# Inflation,,,, affecting your plans/purchases?



## Bobby2shots (Nov 1, 2021)

Has recent inflation affected your plans or purchasing habits? How are you combatting it? Seems like there's no end in sight, despite being told that it's "transitory" inflation, and that things will get "back to normal" shortly.

Who are the worst offenders in your part of the world? Cars? Gas prices? Food?? Entertainment??

Has inflation changed the way you shop; now, or in the immediate future??

Stock markets are trading at all-time highs, but at the end of the day, it's not about "how many dollars you have",,,, but rather,,,, what is the purchasing-power of those dollars.

Example; despite being told inflation is averaging just over 5%,,,gas prices here have almost doubled since 2020. Locally, hi-test gas was going for roughly $1./liter,,, and last week was over $1.65/liter.


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## btbyrd (Nov 1, 2021)

Not the best example. Gas prices in Quebec are roughly what they were in 2011 to late 2014. Gas prices hit almost 20-year lows last year because nobody was going anywhere.

But housing is one of the worst offenders. It seems that everyone who had a house decided to trade up to a better model, and so every decent house on the market was getting 50 offers over asking price just minutes after being listed. Or something like that. Since the pandemic began, prices are up anywhere from 15-20% on the most expensive thing most people ever buy.


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## Jovidah (Nov 1, 2021)

It's a good excuse to more knives now rather than later, right?


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## coxhaus (Nov 1, 2021)

The only thing I have noticed is I am cooking less briskets. Before covid I could buy whole briskets for $30 on sale. The last I looked a couple of weeks ago they are now $70 and not on sale.


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## tcmx3 (Nov 1, 2021)

btbyrd said:


> But housing is one of the worst offenders. It seems that everyone who had a house decided to trade up to a better model, and so every decent house on the market was getting 50 offers over asking price just minutes after being listed. Or something like that. Since the pandemic began, prices are up anywhere from 15-20% on the most expensive thing most people ever buy.



the housing market is basically the battle of five armies from The Hobbit; two generations of private buyers, big renting conglomerates, tech firms and foreign investors.

my condolences to anyone trying to buy in right now.


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## ian (Nov 1, 2021)

If we hadn’t bought something in Boston when we first moved here, we’d never be able to enter the market…


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## tcmx3 (Nov 1, 2021)

also just wanna say that I am skeptical there is inflation in the sense that the money base is being devalued.

the supply side contraction driving prices narrative is very easy to validate at the moment. if prices remain after the supply chain catches up, ok then we can talk.


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## btbyrd (Nov 1, 2021)

The supply side contraction is a fair point, but flushing a few trillion through the money supply certainly didn't help things.


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## Bobby2shots (Nov 1, 2021)

btbyrd said:


> Not the best example. Gas prices in Quebec are roughly what they were in 2011 to late 2014. Gas prices hit almost 20-year lows last year because nobody was going anywhere.
> 
> But housing is one of the worst offenders. It seems that everyone who had a house decided to trade up to a better model, and so every decent house on the market was getting 50 offers over asking price just minutes after being listed. Or something like that. Since the pandemic began, prices are up anywhere from 15-20% on the most expensive thing most people ever buy.



Back then, I believe a barrel of oil was well over $150-$160. Nowadays the barrel price is half that,,,, so they deliberately "choked" supply lines to raise the price at the pump.

here's a price chart;








Crude Oil Prices - 70 Year Historical Chart


Interactive charts of West Texas Intermediate (WTI or NYMEX) crude oil prices per barrel back to 1946. The price of oil shown is adjusted for inflation using the headline CPI and is shown by default on a logarithmic scale. The current month is updated on an hourly basis with today's latest value.




www.macrotrends.net


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## tcmx3 (Nov 1, 2021)

btbyrd said:


> The supply side contraction is a fair point, but flushing a few trillion through the money supply certainly didn't help things.



QE couldnt inflate prices for years and the fed missed inflation targets for almost a decade.

frankly prices have been depressed because such a large percentage of what makes up what the normal middle class consumer buys has been made by slave or near slave labor. if you base the cost of goods on food picked by, electronics assembled by, etc. people being paid basically nothing then of course prices stay low


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## Bobby2shots (Nov 1, 2021)

tcmx3 said:


> also just wanna say that I am skeptical there is inflation in the sense that the money base is being devalued.
> 
> the supply side contraction driving prices narrative is very easy to validate at the moment. if prices remain after the supply chain catches up, ok then we can talk.



Agreed, to an extent. Do you for one second believe though, that the current inflation we're seeing, will roll-back to what we previously perceived as "normal" prior to supply-side shortages? I doubt it. It'll probably boil down to "who makes the first move".


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## tcmx3 (Nov 1, 2021)

Bobby2shots said:


> Agreed, to an extent. Do you for one second believe though, that the current inflation we're seeing, will roll-back to what we previously perceived as "normal" prior to supply-side shortages? I doubt it. It'll probably boil down to "who makes the first move".



no, but should they?

inflation is necessary for things to work properly. I really dgaf about whether the glut of cheap, disposable consumer products goes up in price.


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## Apocalypse (Nov 1, 2021)

Definitely the effect on the housing market. I'm about to graduate from seminary and hoping to find a house I want to buy in the OC or SD is not fun. May have to rent or move elsewhere for awhile until it goes down again. Especially since Ill have to remodel due to being in a wheelchair.


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## Bobby2shots (Nov 1, 2021)

T


Apocalypse said:


> Definitely the effect on the housing market. I'm about to graduate from seminary and hoping to find a house I want to buy in the OC or SD is not fun. May have to rent or move elsewhere for awhile until it goes down again. Especially since Ill have to remodel due to being in a wheelchair.



The great thing about buying a home is, you're basically paying yourself to live there. (appreciation). My nephew bought a home on 26 acres near Niagara Falls, roughly 15-20 years ago. He paid roughly $150.000. He just sold it for a hair under $1.4 million, and moved to new Brunswick where he bought a much nicer home, plus he bought surrounding acreage, for a total cost of under $400,000.

My sister bought her new house in Niagara Falls for $375,000 roughly 5 years ago. She just refused $725,000. Her previous home cost $180,000. and she sold that one in Oakville Ontario, for $500,000.

Mind you, timing and the follow-up move can be everything.


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## WildBoar (Nov 1, 2021)

The stupid prices for graphics cards are preventing me from buying a computer for my son. But he doesn't really need it, as he has 18 or 19 other devices he can use for gaming, and he does not need a new computer for school. Bought a few stereo-related components recently, including setting up a small system in my wife's basement studio. Prices were reasonable.

The one thing I would forgo right now (if it had even been on the calendar) is improvements to the house that require a lot of construction materials. But that is more of a supply issue than a pricing issue.

Housing prices aren't really an issue, as I am close to being done with a mortgage, and I we ever move from this area there is a 99% chance it will be to someplace where housing is cheaper.


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## superworrier (Nov 2, 2021)

Bobby2shots said:


> T
> 
> 
> The great thing about buying a home is, you're basically paying yourself to live there. (appreciation). My nephew bought a home on 26 acres near Niagara Falls, roughly 15-20 years ago. He paid roughly $150.000. He just sold it for a hair under $1.4 million, and moved to new Brunswick where he bought a much nicer home, plus he bought surrounding acreage, for a total cost of under $400,000.
> ...


It's a great thing for those who own, the problem for those who don't. Prices can't continue increasing at this level forever though


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## Bobby2shots (Nov 2, 2021)

tcmx3 said:


> no, but should they?
> 
> inflation is necessary for things to work properly. I really dgaf about whether the glut of cheap, disposable consumer products goes up in price.



Substitute the word "inflation" in that sentence, and insert "growth through efficiencies", and I'll agree.


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## Bobby2shots (Nov 2, 2021)

superworrier said:


> It's a great thing for those who own, the problem for those who don't. Prices can't continue increasing at this level forever though



The longer one waits though, the bigger the shovel they'll need to dig out from the hole. I think too many people look simply at the "price" of a home, rather than looking at the complete picture, and the math involved. (factor in the future value of the home, etc). Here for example, any gains earned due to your home's valuation, are not taxable. That's a really big deal.

Sometimes, you may also have to make sacrifices to "make things work financially",,, such as temporarily sharing your dwelling with someone who'll pay rent for a room, or storage space, or rent a basement apartment, etc. Many societies around the world, share multi-generational homes. (3 or4 generations living under the same roof). It may not be "ideal", but it just "might" work for some. Just consider this; a 400K$ home that appreciates 10%, has just put $40,000. in your pocket,,,, tax free depending on where you live. For those who "waited",,,, they'll have to take $40,000. more out of their pocket, to pay for the same home, maybe a year later. I realize that is somewhat over-simplified, but it's a valid point.


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## Bobby2shots (Nov 2, 2021)

What about the little things we can do to reduce the daily impact of inflation; any "bulk purchasers" here? I tend to buy in bulk whenever possible. Basically, I'm running my home like a small business. For example; I love Van Houtte coffee, and in local grocery stores, a 2 lb/907 gram tin will cost anywhere from $16.-$19. At Costco, a much larger tin (1.1Kg) sells for $14. When Costco puts it on sale, it's $11. When I go to Costco, I'll buy 4 cases of 6 tins each, and I'm basically enjoying my favourite coffee all year at the sale price, and I'm only driving to the store one time (saving 24 individual trips from buying one tin at a time locally, and the cost of gas for 24 trips to that store. I try to do that with many items whenever practical.


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## MarcelNL (Nov 2, 2021)

I basically up my hourly rate with each contract I sign to keep up with inflation reasonably well, and we do not buy much faff to begin with. In most of Europe people get paid more to keep up with inflation as Unions negotiate terms yearly or every two-three years, not 1:1 but the effect of inflation is dampened and the principle of capitalism is kept in place ;-)

The house market currently is borderline ridiculous, yet you only live in one house at a time...we signed the contract for a new house a while ago, the house has yet to be built so we're good for most of the recent crazy increases...I hope...
Many forget that when a house appreciates the 'gain' is usually not equal to money in the bank unless you can make anticyclic moves or start flipping houses, the increase usually is virtual money...unless you sell that house the gain is not monetized and typically you'll need to pay an equal amount more than you previously would have for the next house should you have bought that to begin with. 

Food is going up but I have a faint idea that it's not the farmers and workers producing it who are getting paid more. I only buy green coffee in bulk and roast my own coffee, but coffee surely is not the nr 1 household budget ticket. Space to store stocks comes at a premium where we currently live and we mostly buy fresh stuff anyway as we rarely buy processed food and we plan to buy more and more local as the trend in supermarket food seems to be that quality goes down fast.


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## Ochazuke (Nov 2, 2021)

MarcelNL said:


> I basically up my hourly rate with each contract I sign to keep up with inflation reasonably well, and we do not buy much faff to begin with. In most of Europe people get paid more to keep up with inflation as Unions negotiate terms yearly or every two-three years, not 1:1 but the effect of inflation is dampened and the principle of capitalism is kept in place ;-)
> 
> The house market currently is borderline ridiculous, yet you only live in one house at a time...we signed the contract for a new house a while ago, the house has yet to be built so we're good for most of the recent crazy increases...I hope...
> Many forget that when a house appreciates the 'gain' is usually not equal to money in the bank unless you can make anticyclic moves or start flipping houses, the increase usually is virtual money...unless you sell that house the gain is not monetized and typically you'll need to pay an equal amount more than you previously would have for the next house should you have bought that to begin with.
> ...


The constraint driving up cost in my industry (imported grocery and goods retail) is supply chain. Where it used to cost $3,000-$4,000 to ship a container of goods from Japan to the US, it now costs 3x-4x that much on average. In addition, there are no guarantees for delivery times as all parts of the process including the manufacturer, exporter, importer, wholesale distributor, and drivers don’t know when they’ll have enough people to process first the backlog, then your order. Things we ordered 6-8 months ago are still sitting on docks or boats somewhere. Considering that import doesn’t work on COD terms and everything thing is paid in advance, can you imaging the amount of money we’re losing? 

In addition, this is projected to continue as a problem at least for the next 10 months. So factor all this in and think about what we should be charging our customers. But we, like most in the grocery industry, believe that food is a necessity and won’t jack up our prices proportionally. So if you look at the numbers, grocery has made excellent gross sales over the past 2 years or so, but our net revenue has drastically shrunk. Even though we have had to raise prices, it’s only enough to make sure we can continue to pay our staff and our rent. 

I think many of us in the industry are trying to keep grocery prices somewhat reasonable while waiting for supply chain costs to come down. But if this doesn’t abate in a reasonable time frame, eventually food prices will have to be adjusted also. I think y’all will be in for a serious shock if we charged you how much things should actually cost.


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## pkjames (Nov 2, 2021)

funny story but true, there are quite a few times that I quoted prices for visiting customers on top of my head, like "this knife is really good ,and very good price, a couple hundred dollars, blah blah blah", and only realising the current price is like 1.5x to 2x the price I quoted. 
Some knives are jumping like 20% to 30% by the year. 
dont even get me started on the bloody containers!


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## Jovidah (Nov 2, 2021)

Bobby2shots said:


> What about the little things we can do to reduce the daily impact of inflation; any "bulk purchasers" here? I tend to buy in bulk whenever possible. Basically, I'm running my home like a small business. For example; I love Van Houtte coffee, and in local grocery stores, a 2 lb/907 gram tin will cost anywhere from $16.-$19. At Costco, a much larger tin (1.1Kg) sells for $14. When Costco puts it on sale, it's $11. When I go to Costco, I'll buy 4 cases of 6 tins each, and I'm basically enjoying my favourite coffee all year at the sale price, and I'm only driving to the store one time (saving 24 individual trips from buying one tin at a time locally, and the cost of gas for 24 trips to that store. I try to do that with many items whenever practical.


This is one of the easiest ways to save money that I've been doing for years. Anything that isn't perishable I only buy whenever it's on sale and in larger quantities. Saves quite a bit.

Regarding current price fluctuations... I think you're mostly seeing the result of supply and demand being all over the place in the whole corona period. Now that things seem to normalize demand picks up but supply is still a bit tricky, and for example shipping cost is still high. Energy prices have also gone up again after being at rock bottom during the corona slump. So far I'm not super worried though; I'm simply not a big spender on anything. 
Don't get me started on housing; it's insane here.


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## Ochazuke (Nov 2, 2021)

Bobby2shots said:


> The longer one waits though, the bigger the shovel they'll need to dig out from the hole. I think too many people look simply at the "price" of a home, rather than looking at the complete picture, and the math involved. (factor in the future value of the home, etc). Here for example, any gains earned due to your home's valuation, are not taxable. That's a really big deal.
> 
> Sometimes, you may also have to make sacrifices to "make things work financially",,, such as temporarily sharing your dwelling with someone who'll pay rent for a room, or storage space, or rent a basement apartment, etc. Many societies around the world, share multi-generational homes. (3 or4 generations living under the same roof). It may not be "ideal", but it just "might" work for some. Just consider this; a 400K$ home that appreciates 10%, has just put $40,000. in your pocket,,,, tax free depending on where you live. For those who "waited",,,, they'll have to take $40,000. more out of their pocket, to pay for the same home, maybe a year later. I realize that is somewhat over-simplified, but it's a valid point.


I will agree that many people look simply at the "price" of a home. I think they're also doing the math. Let's use your example of the (currently) modestly priced small home for $400,000. Let's ignore the fact that someone working at minimum wage in the US at $7.25 an hour will never be able to afford a home no matter how hard or how many hours they work. Let's also ignore the fight for $15/hr which would give people just a bit over $30k a year (and much less in-pocker after taxes, insurance, etc). Let's continue to ignore the overwhelming majority of places in the US where $25/hr is considered a good wage (that would get you a bit over $50k, but still much less net income). We're going to ignore all of those because all of those demographics are unable to afford your modestly priced 400k home even if they work full time. 

Let's assume your target demographic has a household income of 100k. Let's take out taxes, health insurance, car loan, car insurance, student debt (most likely if they're making 100k), presumably childcare if they're also at this age bracket. A 30 year mortgage for a 400k house for the average credit applicant would come out to a little over 3k a month (plus HOA fees usually). I'm just really curious how you think your Costco coffee trick is suddenly going to make this not hard as F&<$ to survive.


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## tally-ho (Nov 2, 2021)

Ochazuke said:


> I think y’all will be in for a serious shock if we charged you how much things should actually cost.


That's the main problem since humans start to use fossil energies, we never really paid what things should cost.
With a worldwide population growth ever growing and crude oil production that reached a plateau in 2005-2008, *on the long term*, prices aren't going to decrease, not only for gazoline but for about everything.
This might explains a lot :


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## Jovidah (Nov 2, 2021)

Yeah... everyone KNOWS buying a home is a good investment. The problem is most simply cannot afford it. You're literally stuck in poverty trap, and it's one of the many ways it's 'expensive to be poor'.


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## Bobby2shots (Nov 2, 2021)

Ochazuke said:


> I will agree that many people look simply at the "price" of a home. I think they're also doing the math. Let's use your example of the (currently) modestly priced small home for $400,000. Let's ignore the fact that someone working at minimum wage in the US at $7.25 an hour will never be able to afford a home no matter how hard or how many hours they work. Let's also ignore the fight for $15/hr which would give people just a bit over $30k a year (and much less in-pocker after taxes, insurance, etc). Let's continue to ignore the overwhelming majority of places in the US where $25/hr is considered a good wage (that would get you a bit over $50k, but still much less net income). We're going to ignore all of those because all of those demographics are unable to afford your modestly priced 400k home even if they work full time.
> 
> Let's assume your target demographic has a household income of 100k. Let's take out taxes, health insurance, car loan, car insurance, student debt (most likely if they're making 100k), presumably childcare if they're also at this age bracket. A 30 year mortgage for a 400k house for the average credit applicant would come out to a little over 3k a month (plus HOA fees usually). I'm just really curious how you think your Costco coffee trick is suddenly going to make this not hard as F&<$ to survive.



I'm merely looking for solutions here.... no matter how trivial those individual "solutions" may appear. Put a few of those solutions together, and suddenly you have a bit more breathing room. There will always be those who implement those solutions, and those who don't. Those who do, will likely take those savings, and re-allocate them to yet another cost-reduction priority. Those who don't, will see their quality of life disappearing in the distance, leaving them even farther behind. We have to be willing to accept living beneath our means,,, not beyond. When that reality sinks in, the choices become clear,,,, we either change things, re-invent ourselves, or, we accept our current predicament. Complaining gets us nowhere fast. Those choices can sometimes be brutal.


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## Jovidah (Nov 2, 2021)

Bobby2shots said:


> I'm merely looking for solutions here.... no matter how trivial those individual "solutions" may appear. Put a few of those solutions together, and suddenly you have a bit more breathing room. There will always be those who implement those solutions, and those who don't. Those who do, will likely take those savings, and re-allocate them to yet another cost-reduction priority. Those who don't, will see their quality of life disappearing in the distance, leaving them even farther behind. We have to be willing to accept living beneath our means,,, not beyond. When that reality sinks in, the choices become clear,,,, we either change things, re-invent ourselves, or, we accept our current predicament. Complaining gets us nowhere fast. Those choices can sometimes be brutal.


Are you really this tonedeaf? For large parts of the population _it doesn't matter how much they save, a house will still be unaffordable_. Many people are in a situation where due to no fault of their own, they are unlikely to _ever_ get a steady income high enough to even qualify for a mortgage sufficient enough to purchase even the most modest of homes.
Most poor people _already_ implement a lot of these 'cost saving' things just to make ends meet because they're constantly living hand to mouth. It's not like most people are poor just because it's the easy option.
You can't exactly 'choose' between feeding yourself and buying a house. And for a lot of people even if they magically could it _still _wouldn't bridge the financial gap.


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## Bobby2shots (Nov 2, 2021)

Jovidah said:


> Are you really this tonedeaf? For large parts of the population _it doesn't matter how much they save, a house will still be unaffordable_. Many people are in a situation where due to no fault of their own, they are unlikely to _ever_ get a steady income high enough to even qualify for a mortgage sufficient enough to purchase even the most modest of homes.
> Most poor people _already_ implement a lot of these 'cost saving' things just to make ends meet because they're constantly living hand to mouth. It's not like most people are poor just because it's the easy option.
> You can't exactly 'choose' between feeding yourself and buying a house. And for a lot of people even if they magically could it _still _wouldn't bridge the financial gap.


 There you go, again,,,,, I don't "believe" anything,,,,, I'm trying to find solutions, and asking what *"YOUR"* solutions are in dealing with these issues, no matter how trivial they may seem. Sometimes, those trivial savings, or that frame of mind,,,, can save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars a year. I KNOW it's not easy, I've "been there, done that". So,,,, have you anything positive to recommend?


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## Ochazuke (Nov 2, 2021)

Ochazuke said:


> I will agree that many people look simply at the "price" of a home. I think they're also doing the math. Let's use your example of the (currently) modestly priced small home for $400,000. Let's ignore the fact that someone working at minimum wage in the US at $7.25 an hour will never be able to afford a home no matter how hard or how many hours they work. Let's also ignore the fight for $15/hr which would give people just a bit over $30k a year (and much less in-pocker after taxes, insurance, etc). Let's continue to ignore the overwhelming majority of places in the US where $25/hr is considered a good wage (that would get you a bit over $50k, but still much less net income). We're going to ignore all of those because all of those demographics are unable to afford your modestly priced 400k home even if they work full time.
> 
> Let's assume your target demographic has a household income of 100k. Let's take out taxes, health insurance, car loan, car insurance, student debt (most likely if they're making 100k), presumably childcare if they're also at this age bracket. A 30 year mortgage for a 400k house for the average credit applicant would come out to a little over 3k a month (plus HOA fees usually). I'm just really curious how you think your Costco coffee trick is suddenly going to make this not hard as F&<$ to survive.


I also just want to put out there for the sake of transparency that I am basically this example (minus the kids, cuz I can't afford those either). The median home price for the Boston area is 800k. Despite making a fair wage to work the truly insane hours that I do, I am effectively priced out of ever owning a home in the area where I work. Despite having a decent income stream and reducing expenses where I can, I still could basically afford to buy a cruddy condo in a hard-to-reach part of town if I really tried. No amount of bulk coffee buying will magically enable me to make anything close to the amount needed to buy a median priced home. If I sound bitter, it's because I am. I work 80 hours per week on a slow week and still can't afford a real home with a yard and fence and all that.


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## Brian Weekley (Nov 2, 2021)

I remember the “cure for inflation” in 1982. Nobody ever wants to go through that again. Mortgage rates at 19%. Lets see … how well would you be doing if your mortgage payments increased 3-5 fold? I was starting a small business. I considered myself extremely fortunate to get a private loan for my business at 16%. Come to think of it, how able are governments to run a a budget when their interest payments increase 8-10 fold?

Nope … nobody ever wants to go back to those days.

‘A lot of people got hurt … except the banks of course, who raked in record profits.


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## Bobby2shots (Nov 2, 2021)

Ochazuke said:


> I also just want to put out there for the sake of transparency that I am basically this example (minus the kids, cuz I can't afford those either). The median home price for the Boston area is 800k. Despite making a fair wage to work the truly insane hours that I do, I am effectively priced out of ever owning a home in the area where I work. Despite having a decent income stream and reducing expenses where I can, I still could basically afford to buy a cruddy condo in a hard-to-reach part of town if I really tried. No amount of bulk coffee buying will magically enable me to make anything close to the amount needed to buy a median priced home. If I sound bitter, it's because I am. I work 80 hours per week on a slow week and still can't afford a real home with a yard and fence and all that.



So, given that situation, would you not be better off re-locating?

The "bulk coffee purchases" is a ridiculous comparison. I didn't say "buy bulk coffee, and you'll suddenly afford a house".


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## MarcelNL (Nov 2, 2021)

Sealand Maersk is definitly not suffering from the container shortage:





Subscribe to read | Financial Times


News, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication




www.ft.com













Container shortage: Why does the current container shortage happen?


Are you having problems booking shipments these days? Everyone is blaming COVID-19, but what is the full story of the container shortage? Why is there a container shortage? What is the cause and what can you do to manage this situation?




home.kuehne-nagel.com


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## M1k3 (Nov 2, 2021)

Not sure how many knives are in the shipping containers, but, the Ports of Los Angeles\Long Beach are stacked so freaking high with shipping containers. Ocean carriers will be charged $100 per container, increasing in $100 increments per container per day. And still see stacks 4-6 containers high just filling every spot that's not a driving lane around the ports.


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## M1k3 (Nov 2, 2021)

MarcelNL said:


> Sealand Maersk is definitly not suffering from the container shortage:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Found them!

They're sitting AT THE PORTS OF LOS ANGELES AND LONG BEACH!


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## MarcelNL (Nov 2, 2021)

are you sure?

This is a picture of Rotterdam Harbour in 2019








Rotterdamse haven presteert eerste kwartaal beter dan Antwerpen


De haven van Antwerpen presteerde in het eerste kwartaal van 2019 slechter dan die van Rotterdam. De overslag daalde met 3 procent in vergelijking met dezelfde periode vorig jaar. In Rotterdam is er sprake van 5 procent groei.




www.rijnmond.nl


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## M1k3 (Nov 2, 2021)

I drive by the Port of Los Angeles regularly for years. The past 1-2 months have been overly filled with containers compared to previously. Even leading up to Christmas. The port literally can't get rid of the containers fast enough. There's tons of ships waiting to dock. Ships docked waiting to be unloaded. Way more than usual.


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## M1k3 (Nov 2, 2021)

If you're a truck driver in the L.A. area, plenty of containers to be picked up.


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## coxhaus (Nov 2, 2021)

Bobby2shots said:


> What about the little things we can do to reduce the daily impact of inflation; any "bulk purchasers" here? I tend to buy in bulk whenever possible. Basically, I'm running my home like a small business. For example; I love Van Houtte coffee, and in local grocery stores, a 2 lb/907 gram tin will cost anywhere from $16.-$19. At Costco, a much larger tin (1.1Kg) sells for $14. When Costco puts it on sale, it's $11. When I go to Costco, I'll buy 4 cases of 6 tins each, and I'm basically enjoying my favourite coffee all year at the sale price, and I'm only driving to the store one time (saving 24 individual trips from buying one tin at a time locally, and the cost of gas for 24 trips to that store. I try to do that with many items whenever practical.



I will keep an eye out at Costco for Van Houtte coffee. I am not sure we get that down in Texas. I thought Costco's coffee was Starbucks. 
I am lucky we have Andersons Coffee in Austin Texas that has been roasting coffee since the 1970s. To me it is better than any store-bought coffee I have tasted.


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## Bobby2shots (Nov 2, 2021)

coxhaus said:


> I will keep an eye out at Costco for Van Houtte coffee. I am not sure we get that down in Texas. I thought Costco's coffee was Starbucks.
> I am lucky we have Andersons Coffee in Austin Texas that has been roasting coffee since the 1970s. To me it is better than any store-bought coffee I have tasted.



If you do find Van Houtte, there are two blends; one is the "French Dark Roast",,, but my favourite is the "Original House Blend". I gave up grinding my beans before every cup once I found the Van Houtte. Costco also sells Starbucks here in Quebec. I bought some, but didn't care for it. My previous favourite at Costco was their Kirkland Signature brand coffee beans,,, medium roast, which I believe are packaged for Costco by "Le Primeur". I'd imagine that preparing Van Houtte in a French Press would be the ideal way to go, but I use #2 paper cone filters, and I'm happy with that. I've got a Bodum French Press, but it's a large model. I need to get my hands on a single or double cup version. Regarding water, I simply use cold tap-water that's filtered with Brita filters,,, bring to a boil, then drip-filtered through a #2 cone filter from Melitta.. I use roughly 2 1/2 heaping tablespoons of coffee per large 18oz. coffee mug. I usually drink it with Coffee-Mate rather than cream. I just find it tastes better. No sugar.


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## tcmx3 (Nov 2, 2021)

coxhaus said:


> I will keep an eye out at Costco for Van Houtte coffee. I am not sure we get that down in Texas. I thought Costco's coffee was Starbucks.
> I am lucky we have Andersons Coffee in Austin Texas that has been roasting coffee since the 1970s. To me it is better than any store-bought coffee I have tasted.



we have some good coffee here. Greater Goods, Figure 8, Summermoon. definitely spoiled for choice


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## JoBone (Nov 2, 2021)

Inflation is nuts. I cashed out 100 Washingtons for 1 Benjamin, like last year I able to get 5 Jacksons for the same price


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## JDA_NC (Nov 3, 2021)

The median rent of a one bedroom in my hometown increased by 39% since March 2020. Two bedrooms went up by 22%. 

The median sales price in our metro area went up 15.2% in the last year. That covers multiple counties. In my county, the median sale price of a home rose by 24.8%

So what am I doing? Paying more rent - for one. I've also given up hope of ever owning a home in this area and will be looking to leave for a more rural county when my wife graduates. I haven't traveled out of state in about three years and it likely will be a year or two before I can. We also no longer go out to eat, but at least we can stay at home and cook for ourselves - one of the few upsides of us both spending a good portion of our lives cooking in the restaurant business.

Gotta love it...


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## daveb (Nov 3, 2021)

And that's all folks.

The thread was outside of our normal scope from post 1 (though it did mention knives) but it was a reasonable discussion and stayed up. Not getting into you're an idiot, no you're an idiot land. 

Be mature, be respectful, act like the gentlemen (and gentlewomen) we are - even if it's across the internet.


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