Retiree behaviors in the time of inflation (raise, school, kids)
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Everyone has this line ...."Expensive" and then "Rip Off".
We're all just in different places on that line.
Yep. Like George Carlin's take on driving.
Everyone driving faster than you is a maniac, and everyone driving slower than you is an idiot.
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"When you retire, you are living off of a fixed amount of resources. You will not have more money after you retire from any sources other than investment returns and most people do not earn much in investment returns and are instead drawing down their assets."
"When you are working, you always have the possibility of earning more money – your salary could increase and you are continuing to work – increasing your overall wealth."
Pensions and SS go up with COLA and while that may not be earning more money, continued after tax investments from income exceeding spending provides growing and additional income with more money being put in and being allowed to compound and grow. Our income has been going up in leaps with the bull market and the money being spun off from those returns are reinvested.
When something starts costing more than I value it, I start doing something else.
That is the key phase how we value it and that is different from product to product and person to person.
We value dry aged and prime meats and will pay the price for them. Other things not so. We value the quality of food at Wegman's and get what we want and pay little attention to price. For us the quality is worth it. Other things we may say no to but not usually food. My wife likes to shop at JJill and LL Bean and when a new catalog comes and it catches her eye we go online and buy. Me I will only buy from Duluth Trading Company when on sale.
Want expensive and willing to pay for what you missed from where you transplanted or had while on a trip or just want to experience/experiment?
I'm with you, what people do with their own money is their business, not mine. As long, anyway, as they don't come to me with their hands out because they frittered it away and now can't meet their financial obligations.
These days, $9.99 is a bargain, I think most of those meals around here are now around $11.99, or $12.49.
I wouldn't be surprised if it does... As I say, I don't see people around me altering their spending habits due to the rising prices! How they afford it is a real mystery.
Affluence. Investments have been sky rocking the last decade plus.
The pandemic cured me of eating out. My new eating out is ready made salads/chickens from Whole Foods (take home). It is difficult to eat healthy if you eat out (you cannot control what goes into the food). They use a lot of cheap oils that are awful for us in nice sit down restaurants. You can just eat way more nutritionally at a better price at home. I got into bad habits while working tons of hours (and just not paying attention). When things are back to "normal" I will still be avoiding it as much as possible without being too antisocial (maybe).
With inflation they can kiss my arse. While everything was dropping in early 2020 I was stocking up on everything. I will only be buying absolute necessities until this inflation crap is over (then I will restock if necessary) I have a year of everything I use regularly (at least) except stuff that expires (like pet food, etc.) and I have five or more years of shoes/sweaters, etc (at least) and a decade of linens, etc. I really don't need anything in my old-ness (scaling back and easing back into a more minimalist mind set (like I had early on in life). I've cut back on services (for obvious reasons).
I know how to fast and let my body consume it's own fat (and go long periods of time). I have a store of freeze dried food that expires in 30 years. I keep at least 30 gallons of spring water stored. My house is more of general store right now and I am going to try a no spend year (as soon as I get that starter or alternator or whatever it is that is going on with my car fixed done). Then, I am just going into no spend full time (more of a minimalistic mind set).
The thought of much higher prices for everything makes me want to lock down my pocket book. My neighbor who I have known for 20 years has never complained about money and he has now not worked for 6 or 7 years and he understands quite well his food budget has doubled (or more).
I personally think it's immoral because it is a massive tax on the poorest Americans. To let inflation run like that and the stock market soar is repulsive to me. It's just too much greed is good and then you wonder why the entire country is living on the streets or out of their car.
I remember when we lived in Monterey circa 1982-85ish and my husband at the time was a seafood fiend. We could go to the Chart House (with ocean view) for the Salad Bar (which was a feast and included seafoods and other meats-- omg to die for) for $9.99. Their lobster tail was also killer and I think that plate was $12.99 back then.
So, I'm pretty tuned into how much things have inflated since the 80's. I wasn't paying attention until the 80's. In the 90'sI worked downtown at City Hall in the East Bay and I remember getting Garlic Broccoli for lunch for $3.50 or we'd go to Mexican or a place for salad on the cheap frequently. One of the guys I worked with was friends with this guy with like 7 PhDs who was a gazillionaire and the guy would invite him to lunch at Sweet Tomatoes. Then, he would have a coupon and make the guy pay for the Buy One and he'd get his free -- LOL. The richest are sometimes the total cheapskates. My cheapskate best friend (a female civil engineer) would make me split that garlic broccoli with her -- LOL. She's been retired for years already while I am still slaving away because she was such a genius and made probably triple or more my lifetime earnings (but, she was a cheapskate a lot of times at least early on). ...back in the day... I was just never good at brown bagging because for me I wasn't a morning person and I was heading home to get my 10k run in every night before dinner (so, most the time lunch was going to be very light like a smoothy or a small burrito or something).
But, back to the point of OP's post. The Airport, Ball Park, Movie, etc. prices on snacks is there to catch the Human Ant who is drawn to and addicted to sugar (in all it's forms).
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