Wow, inflation has been low!

[M Paquette]

I think substitution and changing market baskets is a good thing. Otherwise we'd have weird effects like the inflation rate of film (23% in the last CPI update) being too heavily weighted.

Have you even bothered to price new vacuum tubes for the HiFi this year? Great Ghu! And then I have to re-tube the Univac for tax season...

 

[ejman]

Have you even bothered to price new vacuum tubes for the HiFi this year? Great Ghu! And then I have to re-tube the Univac for tax season...

True. Tungsol KT150's at $100 each for my power amp and I need four of them! Of course, I could use KT 88's but what is the fun in that?

 

[sheehs1]

Amen to that ER.... Inflation is running rampant in my personal situation. Counting food, cable, and mostly Obamacare my personal inflation rate is 10%. I could live on $3000 last year, now it's $3300!


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I tend to agree with this also as I have seen monthly budget items increase by fairly large percentages and I'm a fairly frugal person as are most here. I have been saying recently, "while the government thinks inflation is low we certainly have "household" inflation…in the areas you mentioned as well as others like my electric bill (unit cost), water, taxes, etc.
And those increases have led to my changing some things to keep cost down…so I agree with others that it doesn't mean there is not inflation. I would think you would have to keep goods, services, food, energy and healthcare the same over time to accurately calculate inflation.

 

[Mulligan]

I tend to agree with this also as I have seen monthly budget items increase by fairly large percentages and I'm a fairly frugal person as are most here. I have been saying recently, "while the government thinks inflation is low we certainly have "household" inflation…in the areas you mentioned as well as others like my electric bill (unit cost), water, taxes, etc.

I installed a metal roof over a year ago and my total electricity usage dropped 15% while my neighbors I compared to were up 5-6%. Well now the electricity company just filed to get 10% back with a rate increase. Kind of torn on this one though as I own some of their preferred stock and want to make sure I get my 6.5% dividend.


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[MooreBonds]

Rodi, you can tie me to a stake and administer a Singapore Canning, and I will still say it's inflation, or at least until I cannot stand the pain. And to ER Hoosier's later point on substitution, I got the worst of both worlds on it. A $200 plus increase and was substituted to a narrower network and $1500 higher deductible to boot. Now that is some rampant inflation!

In this particular, unique case - because legislation has enacted an "upgrade" to a much pricier item, and Mulligan is taking the lowest-cost item humanly possible, I would still consider it 'true inflation', since he has no legal option to go for anything cheaper (and his insurance policy before was pretty 'bare bones' low cost).

I installed a metal roof over a year ago and my total electricity usage dropped 15% while my neighbors I compared to were up 5-6%. Well now the electricity company just filed to get 10% back with a rate increase. Kind of torn on this one though as I own some of their preferred stock and want to make sure I get my 6.5% dividend.

You don't need the rate increase to keep getting your divvy. It's secure. Now, the divvy on the common, on the other hand - THAT'S what is in dire need of the rate increase.

 

[Mulligan]

In this particular, unique case - because legislation has enacted an "upgrade" to a much pricier item, and Mulligan is taking the lowest-cost item humanly possible, I would still consider it 'true inflation', since he has no legal option to go for anything cheaper (and his insurance policy before was pretty 'bare bones' low cost).



You don't need the rate increase to keep getting your divvy. It's secure. Now, the divvy on the common, on the other hand - THAT'S what is in dire need of the rate increase.

Ok, then it's settled...I hope the 10% rate increase doesn't get approved!


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[bob boag]

I installed a metal roof over a year ago and my total electricity usage dropped 15%.

And the new roof was on the house!

 

[Gatordoc50]

I think this thread shows how insidious inflation can be. [mod edit]

 

[rodi]

The problem is that almost everyone remembers the increases, but forgets about the decreases.

I'll give you a real world deflation example.

I tried the Kirkland Vodka (in the super tall bottle) when it first came out. It was $24.99 for the jumbo bottle. So a few bucks more than the Sky vodka I used to buy. My LBYM self had to justify the increased price, but I liked it so I sprung for it.

Then it dropped to 23.99 and stayed there for a while. This past fall it was 21.99.

Last week it was $19.99 per bottle.

That's a few bucks saved each month. Woo hoo.

 

[HFWR]

That's a few bucks saved each month. Woo hoo.

And for a good cause, too!

 

[NW-Bound]

... I tried the Kirkland Vodka (in the super tall bottle) when it first came out. It was $24.99 for the jumbo bottle...

Then it dropped to 23.99 and stayed there for a while. This past fall it was 21.99.

Last week it was $19.99 per bottle.

That's a few bucks saved each month. Woo hoo.

You drink a bottle each month?

My big bottles of Kirkland Vodka and Bombay Sapphire Gin bought 3 years ago are still near full. I drink a lot more red wine.

 

[W2R]

My personal level of inflation has not been as extreme as it was, say, back in the 1980's. Some things, such as groceries, are increasing in price. Other things, such as gasoline, are decreasing in price, though, and that "cancels out" some of the increase.

Between that and the fact that my discretionary spending varies from time to time, it's just really hard to tell. I'm spending considerably more than I spent in 2011, but some increase is intentional on my part. Still, I do think I am experiencing some inflation. Just not a whole lot, probably.

I just started SS last June and the extra income has sure helped with any impact that inflation might have.

 

[jkern]

My personal inflation rate from 12' to 14' for my largest essential expenses:


Medical Insurance: 30.7%
Property tax: 3.25%
Utilities: 19.2%
Transportation: Can't determine due to changes in insurance coverage,
different mileage driven, and differing maintenance and repairs
Food: 4.3%

 

[Hamlet]

I remember one summer in college where I was spending more on Stoli's vodka than rent. My rent was only $120/month, and I was sharing the vodka with some friends pretty liberally, but still.

You drink a bottle each month?

My big bottles of Kirkland Vodka and Bombay Sapphire Gin bought 3 years ago are still near full. I drink a lot more red wine.

 

[Hamlet]

I think that the biggest real world example right now is gasoline.

Gas is cheaper now than it was in 2005. If the average person goes through a tank a week, that is probably $1000/year that they are saving from this time last year.

So other stuff that they buy needed to go up $1000 over the last year just to balance the drop in gas.

I'll give you a real world deflation example.

I tried the Kirkland Vodka (in the super tall bottle) when it first came out. It was $24.99 for the jumbo bottle. So a few bucks more than the Sky vodka I used to buy. My LBYM self had to justify the increased price, but I liked it so I sprung for it.

Then it dropped to 23.99 and stayed there for a while. This past fall it was 21.99.

Last week it was $19.99 per bottle.

That's a few bucks saved each month. Woo hoo.

 

[rodi]

You drink a bottle each month?

My big bottles of Kirkland Vodka and Bombay Sapphire Gin bought 3 years ago are still near full. I drink a lot more red wine.

Not by myself. LOL. I'd be drunk day and night.

But we like martini's in our house. I have a martini 2 x a week... as does the hubster. That will put a dent in the bottle since there's not much else besides a smidge of vermouth and onions/olives.

I've switched away from wine/beer in the past few years.

I swear I'm not a lush. It's just when I do drink, it tends to be vodka.

 

[Walt34]

I swear I'm not a lush.

Yeah, yeah, blame it on the dog....

 

[NW-Bound]

Not by myself. LOL. I'd be drunk day and night.
...
I swear I'm not a lush. It's just when I do drink, it tends to be vodka.

Just teasing.

I went out to look at my bottle of Kirkland Vodka. It's still unopened. Son of a gun. The Bombay Sapphire Gin is down by about 1/5. I had to look at them to confirm the bottle volume.

It's 1.75 liter. At 80 proof or 40% alcohol relative to wine at 14%, this big bottle has the alcohol content of 5 liters of wine or a measly 7 wine bottles.

Pffft... I drink at least 2 bottles of wine a week by myself (wife does not drink). That's a minimum of 8 bottles/month.

Are you sure you only do 1 big bottle of vodka between the two of you? The more you drink, the more you save by buying at Costco you know?

 

[rodi]

Are you sure you only do 1 big bottle of vodka between the two of you? The more you drink, the more you save by buying at Costco you know?

LOL - spend more/consume more to save more. That doesn't really fly in our house or on this forum.

Actually - I'm trying to cut calories - and much as I love a martini... if I drink more than the allotted amount, I'd undo the almost 20 lbs I've lost since I retired. It would hit me two ways... calories consumed... less motivation the next morning to get up for my 6am dog-walks on the beach. So I'll stick to my moderation for now. It's nice that the price dropped though...

 

[ERhoosier]

.....I'd undo the almost 20 lbs I've lost since I retired......

Congrats!!!!!

 

[rodi]

Thanks. It's a start... but years of sitting in a cube or a lab, staring at a computer or a pc board that isn't cooperating led to a big 'excess'... and now in retirement, it's time for that to go.

 

[bob boag]

That's a few bucks saved each week. Woo hoo.

FIFY