Latest Inflation Data and report

[CaptTom]

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Originally Posted by Chuckanut My main concern is for my children. They already have been priced out of the housing market in my area. Continue inflation that is far in excess over what they can earn on savings, just sets them back more. Frankly, I am disgusted.

I totally agree about housing. Locals here can't afford to buy a house or condo. They're all being snatched up by investment bankers and tech bros from the cities to our South.


For everything else, though, wages seem to be at least keeping up with inflation. This is a very significant change from when I was working. Back then it was an employers' market and they did exactly what they could get away with; cutting benefits and offering miserly wage increases below the rate of inflation every year.



That seems to have totally turned around. Employees are in the driver's seat now. Employers will do anything to attract and retain good employees.

[Magus]

PPI up a full point today, core up 0.9%, both double expectations. Anyone that thinks inflation is about to roll over here is smoking some good stuff.

[Chuckanut]

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Originally Posted by Chuckanut My main concern is for my children. They already have been priced out of the housing market in my area. Continuing inflation that is far in excess over what they can earn on savings, just sets them back more. Frankly, I am disgusted.

FWIW, when I say the housing market, I am including descent rental apartments with a few amenities but nothing luxurious.

[ShokWaveRider]

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Originally Posted by Magus PPI up a full point today, core up 0.9%, both double expectations. Anyone that thinks inflation is about to roll over here is smoking some good stuff.

Agreed, it is here for a while, we knew that 6 months ago, folks need to stop kidding themselves.

[marko]

With oil being such a big component of the cost of most goods, I wonder if temporarily relaxing some of the recent oil regulations would work more effectively than looking to the Fed and money supply.

We're back to almost $100 a barrel. That has to hit just about everything we consume.

[luckydude]

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Originally Posted by Magus PPI up a full point today, core up 0.9%, both double expectations. Anyone that thinks inflation is about to roll over here is smoking some good stuff.

The FED is smoking some really good stuff right now. I want some too.

[GenXguy]

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Originally Posted by Badger How difficult is it when all you have to do is cut up some veggies and a protein and boil them in some stock with a few spices/herbs. I can make a huge pot of soup that can feed six for about $10. Great inflation fighter. Cheers!

Great inflation fighter? Sounds like a loser to me. Time is money, and you spend a lot more time doing that than it takes me to heat up a can of soup, for just me.

And if you ignore the time spent, you're still not saving money. Now that the can of soup has gone up to $1.98, that's still 99 cents per serving since there's 2 servings per can. Your 6 for $10 is about $1.67 per serving, plus the extra time. Time is money. I'm not seeing how that is a great inflation fighter in any way. Most of my higher spending that accounts for the 15% to 20% increased spending is not on food, anyway. I'm already quite frugal, trying to catch sales and get good deals in general, plus I spend very little on discretionary, although I was hoping to increase my discretionary allotment considerably when I retire until inflation hit so hard. I've delayed retirement for at least one more year, but that won't make up for the devaluation of my investments/savings from inflation vs. what the same dollars would have bought a year or two ago. I wish it was as easy as preparing my own soup, but lol, not quite.

[Fermion]

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Originally Posted by GenXguy Great inflation fighter? Sounds like a loser to me. Time is money, and you spend a lot more time doing that than it takes me to heat up a can of soup, for just me. And if you ignore the time spent, you're still not saving money. Now that the can of soup has gone up to $1.98, that's still 99 cents per serving since there's 2 servings per can. Your 6 for $10 is about $1.67 per serving, plus the extra time. Time is money. I'm not seeing how that is a great inflation fighter in any way. Most of my higher spending that accounts for the 15% to 20% increased spending is not on food, anyway. I'm already quite frugal, trying to catch sales and get good deals in general, plus I spend very little on discretionary, although I was hoping to increase my discretionary allotment considerably when I retire until inflation hit so hard. I've delayed retirement for at least one more year, but that won't make up for the devaluation of my investments/savings from inflation vs. what the same dollars would have bought a year or two ago. I wish it was as easy as preparing my own soup, but lol, not quite.

not to mention the other products needed to clean up after making a homemade soup....water and electricity needed to clean the pots, knives and cutting board, energy needed to cook the protein, paper towels for drying.

But quality of life, the homemade soup is generally better tasting and maybe lower amounts of preservatives.

[GenXguy]

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Originally Posted by Magus PPI up a full point today, core up 0.9%, both double expectations. Anyone that thinks inflation is about to roll over here is smoking some good stuff.

Definitely not expecting that anytime soon. Heck, I never believed it when they were saying many months ago that it was "transitory" or that "prices will come back down." And even if inflation drops to say 3% in a few years, that doesn't mean prices will come back down on most things, but rather they will still increase, only not as quickly as they are now. I've got a nice stash and 6 figure income in a fairly low cost of living area, and it hurts me since I'm wanting to retire soon. It's really got to be a killer for a lot of people who are just scraping by as it is.

[tb001]

We’ve definitely felt it at the grocery store. But as Shockwave said, the extra there isn’t going to make or break us.

But energy costs for us, in particular gas, doubled this December. The bill was shocking, but I hoped it was mainly due to a colder than usual month. But January bill came this morning and while it’s not quite double, it’s close. Luckily we’re in a temperate area, but it’s a significant extra spend for us.

The rest seems to be in labor and consumer products. We hire help around the house and the labor costs have gone up ~30%. Similar increases on home purchases we’ve been debating over the last few years. Obviously these things are discretionary, but we feel the impact.

[aja8888]

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Originally Posted by GenXguy Great inflation fighter? Sounds like a loser to me. Time is money, and you spend a lot more time doing that than it takes me to heat up a can of soup, for just me. And if you ignore the time spent, you're still not saving money. Now that the can of soup has gone up to $1.98, that's still 99 cents per serving since there's 2 servings per can. Your 6 for $10 is about $1.67 per serving, plus the extra time. Time is money. I'm not seeing how that is a great inflation fighter in any way. Most of my higher spending that accounts for the 15% to 20% increased spending is not on food, anyway. I'm already quite frugal, trying to catch sales and get good deals in general, plus I spend very little on discretionary, although I was hoping to increase my discretionary allotment considerably when I retire until inflation hit so hard. I've delayed retirement for at least one more year, but that won't make up for the devaluation of my investments/savings from inflation vs. what the same dollars would have bought a year or two ago. I wish it was as easy as preparing my own soup, but lol, not quite.

Well, time may be money to you if you are still working, but us retirees seem to have a lot of FREE time. So making soup is not only a good idea, but it fills the FREE time!

I made 8 quarts of Texas chili last week and it filled my day.

[daylatedollarshort]

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Originally Posted by GenXguy Great inflation fighter? Sounds like a loser to me. Time is money, and you spend a lot more time doing that than it takes me to heat up a can of soup, for just me.....I wish it was as easy as preparing my own soup, but lol, not quite.

Canned soup is actually pretty expensive on a cost per calorie basis. If a can of soup is $2 and has 200 calories, you are paying $1 per 100 calories. If you need 2K calories a day, then eating foods like that would cost $20 a day to eat for one person, or $600 a month. And canned soup usually has a lot of cheap filler foods like barley, potatoes or noodles, is high in salt and has BPA from the can. My target budget is $6 a day person and that is with a lot of organic produce, and organic meat and wild caught fish. The soup de jour at our house had seaweed, tofu, okra, green beans, corn, carrots, jicama, cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, button mushrooms, celery and bean threads, most of it organic.

At least some of the posters here who have mentioned they aren't impacted that much by inflation are retired and have time to price shop, cook from scratch and probably a hundred other little things that all add up. Like gas has gone up but we are retired, live in an urban area with everything close by, we can walk for some of our errands, and don't commute to work, so we haven't even bought any gas in 2022 so far. For households like ours, Social Security has gone up more than our recurring expenses.

I'm am sure we will pay more for one time purchases like our home improvement projects for the year, but our increased TIPS income will cover those.

[GravitySucks]

Something I never see mentioned is the Dollar dropping over 5% vs. the Yuan. We import so much that the Dollar drop must count toward increased prices.

[GenXguy]

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Originally Posted by daylatedollarshort Canned soup is actually pretty expensive on a cost per calorie basis. If a can of soup is $2 and has 200 calories, you are paying $1 per 100 calories. If you need 2K calories a day, then eating foods like that would cost $20 a day to eat for one person, or $600 a month.

Like I said, I only mentioned soup going up because that was the thing that I saw jump in price significantly on my latest grocery trip. Soup is not a primary meal, maybe a couple cans in one week and then not at all for weeks. I didn't intend to start a detailed soup discussion. It will be something else on my next shopping trip.

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And canned soup usually has a lot of cheap filler foods like barley, potatoes or noodles, is high in salt and has BPA from the can.

These are supposedly BPA-free, and I always buy the low sodium if available, not that it's as healthy for you as making from scratch. I did mention that I make stews from scratch sometimes, not organic, and I usually do that in a large enough quantity that I'll get several servings out of it. I'll have to look more into cheap food preparation when I retire. I'm not wanting 2000 calories, though. That's way too much for me except maybe in the summer when I'm biking a lot.

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and don't commute to work, so we haven't even bought any gas in 2022 so far. For households like our, Social Security has gone up more than our recurring expenses.

I was planning to retire about 7 years before collecting SS, so I won't have that nice dual income overlap. But the increases in SS wouldn't make much of a dent on the total increase I'm seeing.

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I'm am sure we will pay more for one time purchases like our home improvement projects for the year, but our increased TIPS income will cover those.

I have a lot of home maintenance needing done soon, like next two or three years (roof, HVAC, deck, flooring, and more), and some appliances need replaced much sooner. And I have ongoing sinking funds in the budget to account for those expenses over the long term, over every year, not just the year that I do them rather than saying they are covered by an emergency fund or a specific investment or such trying to artificially decrease my budget. So while I'm not doing all those things now, I've had to significantly increase the sinking fund budgeted dollars to account for very high inflation on these items. I notice a lot people don't consider that a budgeted expense if they aren't actually doing those things in the current year. But sinking funds for those types of things are common also, which is what I do.

[jazz4cash]

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Originally Posted by tb001 We’ve definitely felt it at the grocery store. But as Shockwave said, the extra there isn’t going to make or break us. But energy costs for us, in particular gas, doubled this December. The bill was shocking, but I hoped it was mainly due to a colder than usual month. But January bill came this morning and while it’s not quite double, it’s close. Luckily we’re in a temperate area, but it’s a significant extra spend for us. The rest seems to be in labor and consumer products. We hire help around the house and the labor costs have gone up ~30%. Similar increases on home purchases we’ve been debating over the last few years. Obviously these things are discretionary, but we feel the impact.

I've been advocating for the Gas and Electric Choice Programs in my home state. Noone I know seems to think it is worthwhile. I wasn't sure if I was still under contract so I had to dig out my paperwork....I am locked in for 2 more years. Out of curiosity, I checked the current rates for gas and it is still possible to lock in a good rate for 3-6 months and even 12 month rates are cheaper than the local utility rate which is jumping every month. I have been lucky to have taken advantage of this inflation hedge.

[REWahoo]

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Originally Posted by jazz4cash Noone I know...

That's another forum member we haven't heard from for years. Noone knows what happened to him.

[MuirWannabe]

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Originally Posted by REWahoo That's another forum member we haven't heard from for years. Noone knows what happened to him.

I heard Nobody does.

[Chuckanut]

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Originally Posted by aja8888 Well, time may be money to you if you are still working, but us retirees seem to have a lot of FREE time. So making soup is not only a good idea, but it fills the FREE time! I made 8 quarts of Texas chili last week and it filled my day.

Good home make soup will be far healthier than the canned stuff. So subtract some dollars from your medical budget.

[daylatedollarshort]

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Originally Posted by Fermion not to mention the other products needed to clean up after making a homemade soup....water and electricity needed to clean the pots, knives and cutting board, energy needed to cook the protein, paper towels for drying. But quality of life, the homemade soup is generally better tasting and maybe lower amounts of preservatives.

Tap water generally costs around $.004 a gallon. Newer dishwashers are very energy and water efficient, so that doesn't cost a lot to run at our house. I don't know anyone who uses paper towels to dry dishes. Our dishes air dry in the dishwasher. I make soup along with other dishes like salads and stir fries, so the cutting board and knives are out anyway. I make my soup in a thermal cooker so it only takes 5 - 10 minutes of boiling time on the stove, and the rest of the cooking is done with retained heat. If I make chicken soup, the chicken cooks in the soup, plus I put in extra chicken to cook in the soup for a different dish. Canned soup and other processed foods are almost always going to be much more expensive and less healthy than what you can make at home from scratch, especially if you price shop the ingredients. And as aja8888 pointed out, many of us already retired posters enjoy cooking and have plenty of free time to spend on making healthy meals.

A handful of big firms control processed foods and the major store chains. Farmers get 7.6 cents on the dollar (https://www.idahofb.org/news-room/po...ood-dollar-go/). We try not to buy a lot of processed foods from the big supermarket chains, and we really haven't seen huge increases in our grocery bills, at least not more than our SS increase has covered.

[Badger]

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Originally Posted by GenXguy Great inflation fighter? Sounds like a loser to me. Time is money, and you spend a lot more time doing that than it takes me to heat up a can of soup, for just me. Not quite the same when you are retired. I can also make a large pot of soup with more meat and veggies in about 10 minutes then let the stove do its work. Time is not an issue. And if you ignore the time spent, you're still not saving money. Now that the can of soup has gone up to $1.98, that's still 99 cents per serving since there's 2 servings per can. Your 6 for $10 is about $1.67 per serving, Let me clarify since you have no idea how this soup (which is so full of meat and veggies that is almost like a stew) compares with canned soup. If i was to make the soup with the same amount of ingredients and water (per serving) AND made the portion size the same as your 2 servings of canned soup then you can increase the number of servings to close to 3x. I'm guessing you are using the 14.5 oz soup with the additional can of water for the 2 servings. If it was only me then I simply have to take a few minutes to put the extra into freezer bags (a couple more pennies for the bag) for another 20 or more meals. Then all I have to do is remove from bag and microwave. plus the extra time. Time is money. I'm not seeing how that is a great inflation fighter in any way. Most of my higher spending that accounts for the 15% to 20% increased spending is not on food, anyway. I'm already quite frugal, trying to catch sales and get good deals in general, plus I spend very little on discretionary, although I was hoping to increase my discretionary allotment considerably when I retire until inflation hit so hard. I've delayed retirement for at least one more year, I can understand where you say time is money. Sorry you don't have the free time of being retired. but that won't make up for the devaluation of my investments/savings from inflation vs. what the same dollars would have bought a year or two ago. I wish it was as easy as preparing my own soup, but lol, not quite. Soup really isn't the issue is it? Finding ways to save money while improving quality of life is. This was just an example.

Cheers!