How high must prices go for where you are to make you start curbing your consumption? In Bulgaria, we're at 12.4 percent annual inflation as of March. We are an average-income household and while we haven't started saving on things yet, we are delaying certain renovations we planned and we're mentally preparing to limit our everyday spending. Your turn.
A grocery item I used to buy a LOT of just went up 25%. So I'm no longer buying it. I think the Bureau of Labor Statistics calls this "substitution", that is substituting a cheaper product (in my case, nothing) for a more expensive one. I believe this actually lowers their calculated CPI....
Misleadingly, I guess. Good thing it's something you can do without. That's where we all start, with the things we can do without. Raises the question how much of what we buy we can actually do without. Needs and wants.
We recently cancelled our subscription to a weekly meal-in-a-box service (Green Chef) that we had been enjoying for the past 9-10 months. It was always viewed as a luxury, so it was easy to justify cutting it out in light of our regular grocery bill increasing so dramatically. Coincidentally, the week we cancelled our subscription we received an email that the weekly price was set to increase by 15%!
Unfortunately I have already been cutting back on one of my favorite restaurant splurges: Bar-B-Q! Cut back and enjoy it on the rare occasion you can afford it on special occasions.
CostCo (in the USA) has a really quite good smoked sliced beef brisket in a plastic pack. Actually, I think they moved to a tray with cardboard sleeve this year. It's not quite as good as Barbecue from the local joint, but when that brisket craving hits, it's pretty wonderful.
Of course, a year ago it was less than $9/lb and now it's near $12/lb.
A couple of years ago it was seasonal. They only seemed to have it in the Spring. I'm happy I bought about 30 lbs and stuck it in the freezer.
It's turning out to be the best investment (most appreciation) I've made in the last couple of years.
Inflation in the Western half of the State of Washington, USA is 8.1% over the last 12 months.
I'm in the middle of some home remodeling planned years ago. Since covid, building materials have at least doubled. Prices on Amazon fluctuate more than I have ever seen so I do more price shopping and use eBay occasionally for discounts. I am doing all of the work myself to stay within budget.
I have already postponed a tourist trip to the EU due to covid and will put that off for at least another year. Vacations will be in USA national parks for a while.
My house is heated with natural gas and the cost increases have been minor. Local electricity is mostly hydro and nuclear.
Yes, this is not the best time for remodelling and renovations anywhere, I think. Good that your power comes from reliable sources and you're not too dependent on gas.
Always frugal but re-evaluating at all recurring expenses (vampires that drain cash). We will cut cable TV this month. Saving is good but we need to increase income. Investing in Coal, Natural Gas and Oil stocks. Hopefully appreciation keeps up with inflation.
The marked price hikes in Italy is seen by how much gas and light bills have increased. To give you an example, I used to pay like 60euros bi-monthly on light. My last bill was double. This is even small compared to what business owners are getting.
It's similar here. Households have been shielded for now but not businesses, although the state is helping, I understand. But with gas prices up by triple digits, no compensation can offset the whole spike and now bakers are warning bread prices will be rising by another 20 or more percent, and bread is the ultimate inflation weathervane down here. If bread becomes too expensive it's time for riots.
Today in US I went to the Dollar Store to buy some staple cleaning goods. Everything is $1.25 now, and the bleach bottles are smaller. We already eat less meats and drive less. Actually seafood is a bargain; shrimp $5.99/pound compared to good ground beef being $7.99/pound. Many items are hard to find,
My first home interest rate was 14% back in the 80 's. The pain which many speak has not even begun. Many do not know squat about finance for if they did they would really not be happy right now. I am 68 and understand finance and you young people are taking a big screwing, partially brought on by my generation, but mostly with the greed and freebies many of you want now. Most of you do not even have a clue what poor is as you live in the USA or the EU. I do I have lived in a time without welfare in the USA I had to go to work to help my mother at 14. I have lived in the Far East for 7 years where you work or you do not eat. Africa is even worse they even eat humans before they starve.
I suggest you save anything you can. Buy only needs, forget the wants for now as this is going to only get worse. I hope I am wrong but the poorer countries around the world, people will die from starvation and hunger big time.
Inflation is being caused by all the money printing going on and our politicians want to print even more. Too much money in the system with less and less resources causes inflation.
Borrow now before rates go up, if it's not too late already. I closed on a second lien at 2.99% in March. Locked it in at the end of January just before rates started shooting up...
Yes. Life in comfort for generations has dulled our senses to the point of dangerous complacency. Crises, in this sense, are a positive thing, although it is very difficult to see it as a positive if you're, for example, on minimum wage and no access to additional income. I'm Gen X, my parents, a Silent Generation dad and a Boomer mum both knew what it's like to be hungry and be forced to rely on yourself only for your needs. I myself have never experienced strong economic discomfort but we have been through leaner times. If need be, we'll cut down to the basics, we'll live.
My parents were born in '28 and '32. Grew up during the depression.
My Son once asked me why I was scraping the last little bit of mayonnaise out of the jar with a spatula. "Dad you do that with everything. It can't be worth the time."
I thought about it a bit and answered, "Well, I suppose it's because your Granny and Granddad grew up during the Depression and I learned my habits from them."
Now when my Son finds me scraping the last little bit out of some container, he says, "Dad, it's not the Depression. You don't have to do that."
To which I reply, "Give it a while. It will be again."
Yes, it's really crappy that everyone suffers. Shop owners hardly want to sell less products because of higher prices but they don't really have a choice and neither do buyers who are seeing their purchasing power shrink by the day if not the hour.
Rather than saving or cutting back I have been proactive in reducing my dependence on the economy. I buy things like welding machines, solder stations, stores of building materials and some precious metals. I spend time understanding how to make and repair things, learning basics of medicines, gardening and proven natural cures. It takes effort but pays dividends both spiritually and financially.
Self-sufficiency is the best course of action. I salute you for this decision. It does take effort but the amount of gratification and practical use justifies it. I'm working on my garden, including herbs.
Then you cut back together. 🙂
consoooooming is my God-given right!
A grocery item I used to buy a LOT of just went up 25%. So I'm no longer buying it. I think the Bureau of Labor Statistics calls this "substitution", that is substituting a cheaper product (in my case, nothing) for a more expensive one. I believe this actually lowers their calculated CPI....
Misleadingly, I guess. Good thing it's something you can do without. That's where we all start, with the things we can do without. Raises the question how much of what we buy we can actually do without. Needs and wants.
12.4% is definitely too much.
Yes, it is. And that was March. April will be worse.
In Canada we are not far behind. Unfortunately the cure, higher interest rates, will not be so pleasant either.
We recently cancelled our subscription to a weekly meal-in-a-box service (Green Chef) that we had been enjoying for the past 9-10 months. It was always viewed as a luxury, so it was easy to justify cutting it out in light of our regular grocery bill increasing so dramatically. Coincidentally, the week we cancelled our subscription we received an email that the weekly price was set to increase by 15%!
Timely move.
Unfortunately I have already been cutting back on one of my favorite restaurant splurges: Bar-B-Q! Cut back and enjoy it on the rare occasion you can afford it on special occasions.
That's actually a great way to enjoy it even more, I think. Delayed gratification and all that.
CostCo (in the USA) has a really quite good smoked sliced beef brisket in a plastic pack. Actually, I think they moved to a tray with cardboard sleeve this year. It's not quite as good as Barbecue from the local joint, but when that brisket craving hits, it's pretty wonderful.
Of course, a year ago it was less than $9/lb and now it's near $12/lb.
A couple of years ago it was seasonal. They only seemed to have it in the Spring. I'm happy I bought about 30 lbs and stuck it in the freezer.
It's turning out to be the best investment (most appreciation) I've made in the last couple of years.
Inflation in the Western half of the State of Washington, USA is 8.1% over the last 12 months.
I'm in the middle of some home remodeling planned years ago. Since covid, building materials have at least doubled. Prices on Amazon fluctuate more than I have ever seen so I do more price shopping and use eBay occasionally for discounts. I am doing all of the work myself to stay within budget.
I have already postponed a tourist trip to the EU due to covid and will put that off for at least another year. Vacations will be in USA national parks for a while.
My house is heated with natural gas and the cost increases have been minor. Local electricity is mostly hydro and nuclear.
Yes, this is not the best time for remodelling and renovations anywhere, I think. Good that your power comes from reliable sources and you're not too dependent on gas.
I am spending as fast as possible before my fiat currency is worthless and I need a wheelbarrow to go to market.
The contrarian way. :)
Always frugal but re-evaluating at all recurring expenses (vampires that drain cash). We will cut cable TV this month. Saving is good but we need to increase income. Investing in Coal, Natural Gas and Oil stocks. Hopefully appreciation keeps up with inflation.
The marked price hikes in Italy is seen by how much gas and light bills have increased. To give you an example, I used to pay like 60euros bi-monthly on light. My last bill was double. This is even small compared to what business owners are getting.
It's similar here. Households have been shielded for now but not businesses, although the state is helping, I understand. But with gas prices up by triple digits, no compensation can offset the whole spike and now bakers are warning bread prices will be rising by another 20 or more percent, and bread is the ultimate inflation weathervane down here. If bread becomes too expensive it's time for riots.
Today in US I went to the Dollar Store to buy some staple cleaning goods. Everything is $1.25 now, and the bleach bottles are smaller. We already eat less meats and drive less. Actually seafood is a bargain; shrimp $5.99/pound compared to good ground beef being $7.99/pound. Many items are hard to find,
Inflation and shortages, that's too much. At least there's a healthy aspect to it, I guess, if less driving means more walking.
My first home interest rate was 14% back in the 80 's. The pain which many speak has not even begun. Many do not know squat about finance for if they did they would really not be happy right now. I am 68 and understand finance and you young people are taking a big screwing, partially brought on by my generation, but mostly with the greed and freebies many of you want now. Most of you do not even have a clue what poor is as you live in the USA or the EU. I do I have lived in a time without welfare in the USA I had to go to work to help my mother at 14. I have lived in the Far East for 7 years where you work or you do not eat. Africa is even worse they even eat humans before they starve.
I suggest you save anything you can. Buy only needs, forget the wants for now as this is going to only get worse. I hope I am wrong but the poorer countries around the world, people will die from starvation and hunger big time.
Inflation is being caused by all the money printing going on and our politicians want to print even more. Too much money in the system with less and less resources causes inflation.
Borrow now before rates go up, if it's not too late already. I closed on a second lien at 2.99% in March. Locked it in at the end of January just before rates started shooting up...
lol I did the same thing set up a locked in credit line on the house. It is paid for.
Yes. Life in comfort for generations has dulled our senses to the point of dangerous complacency. Crises, in this sense, are a positive thing, although it is very difficult to see it as a positive if you're, for example, on minimum wage and no access to additional income. I'm Gen X, my parents, a Silent Generation dad and a Boomer mum both knew what it's like to be hungry and be forced to rely on yourself only for your needs. I myself have never experienced strong economic discomfort but we have been through leaner times. If need be, we'll cut down to the basics, we'll live.
My parents were born in '28 and '32. Grew up during the depression.
My Son once asked me why I was scraping the last little bit of mayonnaise out of the jar with a spatula. "Dad you do that with everything. It can't be worth the time."
I thought about it a bit and answered, "Well, I suppose it's because your Granny and Granddad grew up during the Depression and I learned my habits from them."
Now when my Son finds me scraping the last little bit out of some container, he says, "Dad, it's not the Depression. You don't have to do that."
To which I reply, "Give it a while. It will be again."
I have identical habits. It seems I may have passed them on to my daughter or she was just born frugal. We'll need that soon.
Shrinkflation seems to be really taking off now.
Went to purchase beetroots the other day and instead of 4 being in a packet, there was only 3!
Doesn't sound like much but a 25% drop in product for the same price.
In general all the stores at my local market are really struggling with the increasing prices of products.
Yes, it's really crappy that everyone suffers. Shop owners hardly want to sell less products because of higher prices but they don't really have a choice and neither do buyers who are seeing their purchasing power shrink by the day if not the hour.
We turned the thermostat down a month ago, knocked the timer back and have started buying more tinned food. Nothing major yet.
Rather than saving or cutting back I have been proactive in reducing my dependence on the economy. I buy things like welding machines, solder stations, stores of building materials and some precious metals. I spend time understanding how to make and repair things, learning basics of medicines, gardening and proven natural cures. It takes effort but pays dividends both spiritually and financially.
Self-sufficiency is the best course of action. I salute you for this decision. It does take effort but the amount of gratification and practical use justifies it. I'm working on my garden, including herbs.