how you stopped at "grandparents". To be clear, absolutely not intended as any kind of attack on you or what you've written - just some thoughts passed on to me that made it easier to be grateful for that which is in my life, period: Consider past generations - we're in "the 1%" by that metric alone. No / hardly (any "real") medi…

Also just the proportion of people doing HARD jobs. Being a farmer was brutal and not long ago 70% of the population worked in agriculture; now it’s like 2%. Machinery had simplified many tasks from ag labor to even housework. The laundry machine has been a game changer for women I’ve heard.

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

#223

Post by Enginerrrd »

Waterluvian wrote: post #186
zer8k wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Paying off your mortgage with an interest rate less than inflation is a mathematically verifiable horrible idea. You're short the dollar deeply. Keep that short position for as long as you can because on a long enough horizon you'll be right so long as the Fed continues to manipulate the market. That doesn't necessarily mean lever up. But it does mean take that extra X% you'd put into your mortgage and place it in so…

How you divide up your money isn’t really interesting. Yes, do the math. What’s interesting is the idea that some people take on a lifestyle based on their income and they leave themselves no flexibility.

I agree that people generally seem to lack a decent intuitive understanding of risk. They only look at the current state of affairs, and the upside of the bell curve. They don't seem to remember or factor in the likely potential negative side of those distributions and adjust their planning for better resilience.

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

#224

Post by itake »

paulcole wrote: post #27
itake wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> my stock income My investment portfolio profits (or RSU vests or bonuses) never make their way to my checking account. Are people really dipping into their investment accounts to cover living costs? Maybe for home or car purchases?

Your investment portfolio profits will make it into your checking account at some point right? Otherwise why bother? Maybe this person has reached that point.

> Otherwise why bother?

If I lost my job, then I would definitely use the money for my living costs. Until then, I prefer any bonuses, RSUs, Dividends, and interest stay in my investment account for further compounding.

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

#225

Post by dualityoftapirs »

mahogany wrote: post #97
tmountain wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Governments are afraid of deflation (prices going down) because consumers can go into a holding pattern (stopping spending while waiting for prices to continue to decrease) which can cause the economy to stall out.

Is there any evidence that modest deflation actually causes this "holding pattern" in the overall economy? I see this theory stated a lot for the reason that deflation is bad, and it definitely checks out on a basic logical level. But economics is complex right? So I'm curious what the evidence is in the real world. I can imagine this happening with large deflation (10%, say), but what about 2% or 1%? It's not obviou…

It's more the bigger investments that drive a lot of the economy that are the concern - think real estate and stocks. Why buy a $1 million home today if you'll be able to buy it from $980k next year, and maybe $965k the year after that? More importantly, why continue paying the mortgage on your million dollar home when it's likely never to be worth a million again? Why buy 10,000 shares of a company now, when in a few years you could buy 10,500 shares for the same price?

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

#226

Post by nickjj »

221qqwe wrote: post #212
nickjj wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Then don’t buy a new car? Buy used. In 1998 I bought a used 1989 Chevy Corsica for $1,800 all-in out the door. I'll admit I don't remember how many miles it had but it never had any major problems in all the years I drove it. There was a near unlimited sea of options for ~10 year old cars for around $2,000. In 2023, if you want a similar size 10 year old car (2013) a quick Googling suggests you'll be paying about $…

Car nowadays are significantly more reliable than back in the 80s so arguable a 10 year old car back in 1989 is the equivalent of a 15+ year one now. But yeah it's still quite a bit more expensive, $2,000 is equivalent to about $5,000 now.

> But yeah it's still quite a bit more expensive, $2,000 is equivalent to about $5,000 now.

It's not quite that much. You calculated inflation off 1989 when the sale happened in 1998.

An inflation calculator puts $1,800 @ 1998 being worth $3,375 @ 2023. It's a massive difference in how much more expensive an inflation adjusted car is nowadays.

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

#227

Post by lotsofpulp »

HenryBemis wrote: post #123
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 have been listening to plenty of "finance gurus" (i.e. my favorite is Dave Ramsey). I see (here in EU) that young people have 1-2 credit cards. I understand that in the US the number is higher. The dream for any young (female) professional at the tender age of 25 is to own a couple of very expensive bags ("because I deserve it" using credit cards of course). Consumerism going steady. At least in the US you have the…

> (and don't get me started on parents of 14yo kids buying their kids the new iPhone every darn year)

Yes, you should not get started because according to Apple’s 10-K, it does not happen on any meaningful scale. Objectively, phones are being used for longer and longer time periods.

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

#228

Post by WalterBright »

DougHolland wrote: post #71

It is paranoid of me to envision conversations planning this, a conspiracy amongst corporations? I don't remember ever seeing prices rise so steadily, so quickly (and I am old).

Take a look at any graph of deficit spending, and compare it to inflation. You'll see what the problem is.

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

#229

Post by lotsofpulp »

TuringNYC wrote: post #203
sarchertech wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What was the size of your grandfather's home? If you built a comparable home today , the same distance from the center of a city of comparable size to the nearest city center when he bought the home, and you were allowed using comparable building codes, how much would that house cost? It's nearly impossible to actually compare these things. Comfort, and safety, are inherently difficult to value. Things like energy ef…

It is hard to make a comparison for my grandfather, but my father's home is right in my hometown and still exists. You raise all great points. My father's home was in Brighton Beach in Brooklyn NYC. It cost under $50,000 in 1980. The same house has a Zestimate today for $1,049,800. I wish we still owned it. For comparison sake, yes, there are 4 decades of upgrades and also 4 decades of deprecation, floods, hurricane…

> - Healthcare is better for extreme cases (cancer) though arguable for the average case?

Not arguable at all. The population, by and large, is receiving healthcare worth far more than whatever was available decades ago.

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