inflation what's it about

[ua_guy]

Well - maybe we should look at why real wages aren't keep pace with inflation. That seems like its the real question to me.

Or productivity....

[LivingAlmostLarge]

The rate of inflation might just be catching up to 20 years of low inflation

[kork13]

The rate of inflation might just be catching up to 20 years of low inflation

That's been my thought for months now. We've had minimal inflation (<2%/yr) for the last 15 yrs, while a host of massive inflationary pressures had no noticable effect. Like an earthquake or stretched rubber band, pent-up inflation makes alot of sense.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

That's been my thought for months now. We've had minimal inflation (<2%/yr) for the last 15 yrs, while a host of massive inflationary pressures had no noticable effect. Like an earthquake or stretched rubber band, pent-up inflation makes alot of sense.

The price of cars new hadn't budged too much since I bought my new corolla in CA in 1999 for $13k including taxes and fees. That should be $23k today for entry base stripped corolla. Is that about right? Or can you still get a new entry level car for under $20k? I don't know enough, but I think maybe

[disneysteve]

The price of cars new hadn't budged too much since I bought my new corolla in CA in 1999 for $13k including taxes and fees. That should be $23k today for entry base stripped corolla. Is that about right? Or can you still get a new entry level car for under $20k? I don't know enough, but I think maybe

The 10 cheapest new cars for 2022 are all under 21K.

[crazyliblady]

As someone who recently had to buy a used car, I can say that at least for my area, used cars are really hard to find. A lot of the car lots have maybe 20 cars in a space that would fit hundreds. It was very frustrating trying to find something that was in very good condition. I also checked carvana and vroom, but they seemed even more expensive. However, I did wind up settling on a 2015 Chevy Malibu that was in a lot about 5 miles from home, so that's good. The best thing is that I did not have to go into debt to buy it. I had my mechanic check it out before I bought it and he says it is in very good condition and just needs some minor maintenance, some of which I will be taking care of next Friday.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

As someone who recently had to buy a used car, I can say that at least for my area, used cars are really hard to find. A lot of the car lots have maybe 20 cars in a space that would fit hundreds. It was very frustrating trying to find something that was in very good condition. I also checked carvana and vroom, but they seemed even more expensive. However, I did wind up settling on a 2015 Chevy Malibu that was in a lot about 5 miles from home, so that's good. The best thing is that I did not have to go into debt to buy it. I had my mechanic check it out before I bought it and he says it is in very good condition and just needs some minor maintenance, some of which I will be taking care of next Friday.

You are very lucky. Last year I recall friends needing to buy a car and thrilled they got MSRP on a new one since a used one was the same price

[ua_guy]

It kind of looks like the gentle pressure the Fed is using to slow inflation is working. At least, the markets seem to be celebrating the latest numbers. The Nasdaq was up over 5% today.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/09/stock-market-futures-open-to-close-news.html

[disneysteve]

It kind of looks like the gentle pressure the Fed is using to slow inflation is working. At least, the markets seem to be celebrating the latest numbers. The Nasdaq was up over 5% today.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/09/stoc...lose-news.html

Looks like the Dow closed up 1,200 points today. I'll take it. Let's hope it lasts.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Where once only expensive booze and electronics were locked up, now basic household items such as allergy medicine, shaving razors, infant formula and batteries are ending up in plexiglass cases or behind security devices. More merchandise also has been moved to displays behind cashier counters. Thefts are rampant these days and I noticed lots of items are locked up but could be inflation as well to mitigate losses.

[ua_guy]

Where once only expensive booze and electronics were locked up, now basic household items such as allergy medicine, shaving razors, infant formula and batteries are ending up in plexiglass cases or behind security devices. More merchandise also has been moved to displays behind cashier counters. Thefts are rampant these days and I noticed lots of items are locked up but could be inflation as well to mitigate losses.

Smash and grab. The relatively new phenomenon where a mob of people descends on a particular store. They walk in, broad daylight, just start stealing everything they can, and then walk out. This is hitting corporate balance sheets in a big way.

[QuarterMillionMan]

12 years ago $74,000 was middle class in 2010, you’d need to make roughly $101,000 in 2022 with inflation to be middle class. For me at $75,000, I must be lower middle class (I mistyped my salary at $7000 a month in another thread, I stand corrected, it should have been $6000 a month).

Here's how much money the average middle-class American household makes — are you keeping up? (yahoo.com)

[LivingAlmostLarge]

12 years ago $74,000 was middle class in 2010, you’d need to make roughly $101,000 in 2022 with inflation to be middle class. For me at $75,000, I must be lower middle class (I mistyped my salary at $7000 a month in another thread, I stand corrected, it should have been $6000 a month).

Here's how much money the average middle-class American household makes — are you keeping up? (yahoo.com)

And yet you lived well!

[disneysteve]

You need to factor in location. Also, average and median are not the same thing. By state (and even that isn’t a sufficient breakdown) the median household income ranges from about 45K to 95K.

[ua_guy]

It's true, wages haven't kept up.

Needing to make over $100k++ per year to be solidly middle class feels about right for "high cost of living areas" especially if you're just starting out and didn't lock in real-estate prior to 10 years ago.