Inflation vs. Personal Inflation - How has your annual spending changed?

[enjoyinglife102]

Like many others, I don't find the value in detailed tracking of spending but do so on an on-going basis at a high level. Since no one buys the same things year to year, it is impossible to accurately calculate inflation. I think of it as just one more variable that impacts my annual amount, along with many others that usually have more influence on what I spend year to year.

 

[GravitySucks]

I'm probably not a representative sample but:
I've mostly noticed inflation on the food front. But I eat in restaurants much less than I used to and one good restuarant meal is almost a weeks worth of groceries.
Moved to ACA last year so health insurance is less than half what is was. Upgraded to a Gold plan as I had a planned knee replacement this year. 2023 will be a Bronze then Madicare so even lower HI expenses coming up. The knee expenses were off set by not being able to travel and being able to bicycle places again.
I spent less on gas as I found a bike path to an Aldi and Wegmans. I can get almost a weeks worth of groceries in my panniers. DM insists on buying a tank of gas whenever I bring her to the doctors. Between those two things gas spending is down.
My optimistic plans expected 3% inflation and this recent bump pushes us up to around there since I retired.


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[anothercog]

Still working with 3 teenagers at home. Definitely spent more on food this year than last, probably about 10% more.

But offset spending elsewhere, likely in home projects so spending is largely flat from last year even with some increased travel.

 

[Still Learning]

This January 2023 will be our 3rd year of retirement in the Hudson Valley north of New York City.


- Spent $41K in 2020, $40K in 2021 and $42K this year. Next year should be about $42K.
-Unanticipated changes were new dog just prior to retirement, sold our cruising boat last year and purchased a travel van which worked well with our dog (and us) for short and long trips this year.
-SS & Pension continue to pay our bills plus extra for savings or travel. This should last until RMDs start in seven years. We have no loans, plan to stay in our present home and like our lifestyle in general.
-Overdue but investing about a third of our cash which wipes away recent investment loss and will immediately allow us to decrease retirement investment fund withdrawal to 1.75% until RMDs start, while new non-retirement funds and short term CDs pick up the slack and actually increase our savings 3X. I see another cash infusion into non-retirement funds in about 3 years. (Reviewed updated plan with our Accountant & Financial Planner before implementing this change).
-During the past two years the cost of food (travel & home) increased the most along with reduction in satisfaction. Hotels were in second place.


We get around both in various ways and plan to increase travel further in 2023.

 

[jollystomper]

I do not look at the details until after year end, but it looks like our overall spending for 2022 will be between breakeven and down as compared to 2021. Household and medical expenses look to be the biggest areas of reduced spending, vacations the biggest increase. Food looks to be about 5% lower, utilities about 5% higher. Fuel will be about 22% higher but we drove more for vacations and other travel as compared to 2021.

 

[sroby2020]

Car insurance has stayed constant for us.

We just got a renewal notice for car insurance. Up 37% since 6 months ago. Wow!
We have a 10 year old car, and a 11 year old car, both still running good. No claims on either of these cars. No tickets.

 

[kgtest]

We just got a renewal notice for car insurance. Up 37% since 6 months ago. Wow!
We have a 10 year old car, and a 11 year old car, both still running good. No claims on either of these cars. No tickets.

My insurance agent sent me an email warning me that auto ins rates were going to rise...and then they did.

2022 increases:
==========

Home Insurance: 3.17%
Auto Insurance: 17.12%
Property Tax: 1.85%
Gas + Electric: 26.01%
Water: 9.26%
Trash: 10.44%
Internet: -2.34%
Haircuts: 6.82%
Netflix: 9.97%

IF I add all these core expenses up and calculate it comes out to a total overall personal inflation rate of 4.47%. a 49% increase over the 3%/yr that I tend to factor into my inflation calculations.

 

[JoeWras]

My insurance agent sent me an email warning me that auto ins rates were going to rise...and then they did.

2022 increases:
==========

Home Insurance: 3.17%
Auto Insurance: 17.12%
Property Tax: 1.85%
Gas + Electric: 26.01%
Water: 9.26%
Trash: 10.44%
Internet: -2.34%
Haircuts: 6.82%
Netflix: 9.97%

IF I add all these core expenses up and calculate it comes out to a total overall personal inflation rate of 4.47%. a 49% increase over the 3%/yr that I tend to factor into my inflation calculations.

This is a good post because you are focusing on things you can't change. Well, I suppose you could just drop Netflix. Your numbers match mine in a lot of categories, especially the water and trash which has been on a decades-long roll in my area. City says it will continue due to aging infrastructure.

I'm a bit baffled by some previous posts with sub 1% or flat rates. It just isn't possible for me. My insurance, taxes and utilities alone are in the 5% area. I don't desire living a life of a hermit without TV in order to balance these raises either.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

I'll analyze 2022 after it's over but my back of envelope (everything is in Excel but just looking with no slicing and dicing), I'm on track to spend about 10% more than the prior year. However, I've forgone/substituted a bit so my expense growth understates my personal inflation rate (never thought I'd consider an omelet a splurge but with eggs at nearly $4/doz at Aldi!!! (up from 55¢ ~2 years ago), that's an expensive "cheap" protein.") I'd guestimate my personal inflation close to 20% year over year with groceries being the biggest driver.

 

[Rustic23]

Retired about 17 years. Spending estimated at retirement $48,000 a year. Spending est for 2022, $52,000. The numbers really don't tell the story. While spending has remained somewhat constant, what we spend on has changed. Fewer trips, more dinners out, more services (lawn care, house care etc.) Things we either are unwilling to do or unable. We are 100% sure we will not run out of cash, but have not dropped into the 'blow that dough lifestyle.

 

[Teacher Terry]

In the past year I have cut out or replaced with lower cost options most of my discretionary spending which is why I have been able to live on what’s coming in versus having to spend my savings. Also my travel comes from savings and any big expenses such as car/home repairs or large vet bills.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

We still have one more bill to come before I can do a true 21/22 comparison. But it looks like they are pretty much the same. The exception is that we had some significant home maintenance this year that we did not have last year or the year before, not sure if that is really an inflation issue though, I do not think so. Tile Roof Maintenance and clean (every 3 years I do this), complete pool enclosure re-screen (21 year old enclosure). Other than those we are within ~$300 when comparing 2021 and 2022 expenses. We will need a new secondary AC unit in 2023 but again not really inflation related. I will post our actuals once I get the final 2022 water bill.

 

[audreyh1]

Travel spending way way down again even though we traveled quite a bit more this year compared to last and rented some very nice lodging at popular destinations. Without those annual long trips to Europe, I can’t spend enough!

 

[Closet_Gamer]

I'm surprised that we haven't seen some high end things begin to retrench in the face of the market losses.

We're "house" members at a country club and on the waiting list to become golf members. I thought that list would evaporate pretty quickly in the face of market declines, interest rates, etc. So far its rock solid.

Used high end car prices are starting to flex down a little but far from a big correction.

We're shopping beach houses ... that market has just frozen solid in the community we're looking at. Almost nothing coming on the market and almost nothing selling. We are seeing some price drops but not too much yet. All of those low rate mortgages out there may serve to slow down price drops. People don't need to sell.

 

[jebmke]

I'm surprised that we haven't seen some high end things begin to retrench in the face of the market losses.

We're "house" members at a country club and on the waiting list to become golf members. I thought that list would evaporate pretty quickly in the face of market declines, interest rates, etc. So far its rock solid.

Used high end car prices are starting to flex down a little but far from a big correction.

We're shopping beach houses ... that market has just frozen solid in the community we're looking at. Almost nothing coming on the market and almost nothing selling. We are seeing some price drops but not too much yet. All of those low rate mortgages out there may serve to slow down price drops. People don't need to sell.

watches

Prices for the most popular pre-owned Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet watches will fall further as the market has been flooded with supply, analysts at Morgan Stanley said in a report.

After surging in 2021 and during the first quarter of the year, an index of the most popular models from Daytona chronograph maker Rolex tracked by WatchCharts has fallen by 21 per cent since the market peak in April.

 

[Tom52]

It is difficult to say how much or by what % our spending has changed over the three years 2020 thru 2022, but I have attempted to do a spreadsheet on some of the more consistent categories. I keep very accurate track of our spending so I feel confident that my results are accurate for my particular situation.

I compared the following categories, % listed is change from year end 2020 totals compare to year end 2022 totals. There are slight estimations for the categories for groceries and gasoline since we have several weeks to go in 2022. All the other categories are already paid in full for 2022

Groceries +9.6%
Gasoline +24.6%
Electric +20.2%
CSU* +11.0%
Medicare supplement DW +38.0%
Medicare supplement Me +23.7%
Truck insurance +27.4%
Car insurance +10.0%
property taxes -15%
House insurance +14.7%
timeshare yrly fees +15.2%
cable/internet +18.5%

*CSU is a monthly bill that includes water, sewer, potable water, irrigation water, and amenity fees.

Many categories are too variable to assume with any reasonable certainty that costs are primarily due to inflation. Even some categories such as groceries and gasoline have variation. Number of miles driven per year depends on how much and how far we travel. For a fact we have changed our diet to lower grocery costs, we hardly purchase any red meat anymore.

Just considering the above categories our costs have gone up 10.4% in two years or about an average of 5.2% each of the last two years.

When I look at total expenditure comparing 2021 to 2022 I calculate a 5.0% increase in 2022 so I feel fairly confident that is my personal rate of inflation.

 

[easysurfer]

I've definitely become more of a shopper at the grocery store. Went to stores yesterday and today. Went to an Aldi yesterday. Saw a bargain on avocados, only 59 cents each for good not over ripe ones. I bought these.

Then got shell shocked seeing the price of eggs. $4.79 for a dozen. No way! I didn't buy.

Then one aisle where I needed stuff was sort of blocked out with the store restocking. So, I decided browse the non-food stuff. Saw a pressure cooker/air fryer combo unit kind of like the Instapot types (but Aldi brand version) for only $25 sold at a clearance price. An offer I couldn't pass up, so bought this .

Lots of factors in play, overpriced eggs, discounted avocados and slashed priced cooker.

 

[GravitySucks]

I've definitely become more of a shopper at the grocery store. Went to stores yesterday and today. Went to an Aldi yesterday. Saw a bargain on avocados, only 59 cents each for good not over ripe ones. I bought these.

Then got shell shocked seeing the price of eggs. $4.79 for a dozen. No way! I didn't buy.

Then one aisle where I needed stuff was sort of blocked out with the store restocking. So, I decided browse the non-food stuff. Saw a pressure cooker/air fryer combo unit kind of like the Instapot types (but Aldi brand version) for only $25 sold at a clearance price. An offer I couldn't pass up, so bought this .

Lots of factors in play, overpriced eggs, discounted avocados and slashed priced cooker.

I saw eggs at Aldi over $4 too. Looks like we had an Avian Flu outbreak on top of the one six months ago.
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/spotlights/2022-2023/nearing-record-number-avian-influenza.htm

At over $4 for store eggs I'm going to see if the egg lady in the next village over is still only $5 a dz.

 

[Trailwalker]

I started buying eggs again from a local farm for $3/dozen. Doesn't really change the taste but DW likes that they come in multiple colors: blue, green, brown, and white. It's self-serve. Go into the barn, and the eggs are in a cooler. Put the dollar bills in a lock box screwed into the wall. These are the times that living in small town Wisconsin seems pretty cool.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I've definitely become more of a shopper at the grocery store. Went to stores yesterday and today. Went to an Aldi yesterday. Saw a bargain on avocados, only 59 cents each for good not over ripe ones. I bought these.

Then got shell shocked seeing the price of eggs. $4.79 for a dozen. No way! I didn't buy.

Then one aisle where I needed stuff was sort of blocked out with the store restocking. So, I decided browse the non-food stuff. Saw a pressure cooker/air fryer combo unit kind of like the Instapot types (but Aldi brand version) for only $25 sold at a clearance price. An offer I couldn't pass up, so bought this .

Lots of factors in play, overpriced eggs, discounted avocados and slashed priced cooker.

Don't get suckered into going down the "Aldi Aisle of Shame"...it'll get you everytime

 

[brett]

Food is up. So is gas, utilities, property tax and insurance (slightly).

Some food items that we buy have gone up and are now coming down a little in price. Dairy products are up and have remained up. Produce is up considerably but that could be a function of where we live, currency fluctuations, and crop issues in producing areas. Our food basket has changed over the past few years by choice. Less red meat, more chicken, seafood, fresh produce etc so this impacts any comparisons that we could make.

One product that has gone down in price....red wines from Argentina. Prices are down, quality is up.

Travel costs have increased. Domestic air is up. International air to Europe (our destinations) have increased slightly. We did a 5 week May/June trip to Portugal and a 10 day Mexican AI last months. Prices were what we expected..no significant increases.

Shopping for air to Thailand/Malaysia now for a snowbird trip. It is much, much higher than we have paid in previous pre covid years.

Decided not to replace our 2006 Accord. Low mileage, runs like a top. And it sits in the garage for 4 months a year. Seems to me we would be throwing away good value and replacing it with a depreciating asset.

One of our electric toothbrushes packed it in last week. We paid $100. for the set at Costco 4-5 years ago. Bought another box of 2, same brand, at Costco for $112. Better product, more features than the previous ones.

There is a significant offset to this that many tend to overlook. Since 2010 investment returns have been very good over a period of low inflation. We are well ahead of the game because of this. The only exception might be real estate but even that varies by location.