Why is everything so expensive (general rant)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like you need to build up your emergency savings so that these non-recurring expenses don't wreck your budget.

Earmark separate savings for luxuries/treats. So they're not conflicting with each other.

This isn’t a question about personal budget. There is no budget hack for simply not making enough money and things costing so much

The question is why do things cost so much?

It's particularly grating when you know these same services and goods don't cost this much in areas just a few hours from here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's in part because we paid a lot of people a lot of money not to work during the pandemic, and people's expenses cratered when the did nothing.

No because inflation is global. US stimulus didn’t make oil prices higher.

If oil prices are the primary driver of inflation, why did Harris/biden unilaterally cancel the Canadian’s Keystone XL pipeline, deny the new oil leases, cap all the U.S. oil wells, and generally do all they could to hobble the U.S. oil and gas industry?

Do Harris / biden want higher prices??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The prices at McDonald's tell a crazy story. The dollar menu is gone. I paid $15 for two fish filets this week. $20 used to feed a family of four.

You paid $15 for that completely unnecessary tripe because McDonald's knows you'll pay because you aren't so poor after all.
They brag about jacking up prices because lazy gross people keep buying it, until they just recently found the upper limit.

$20 fed a family of 4 30 years ago. Adk your parents what it cost 60 years ago.

Yep. No one has to have McDonald’s.

[Anonymous]

I wonder the same thing. I see an ad for a cute shirt at Abercrombie, just a button down polo collar long sleeve normal shirt. I click and it's $70! I wonder who is buying all of this. As for services, I find that near me I can shop around and find reasonable costs, or I simply opt out entirely when I can: dh can do a lot of home repairs himself, I pressure drive and mow, I do my own hair and dd's...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The prices at McDonald's tell a crazy story. The dollar menu is gone. I paid $15 for two fish filets this week. $20 used to feed a family of four.

You paid $15 for that completely unnecessary tripe because McDonald's knows you'll pay because you aren't so poor after all.
They brag about jacking up prices because lazy gross people keep buying it, until they just recently found the upper limit.

$20 fed a family of 4 30 years ago. Adk your parents what it cost 60 years ago.

Yep. No one has to have McDonald’s.

I do not believe you understand the reality of an urban food desert. Yes, some people are reliant on McDonalds and 7-11, sadly.

You sound sheltered, PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The prices at McDonald's tell a crazy story. The dollar menu is gone. I paid $15 for two fish filets this week. $20 used to feed a family of four.

You paid $15 for that completely unnecessary tripe because McDonald's knows you'll pay because you aren't so poor after all.
They brag about jacking up prices because lazy gross people keep buying it, until they just recently found the upper limit.

$20 fed a family of 4 30 years ago. Adk your parents what it cost 60 years ago.

Yep. No one has to have McDonald’s.

“If the people cannot afford McDonalds, then let them eat cake!”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's in part because we paid a lot of people a lot of money not to work during the pandemic, and people's expenses cratered when the did nothing.

No because inflation is global. US stimulus didn’t make oil prices higher.

If oil prices are the primary driver of inflation, why did Harris/biden unilaterally cancel the Canadian’s Keystone XL pipeline, deny the new oil leases, cap all the U.S. oil wells, and generally do all they could to hobble the U.S. oil and gas industry?

Do Harris / biden want higher prices??

There's so much wrong in what you have written it's hard to know where to begin. Opposition to Keystone started in what is now Trump country--Nebraska farmers. The source of the oil--tar sands--is the least efficient and most expensive way to get crude oil. No guarantee this would have gone towards domestic supply: Dems tried to ensure Keystone oil would not be exported to China and elsewhere, but Repubs blocked that effort. BTW another oil company said in 2010 Keystone would have caused over-capacity in Canada pipelines to the US pipelines half empty. Covid caused wild swings in supply and demand, plus BEFORE the pandemic happened there was an oversupply that caused layoffs in the oil and gas industry in November 2019. Once the pandemic let up, pent-up demand triggered sky-rocketing prices (weirdly enough, the headlines about middle class people not being able to afford groceries coincide with the stories about record travel including record trips overseas). Gas prices have dropped since and keep dropping.

[Anonymous]

"But look at fast food worker salaries since 2019. Also look at the typical white collar salary. They are up 15-30% on average compared to 2019. It is a fact"

Fast food workers are making approx. $4 more an hour that equals $32 a day before taxes- if they are lucky enough to get an 8 hour shift. Meanwhile the meal has doubled in price. This minuscule raise did not cause inflation. Not at all. Workers certainly cant afford to eat at a fast food restaurant they work at even with their 20% discount.
The profits, salary ect. for major companies is readily available online. Most corporations are raking it in. All of them. Gleefully.
Prices are likely still going up plus there is skimp/shrinkflation and an overall far lower quality of goods. We are being squeezed for every penny they can get out of us.
This is happening all over, not just in the U.S. Whenever I hear about equity as a global goal I understand that to mean more and more of us will have a lower quality of life, we (lmc - umc) will be more equally poor - not rise up together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"But look at fast food worker salaries since 2019. Also look at the typical white collar salary. They are up 15-30% on average compared to 2019. It is a fact"

Fast food workers are making approx. $4 more an hour that equals $32 a day before taxes- if they are lucky enough to get an 8 hour shift. Meanwhile the meal has doubled in price. This minuscule raise did not cause inflation. Not at all. Workers certainly cant afford to eat at a fast food restaurant they work at even with their 20% discount.
The profits, salary ect. for major companies is readily available online. Most corporations are raking it in. All of them. Gleefully.
Prices are likely still going up plus there is skimp/shrinkflation and an overall far lower quality of goods. We are being squeezed for every penny they can get out of us.
This is happening all over, not just in the U.S. Whenever I hear about equity as a global goal I understand that to mean more and more of us will have a lower quality of life, we (lmc - umc) will be more equally poor - not rise up together.

Thank you for this.
Shareholders are demanding more. Private equity owns and runs everything.
And it's their kids buying the abercrombie shirts. Not normal joes. We are reaching a huge gap with the richest and they don't invest like the Rockefellers and Carnegie's of old. There is no greater good. They will need to set up their own compounds with their own security because the public systems that they won't invest in will fail everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's in part because we paid a lot of people a lot of money not to work during the pandemic, and people's expenses cratered when the did nothing.

No because inflation is global. US stimulus didn’t make oil prices higher.

If oil prices are the primary driver of inflation, why did Harris/biden unilaterally cancel the Canadian’s Keystone XL pipeline, deny the new oil leases, cap all the U.S. oil wells, and generally do all they could to hobble the U.S. oil and gas industry?

Do Harris / biden want higher prices??

Why do YOU think? Are there any other pressing issues that might have driven these policies? Anything else in the world that matters other than oil being cheap? Think hard!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like you need to build up your emergency savings so that these non-recurring expenses don't wreck your budget.

Earmark separate savings for luxuries/treats. So they're not conflicting with each other.

This isn’t a question about personal budget. There is no budget hack for simply not making enough money and things costing so much

The question is why do things cost so much?

It's particularly grating when you know these same services and goods don't cost this much in areas just a few hours from here.

A case of Bud Light costs $26 at any Safeway in the DC area. That same case sells for $14 in eastern NC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's in part because we paid a lot of people a lot of money not to work during the pandemic, and people's expenses cratered when the did nothing.

No because inflation is global. US stimulus didn’t make oil prices higher.

If oil prices are the primary driver of inflation, why did Harris/biden unilaterally cancel the Canadian’s Keystone XL pipeline, deny the new oil leases, cap all the U.S. oil wells, and generally do all they could to hobble the U.S. oil and gas industry?

Do Harris / biden want higher prices??

You sound like a MAGA bot, no offense, are you a real person?
Here are the actual oil production stats for USA., We are significantly out producing everyone in the world.
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=61545

[Anonymous]

Totally agree. It’s because the people providing the services need to cover their own costs and turn a profit. I laughed out loud yesterday looking at a CASE proposal on their website for the cost of a bathroom remodel. They basically said a 7x8 bathroom remodel would cost about 80-100k. That is absurd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"But look at fast food worker salaries since 2019. Also look at the typical white collar salary. They are up 15-30% on average compared to 2019. It is a fact"

Fast food workers are making approx. $4 more an hour that equals $32 a day before taxes- if they are lucky enough to get an 8 hour shift. Meanwhile the meal has doubled in price. This minuscule raise did not cause inflation. Not at all. Workers certainly cant afford to eat at a fast food restaurant they work at even with their 20% discount.
The profits, salary ect. for major companies is readily available online. Most corporations are raking it in. All of them. Gleefully.
Prices are likely still going up plus there is skimp/shrinkflation and an overall far lower quality of goods. We are being squeezed for every penny they can get out of us.
This is happening all over, not just in the U.S. Whenever I hear about equity as a global goal I understand that to mean more and more of us will have a lower quality of life, we (lmc - umc) will be more equally poor - not rise up together.

Thank you for this.
Shareholders are demanding more. Private equity owns and runs everything.
And it's their kids buying the abercrombie shirts. Not normal joes. We are reaching a huge gap with the richest and they don't invest like the Rockefellers and Carnegie's of old. There is no greater good. They will need to set up their own compounds with their own security because the public systems that they won't invest in will fail everyone.

This. Even as someone who is middle class in the DC area, we can not really afford to go out to eat or eat fast food except on special occasions.

Only the very rich will eventually be able to afford to live well if wages can't keep up with the cost of inflation.

[Anonymous]

So DH told me at his "excellent top tier" employer, open enrollment has us paying $100 more a pay period for insurance. Unbelievable. Family of 4 with 2 kids all healthy costs $900/mo. I'm really unhappy with this.