Got to love developments in rural areas

[MossRoad]

People saved at a record rate last year. Wages are up, too. Unemployment is low. Prices on everything are high, yet people keep buying them because they have extra cash on hand. That keeps the supply low, and the prices high. Until spending is curtailed by rising prices and/or lower wages, inflation will continue.

Doing my taxes, I noticed a marked increase in our income last year. Wife and I have both gotten bonuses and raises. We were handed govt. checks as well. After investing 15% of it as we always do, this year we're replacing some items around the house that are well worn. Still function, but we want newer stuff. So, yes, we have extra cash to spend this year.

 

[deezler]

People saved at a record rate last year. Wages are up, too. Unemployment is low. Prices on everything are high, yet people keep buying them because they have extra cash on hand. That keeps the supply low, and the prices high. Until spending is curtailed by rising prices and/or lower wages, inflation will continue.

Doing my taxes, I noticed a marked increase in our income last year. Wife and I have both gotten bonuses and raises. We were handed govt. checks as well. After investing 15% of it as we always do, this year we're replacing some items around the house that are well worn. Still function, but we want newer stuff. So, yes, we have extra cash to spend this year.

Same for my family and most people I know. We're trying to be strategic, but are planning out what big projects and items to spend some cash on this year.

The balance in my savings account skyrocketed (relatively speaking to some of y'all) during the last two years. Government stimulus, no travel costs or eating out bills (at first, for a while anyway). I had a pay cut for parts of 2020 due to market uncertainty, but then it rebounded nicely and we got raises and bonuses. Our retired parents all saw their retirement accounts surge with the market, and decided that handing their kids (us) some annual tax-free cash starting now might be smart.

So no, inflation doesn't worry me. yet.

 

[Username Taken]

Same for my family and most people I know. We're trying to be strategic, but are planning out what big projects and items to spend some cash on this year.

The balance in my savings account skyrocketed (relatively speaking to some of y'all) during the last two years. Government stimulus, no travel costs or eating out bills (at first, for a while anyway). I had a pay cut for parts of 2020 due to market uncertainty, but then it rebounded nicely and we got raises and bonuses. Our retired parents all saw their retirement accounts surge with the market, and decided that handing their kids (us) some annual tax-free cash starting now might be smart.

So no, inflation doesn't worry me. yet.

There was a savings spike from May of 2020 to about Aug 2021. Mostly because there was nothing for sale. You couldn't buy anything, you couldn't go anywhere, you couldn't do anything so yeah, people saved their money. wattadeal

And now -- Not to worry, inflation is gonna eat it up. Just go to the grocery store and you'll see what I mean. Many times our overlords, the managerial class, the Political elites, the Ubermensch in the corporate media misrepresent what inflation really is. Core Inflation, for example, doesn't include Energy and Food. That's useful to -- Somebody

I had my house appraised in 2017 and again in 2021. It went up by over $120k. Wowee-Zowee Batfink!! The last time was through the VA and they are notoriously priggish.

But here's the problem, you gotta live somewhere. At least, most of us do. So to replace it with like kind and quality will cost the same or more. If, and that's a BIG IF, you can even find one to replace it with.

I seldom feel sorry for the younger generation(s) but in this case, I really do. How does a young couple afford a $400,000 house?

Answer: They can't, so they end up not getting married and staying at home in Mom and Dad's basement.

Pretty soon, we'll be like Europe and have a population that is dying out because we can't produce enough children to replace their dying elders.

We call that a Failed Civilization.

The reason I stopped by before I got distracted was about all the new arrivals we're getting everywhere. Here's a good article that might be interesting to some of you....

Or not

Getting the Kind of Government We Deserve? › American Greatness

A bad habit on the establishment Right, here and in other Western countries, is to treat those who have made disastrous electoral decisions as victims. If the choices made by these “victims” turn out…

amgreatness.com

 

[MossRoad]

Same for my family and most people I know. We're trying to be strategic, but are planning out what big projects and items to spend some cash on this year.

The balance in my savings account skyrocketed (relatively speaking to some of y'all) during the last two years. Government stimulus, no travel costs or eating out bills (at first, for a while anyway). I had a pay cut for parts of 2020 due to market uncertainty, but then it rebounded nicely and we got raises and bonuses. Our retired parents all saw their retirement accounts surge with the market, and decided that handing their kids (us) some annual tax-free cash starting now might be smart.

So no, inflation doesn't worry me. yet.

Not yet, us either. However, will keep an eye to prudent saving and spending as always.

 

[MossRoad]

As much as I'd like to comment on that....

How about we take the politics over to TNT and discuss it there?

https://topnewstalk.com/

 

[MossRoad]

There was a savings spike from May of 2020 to about Aug 2021. Mostly because there was nothing for sale. You couldn't buy anything, you couldn't go anywhere, you couldn't do anything so yeah, people saved their money. wattadeal

And now -- Not to worry, inflation is gonna eat it up. Just go to the grocery store and you'll see what I mean. Many times our overlords, the managerial class, the Political elites, the Ubermensch in the corporate media misrepresent what inflation really is. Core Inflation, for example, doesn't include Energy and Food. That's useful to -- Somebody

I had my house appraised in 2017 and again in 2021. It went up by over $120k. Wowee-Zowee Batfink!! The last time was through the VA and they are notoriously priggish.

But here's the problem, you gotta live somewhere. At least, most of us do. So to replace it with like kind and quality will cost the same or more. If, and that's a BIG IF, you can even find one to replace it with.

I seldom feel sorry for the younger generation(s) but in this case, I really do. How does a young couple afford a $400,000 house?

Answer: They can't, so they end up not getting married and staying at home in Mom and Dad's basement.

Pretty soon, we'll be like Europe and have a population that is dying out because we can't produce enough children to replace their dying elders.

We call that a Failed Civilization.

The reason I stopped by before I got distracted was about all the new arrivals we're getting everywhere. Here's a good article that might be interesting to some of you....

Or not

Getting the Kind of Government We Deserve? › American Greatness

A bad habit on the establishment Right, here and in other Western countries, is to treat those who have made disastrous electoral decisions as victims. If the choices made by these “victims” turn out…

amgreatness.com

You'll find that a lot of young people don't want a house and the associated responsibilities of owning, like upkeep inside and out. They like to move around a lot, so renting works well for them.

Home ownership is not on the radar for one of our kids. Plans to change careers often as they step up the ladder. Wants to remain free of boat anchor house as a single person. Has a good plan in place. 29 years old. Master's degree. Car. Rents a townhouse. Cat. No debt except a couple thousand left on the car (we loaned them the money), and a couple thousand left on student loan. Savings is growing faster than ours. Does not want a house.

 

[Jstpssng]

As much as I'd like to comment on that....

How about we take the politics over to TNT and discuss it there?

https://topnewstalk.com/

Point taken. I’ve deleted MY copy...

 

[Username Taken]

You'll find that a lot of young people don't want a house and the associated responsibilities of owning, like upkeep inside and out. They like to move around a lot, so renting works well for them.

Home ownership is not on the radar for one of our kids. Plans to change careers often as they step up the ladder. Wants to remain free of boat anchor house as a single person. Has a good plan in place. 29 years old. Master's degree. Car. Rents a townhouse. Cat. No debt except a couple thousand left on the car (we loaned them the money), and a couple thousand left on student loan. Savings is growing faster than ours. Does not want a house.

That is true and it can be fiscally advantageous in some cases. Often better to invest cash money than to put it on property. Depending on the times. Einstein's Rule of 72 comes into play here

Have you seen rents lately? Not being confrontational or wiseass but the cost of housing directly affects the cost of renting. Rents down here are out of control.

A good rule-of-thumb (wife loves that old saying ) is 10% of a house's value per year on rent. So if you own a house worth $360,000 the rent on that would be $3,000 per month. Plus utilities.

An apartment or condo is slightly higher, percentage wise. The only reason they're cheaper is because they're worth so much less. A 1.000 sq ft apartment on near-zero land isn't worth nearly as much as a 2,000 sq ft home on a 1/4 - 1/2 acre lot.

 

[DieselBound]

People saved at a record rate last year. Wages are up, too. Unemployment is low. Prices on everything are high, yet people keep buying them because they have extra cash on hand. That keeps the supply low, and the prices high. Until spending is curtailed by rising prices and/or lower wages, inflation will continue.

Doing my taxes, I noticed a marked increase in our income last year. Wife and I have both gotten bonuses and raises. We were handed govt. checks as well. After investing 15% of it as we always do, this year we're replacing some items around the house that are well worn. Still function, but we want newer stuff. So, yes, we have extra cash to spend this year.

Rather perplexing to hear that unemployment is low and to see tons of "help wanted" signs. For sure there are businesses ramping up after the COVID-lull, but I doubt very much that we can operate above pre-COVID levels let alone exceed them.

Many low-wage jobs were lost (think restaurants and such). The remaining jobs having higher wages would, therefore, show a higher average rate.

Unemployment numbers are based on the numbers of people actively seeking jobs. Those who give up (there by the grace of God...) are NOT counted. The reality is is that there are increasing numbers of homeless people; many do work, many do not. If you don't count something then that's not in your count. There's reality and then there's how one wishes to paint it (no amount of paint is actually going to change reality- yes, much occurs in one's mind, but does this mean that what comes out of one's mind can be trusted as reality?).

New home "sales" are more and more made up of investor groups, who are turning around and renting out those properties: labor and materials are heated up due to large investor/developer groups who have ready access to cheap money (vs. individual's hard-earned money). And even "old" home sales are being packaged up.

People ARE ringing up more DEBT.

2 reasons Americans just dove into credit card debt faster than they have in 22 years

There CAN be an increase in people having more debt AND of people having less debt: it's possible via population increases (and demographics- more retired people; and with the increased death levels occurring during our COVID-19 era there's debt-write-offs as well as inheritances).

U.S. Economy Not As Strong As It Appears
(my note here: increasing inventories don't suggest "sustainability")

Inventory build distorted last quarter’s GDP growth rate

Once upon a time US inflation included FOOD and ENERGY. No longer. Yet, what are the two items experiencing the greatest price increases?

Here's some interesting reading (scratch yer head on this [even the rose-colored-lens-wearers don't show a booming future; and their inflation forecasts are clearly woefully low/optimistic]):

https://www.cbo.gov/publication/56982

There are numbers and then there's the actual story/picture. It really takes seeing both to make proper sense.

 

[DieselBound]

As much as I'd like to comment on that....

How about we take the politics over to TNT and discuss it there?

https://topnewstalk.com/

Politicians set the development boundaries. Politicians also affect general pricing on things (tariffs, taxes, regulations etc.). I think that people should talk MORE, not LESS about such. The issue, as I see it, is that people don't know how to "properly" talk about such matters. I believe the problem is that we state things as absolutes when things are anything but. Stating that one believes that something "might" be at the root or that it "could" be, I believe, is a perfectly respectable approach. And, if people don't use invectives or personal attacks, people see things as the thing being discussed rather than individuals (unless the actions of individuals can be demonstrated in court to be somehow in violation of laws). I agree that party politics or laying blame is sure to derail meaningful analysis.

As someone who closely watches geopolitics I can say that things are a LOT more complicated than most everyone thinks: we're NOT islands. If the goal isn't about "understanding" then what's the point? (it becomes very little different than what it mostly comes down to- generalized b-i-t-c-h-i-n-g, but with no hope of actually understanding) Elvis Costello lyrics: "What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?"

Done! (no personal offense to anyone here- it's never my aim)