OT: How do you truly beat these inflation/sky-rocketing costs?

[OG Goat Holder]

I'm not talking political BS here. I kept thinking prices would return to reasonability about 3 years after the COVID shutdowns, but they haven't yet. Gas is up, groceries are up, restaurants are STUPID high, construction prices through the roof, housing way up, on and on and on. Stock market not keeping pace. How do you save?

I keep a tight lid on my budget and I usually try to say things aren't as bad as they seem, but they are. My next vehicle will definitely be a hybrid. I have nearly cut restaurants out. Buy clothes at co-signment stores. Cut out a lot of expensive activities.

This crap gets a little discouraging at times, I'll be honest. Somehow I want to blame it on the baby boomers. Most people just continue to pay the prices, so they just keep going up. I can't make myself do it.

 

[Johnnie Come Lately]

Cut or reallocate expenses or increase revenue. That is about all you can do.

Food cost and the price of gas is up , but restaurants are still slammed and everybody is still rolling 80 mph on the interstate in their $80,000 F-150 or Yukon XL.

 

[dorndawg]

A few thoughts:

I'm not talking political BS here. I kept thinking prices would return to reasonability about 3 years after the COVID shutdowns, but they haven't yet. Gas is up, groceries are up, restaurants are STUPID high, construction prices through the roof, housing way up, on and on and on. Stock market not keeping pace. How do you save? My understanding is OPEC is driving much of this gas price spike, along with with a few refineries being offline earlier in summer due to heat. Labor isn't getting any cheaper anytime soon. 75% of restaurant experiences suck these days, especially in the middle market type places. Fast casual is the woooorst - $17 for a chicken Ceasar wrap, "there's the water over there, get your sandwich at the counter, and also please don't forget to bus your own table" and then you're gonna hit me for a 25% tip on the front end? Kiss my ***. I mainly hit up local sammich places, tacaquirias, or go to nicer places (albeit less often). Stock market is doing ok, it usually starts going down this time of year - S&P 500 is up 12% YTD and 17% last year. Now until Dec is probably a good time to buy. Heck, if you disagree with that, CDS at most banks are up over 5% which is beating inflation.

I keep a tight lid on my budget and I usually try to say things aren't as bad as they seem, but they are. My next vehicle will definitely be a hybrid. I have nearly cut restaurants out. Buy clothes at co-signment stores. Cut out a lot of expensive activities. I wouldn't buy a new vehicle now unless I just had to. Demand is still high, the strikes are going to have an impact, interest rates suck.

This crap gets a little discouraging at times, I'll be honest. I hear you, and no doubt real people are struggling. Groceries are out the ***, I feel for families that are barely scrapping by. That said, all of us would be better off to turn off the news sites and go outside to look at some leaves. Fall is dope. Somehow I want to blame it on the baby boomers. Well, probably 80% of bad things *are* their fault. Most people just continue to pay the prices, so they just keep going up. I can't make myself do it. The American consumer truly is an amazing machine of consumption. One way or another, things keep rocking along.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

I'm not talking political BS here. I kept thinking prices would return to reasonability about 3 years after the COVID shutdowns, but they haven't yet. Gas is up, groceries are up, restaurants are STUPID high, construction prices through the roof, housing way up, on and on and on. Stock market not keeping pace. How do you save?

I keep a tight lid on my budget and I usually try to say things aren't as bad as they seem, but they are. My next vehicle will definitely be a hybrid. I have nearly cut restaurants out. Buy clothes at co-signment stores. Cut out a lot of expensive activities.

This crap gets a little discouraging at times, I'll be honest. Somehow I want to blame it on the baby boomers. Most people just continue to pay the prices, so they just keep going up. I can't make myself do it.

Gas is cyclical, and Saudi Arabia slashing output for the remainder of the year is a big part of current price hikes.

Otherwise, inflation has been in check (not increasing/decreasing slightly) for a bit, but is still high and I don't think that we will ever see things get back to pre-COVID levels, so the best you can hope for is that inflation finds its way back to what we have gotten used to over the last few decades and it doesn't get way higher. I suppose that you could also hope that wages find their way up, but that would involve companies taking less profit, among other changes that are not likely to happen.

 

[57stratdawg]

In a restaurant you could get an appetizer for your main meal.

But, I think everyone I know went on vacation this year. Concerts, restaurants and airports are slammed these days. People are staying in hotels. Until some of the steam falls out of that - we’re not going to see prices fall.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

In a restaurant you could get an appetizer for your main meal.

But, I think everyone I know went on vacation this year. Concerts, restaurants and airports are slammed these days. People are staying in hotels. Until some of the steam falls out of that - we’re not going to see prices fall.

That appetizer is still marked way up, and if I'm getting full, what's the point?

But yes, I guess behavior and discipline is more important now than ever. People simply refuse to stop spending.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

delete, double post

 

[thatsbaseball]

There has been loose credit and a fearlessness of debt in this country for a long time. Millions upon millions living beyond their means and basically spending more than they could afford and accumulating debt they will never be able to pay back(some call it living high on the hog). Maybe there will be a day of reckoning....maybe not but it's helped drive inflation and looks like a house of cards to me.

 

[TrueMaroonGrind]

My guess is spending will slow this winter. Lots of people have been running up their CC’s. The amount of CC debt has skyrocketed the past year. Student loan payments are finally back.time in fantasy land is over. Reality is coming/here

Gas price increases are OPEC orchestrated as someone mentioned previously. Housing will keep going. Even though buying now really sucks we still don’t have enough of it.

I hope this will normalize after a dip this winter, but honestly who knows.

ETA: I realized I rambled and didn’t answer your question. I’m keeping my 10 year old car, eliminating as much debt as I can to save interest payments, not getting any new debt whatsoever, meal prepping to keep from going to restaurants as much and looking for any subscriptions I can eliminate to save money, then use the cashflow to eliminate debt.

 

[hatfieldms]

Restaurant and food prices are not going down. A lot of what is driving it are the truckers. They took more money in 2020 to deliver groceries and they are not going to take a step backwards which means these prices are here to stay. Same with the wages going up. They are here to stay and it is just being passed down to the consumer.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

It’s not going away and this is the new norm. Until OPEC and specifically Saudi Arabia turn loose on the oil it’s going up. That in turn causes trucking and shipping to be more expensive so that affects everything else.

It really does suck especially those on fixed incomes and those that are just scraping by.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Restaurant and food prices are not going down. A lot of what is driving it are the truckers. They took more money in 2020 to deliver groceries and they are not going to take a step backwards which means these prices are here to stay. Same with the wages going up. They are here to stay and it is just being passed down to the consumer.

Speaking of that - how in the world do people pay for those delivery services? Talk about a rip-off.

 

[DerHntr]

We have attacked the rising food costs by being more strategic with meal planning (family of 5). My deep freezer has a lot of meat vacuum sealed that I buy on sale, as well as a ton of wild game. I loaded up on Boston Butts, pork loins, Chuck roasts, and ham this summer when prices randomly dropped. We can get at least three meals out of a $14 pork loin if butchered properly and depending on how we prep it. Also, I’ll smoke 3 butts and then vacuum seal it after pulled in set amounts. That has helped a lot with random dinners where we’d normally grab fast food or fast casual from Newk’s or McCalister’s.

There is nothing I can do about the gas or restaurants other than drive less when possible and don’t eat out much. It’s hard as hell though when busy with kids. We can’t eat anywhere for less than $50. The normal price where there is a waiter is about $125 now.

 

[onewoof]

mid 2024 it will improve thank God for election years

 

[Seinfeld]

Some random thoughts that have crossed my mind at one time or another during the last year

1. Recognize that a car is something that gets you from point A to B, not an all-important status symbol. Just as most dudes don’t “need” a $75k truck, your wife doesn’t need a $75k Yukon either. I love the south, but we are some of the absolute worst about this.

2. Learn to cook. It’s enjoyable, it’s a helluva lot cheaper than eating out, and with a little practice, you’ll be making better food than most restaurants. Not to mention the health benefits

3. Find an affordable hobby. Golf, fishing, bird watching, whatever. Something besides TV and video games, though. I love both, but everyone needs a little something where you can be productive. Getting into a little landscaping or carpentry can save you a ton of $ too

4. Live somewhere with affordable tourist options within driving distance, and by that, I’m referring to stuff like state parks, fishing, etc. We just went camping for the weekend and had a great time hiking, kayaking, and chilling by the fire. Probably spent $150 for the entire weekend, and the family had a blast. Added bonus that I didn’t have to watch our LSU game

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

There are less people working now than before the Pandemic. So the workforce is having to support those who do not work.

 

[HailStout]

Put your 401k on state this weekend. Problem solved

 

[Drebin]

I'm not talking political BS here. I kept thinking prices would return to reasonability about 3 years after the COVID shutdowns, but they haven't yet. Gas is up, groceries are up, restaurants are STUPID high, construction prices through the roof, housing way up, on and on and on. Stock market not keeping pace. How do you save?

I keep a tight lid on my budget and I usually try to say things aren't as bad as they seem, but they are. My next vehicle will definitely be a hybrid. I have nearly cut restaurants out. Buy clothes at co-signment stores. Cut out a lot of expensive activities.

This crap gets a little discouraging at times, I'll be honest. Somehow I want to blame it on the baby boomers. Most people just continue to pay the prices, so they just keep going up. I can't make myself do it.

There's a storm brewing. It's already here in some ways. Home sales and car sales are slowing way down thanks to interest rates. Bankruptcies are up almost 20% year over year primarily thanks to credit card debt.

The best thing we can do is elect a republican in 2024. That's not a political statement, it's a common sense one.

 

[57stratdawg]

There's a storm brewing. It's already here in some ways. Home sales and car sales are slowing way down thanks to interest rates. Bankruptcies are up almost 20% year over year primarily thanks to credit card debt.

The best thing we can do is elect a republican in 2024. That's not a political statement, it's a common sense one.

So Trump can write his name on trillions of dollars in stimulus checks again?

 

[thatsbaseball]

There's a storm brewing. It's already here in some ways. Home sales and car sales are slowing way down thanks to interest rates. Bankruptcies are up almost 20% year over year primarily thanks to credit card debt.

The best thing we can do is elect a republican in 2024. That's not a political statement, it's a common sense one.

There will be some pain involved in surviving this "storm" but we've been on an unsustainable course and it has to happen IMO.

 

[TrueMaroonGrind]

Restaurant and food prices are not going down. A lot of what is driving it are the truckers. They took more money in 2020 to deliver groceries and they are not going to take a step backwards which means these prices are here to stay. Same with the wages going up. They are here to stay and it is just being passed down to the consumer.

Truckers are taking less profit right now. Diesel is up and freight is much lower than it has been. A ton of truckers are leaving the industry to find new jobs due to spot rates being so low they aren’t making money anymore.

 

[johnson86-1]

Gas is cyclical, and Saudi Arabia slashing output for the remainder of the year is a big part of current price hikes.

Otherwise, inflation has been in check (not increasing/decreasing slightly) for a bit, but is still high and I don't think that we will ever see things get back to pre-COVID levels, so the best you can hope for is that inflation finds its way back to what we have gotten used to over the last few decades and it doesn't get way higher. I suppose that you could also hope that wages find their way up, but that would involve companies taking less profit, among other changes that are not likely to happen.

Say what? If you take the seasonally adjusted CPI monthly changes for the past 6 months and project them out for a year you would get

7.2%, 2.4%, 2.4%, 4.8%, 2.4%, and 3.6% So better but the best months didn't hit the 2% goal, and the bad months were obviously well off that.

3.7% inflation is still pretty painful coming on the heels of what we've had and real wages are still falling.

 

[hatfieldms]

Truckers are taking less profit right now. Diesel is up and freight is much lower than it has been. A ton of truckers are leaving the industry to find new jobs due to spot rates being so low they aren’t making money anymore.

If there are less truckers, then the demand will continue to go up. Someone has to deliver the food. Being in the foodservice industry we deal with it on a daily basis

 

[horshack.sixpack]

So Trump can write his name on trillions of dollars in stimulus checks again?

Republican debt doesn't impact the economy. Fiscal responsibility is always the priority for the party not in office.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

Truckers are taking less profit right now. Diesel is up and freight is much lower than it has been. A ton of truckers are leaving the industry to find new jobs due to spot rates being so low they aren’t making money anymore.

trucking is in the dumper according to my trucking customers that I work with

 

[ronpolk]

I know there is a complaint right now from meat producers (Tyson, sanderson/Wayne farms) that grocery stores aren’t passing along declines in food prices.

Trips to the grocery store is damn near my family’s biggest expense. We are lucky to not be stretched on money right now but there is no doubt our budget was better off a few years ago. Luckily, we have a 3 year old, so we don’t venture into too many restaurants because he’s a total wild card on if he will act right in a restaurant.

 

[hatfieldms]

So Trump can write his name on trillions of dollars in stimulus checks again?

Unfortunately stimulus checks had to be cut because Fauci and the govt decided to shut everything down. That isn't happening again. And I do not say this in support of trump. I think the dude is a complete clown

 

[horshack.sixpack]

Say what? If you take the seasonally adjusted CPI monthly changes for the past 6 months and project them out for a year you would get

7.2%, 2.4%, 2.4%, 4.8%, 2.4%, and 3.6% So better but the best months didn't hit the 2% goal, and the bad months were obviously well off that.

3.7% inflation is still pretty painful coming on the heels of what we've had and real wages are still falling.

Metrics I saw had us roughly 7% annual two years ago, 6.5% a year ago and around 3.7% now.

 

[thatsbaseball]

So Trump can write his name on trillions of dollars in stimulus checks again?

I don't want Trump but if you would like to recommend a viable alternative (Rep or Dem) I'm all ears.

 

[TrueMaroonGrind]

If there are less truckers, then the demand will continue to go up. Someone has to deliver the food. Being in the foodservice industry we deal with it on a daily basis

There were around 100,000 truckers that entered the US market during the pandemic. There were around 160,000 truckers total in 2019. We will need a bloodletting to reach the right number of truckers. It’s just begun.

ETA: those numbers are wrong sorry for the fake news. 2019 had 160k NEW truckers enter the market. 2020 had 180k. 2021 had 260K. 2022 had 280k and 2023 had 275k. Still an insane influx that will need correction but totally different numbers than my fake news.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/31/truck-drivers-freight-industry-downturn/

 

[johnson86-1]

I'm not talking political BS here. I kept thinking prices would return to reasonability about 3 years after the COVID shutdowns, but they haven't yet. Gas is up, groceries are up, restaurants are STUPID high, construction prices through the roof, housing way up, on and on and on. Stock market not keeping pace. How do you save?

I keep a tight lid on my budget and I usually try to say things aren't as bad as they seem, but they are. My next vehicle will definitely be a hybrid. I have nearly cut restaurants out. Buy clothes at co-signment stores. Cut out a lot of expensive activities.

This crap gets a little discouraging at times, I'll be honest. Somehow I want to blame it on the baby boomers. Most people just continue to pay the prices, so they just keep going up. I can't make myself do it.

Really no answer other than to accept a lower standard of living or raise your income.

If you're a W-2 employee, it's a painful time to be tied to an employer. Employers would really hesitate to cut nominal wages by 1% when inflation is 2%, but think nothing about handing out 4-5% paycuts in real terms several years in a row when they can do it by not raising nominal wages or even handing out 2% nominal increases.

Possibly the biggest downside to having two working spouses outside of a decent sized city. Even if both need to be looking at new jobs to keep from having their pay cut, they have to get really lucky to get a job that doesn't require moving or they have to get a significant enough raise for a job that requires a move to cover the risk that the other spouse will have trouble finding a comparable job.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

I know there is a complaint right now from meat producers (Tyson, sanderson/Wayne farms) that grocery stores aren’t passing along declines in food prices.

This is what I'm most concerned about, with everything. Not sure I've ever seen prices go down, in any market, except for gas.

 

[The Cooterpoot]

Food is insane. You can't even cook a meal for less than $30 anymore. I've moved to lower quality meat cuts when a purchase it. I'll be down to hogsheads cheese and cat food soon.
We're getting close to seeing some massive layoffs too. The worst of things aren't here yet. But it's getting close. Interest rates really are killing the economy (which is the goal for the fed).

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

When energy is expensive, things go up. There is one of the parties that thinks energy should be expensive and we shouldn't drill for more of it to make it cheaper. And some of y'all continue to vote for that party that used to act as if they are for working folks.

 

[thatsbaseball]

Food is insane. You can't even cook a meal for less than $30 anymore. I've moved to lower quality meat cuts when a purchase it. I'll be down to hogsheads cheese and cat food soon.

I recently checked Kroger's weekly ad and somehow I ended up with the ad for a Kroger in East Nashville. Their prices were noticeably better than prices in Madison......now what's that all about ?

 

[johnson86-1]

Metrics I saw had us roughly 7% annual two years ago, 6.5% a year ago and around 3.7% now.

View attachment 412475

That is correct for annual inflation from September 22 through August 23, but 3.7 is still high and I was pointing out that the recent numbers aren't moving in the right direction. Most recent 4 months show an annualized rate closer around 4.2%.

Not sure if my first post was clear, but the monthly numbers were .6%, .2%, .2%, .4%, .2%, and .3% going from August to April. I multiplied by 12 to get an approximate annual rate

ETA: All that to say, if you aren't increasing your income on a monthly basis also, it's not going to feel like inflation is under control. If this were the start of the inflation, 3.7% would make people notice but it wouldn't be that painful for most. But 3.7% on top of what we've already had feels a lot worse because any cushion they had has been wiped out for a lot of people.

 

[bulldognation]

Look for how you can increase your income (ask for a raise, start a side hustle, etc). Find a way to crank up passive income. Learn how to budget week by week, month by month until it’s second nature to you. It’ll become clear where the leaks are in the boat and you can take steps to plug them.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

That is correct for annual inflation from September 22 through August 23, but 3.7 is still high and I was pointing out that the recent numbers aren't moving in the right direction. Most recent 4 months show an annualized rate closer around 4.2%.

Not sure if my first post was clear, but the monthly numbers were .6%, .2%, .2%, .4%, .2%, and .3% going from August to April. I multiplied by 12 to get an approximate annual rate

Gotcha. Yeah, it isn't "right", but I fear that what we are used to is not what we will see for a bit.

ETA: I wonder how much of that is fuel/fuel cost related? I bet a lot.

 

[Drebin]

So Trump can write his name on trillions of dollars in stimulus checks again?

I'm no Trump fan. I don't know why you bring him up.

Republicans are drawing a hard line on spending right now which is why we're dealing with a potential gov't shutdown (again) and democrats are running to every hot mic blaming republicans for trying to kill grandmas instead of taking an honest look at what's flushing this economy down the toilet.

 

[Johnnie Come Lately]

There has been loose credit and a fearlessness of debt in this country for a long time. Millions upon millions living beyond their means and basically spending more than they could afford and accumulating debt they will never be able to pay back(some call it living high on the hog). Maybe there will be a day of reckoning....maybe not but it's helped drive inflation and looks like a house of cards to me.

I think cheap and easy credit is the biggest driver of the increase in auto prices. Think about how many people base the affordability of a vehicle on the amount of the monthly payment. Low interest rates and the advent of 72, 84, and beyond loan terms on a car loan make a more expensive car more affordable.