HEY !!
Watch how you talk about Tim Horton's you Hamburger helper !!

 

I'm going to cut my arm. But I did that last year too, so it's probably not saying much.

 

past about 5 years are less than ideal to say, with cumulative inflation over 40% here and wages basically unchanged,
artificial bubble has started to collapse already, but it's very slow process (I expect 10 years timeframe to get back up where things were 10 years ago),

on the other hand, past those 5 years, especially during Covid lockdowns, there was enough time to reconsider things, change mindset, I'm constantly streamlining my toolsets (both hw/sw, minimizing maintenance and downtimes as well) without missing anything to be honest, feeling more freedom to say,

at this point, it's more about "not gonna pay this ridiculous money" for this and that, and despite there's "goodwill" to spend money (before its value drops every tomorrow) there isn't really any cool treat to buy right now imo

 

I dont know about France, I dont live there.
I live in an island, so the fuel cost adds a lot to the prices.

 

My bad, I though you were a French main-lander for some reason.

I know about islands my progenitors come from a Caribbean island that is now pretty much an anarchy and prices are pretty much like you say and even less affordable. Islands are expensive in general, I hope things stabilize for you guys.

 

All interesting answers. I think it's just nice to know that you're not alone in this crazy time in terms of dealing with severe inflation. I live in California and the rents here are unbelievable even in some of the most crime-ridden sh!t holes like Sacramento.

While we're on the subject, what do you guys think about tipping? Do you have this in Europe? This could probably be its own thread so if the mods want to move it, go ahead.

 

That's a cultural thing. In Canada, you're seen as an ass-hat if you don't tip. Never been to Japan but apparently it is not well seen by an owner to tip his employee. Someone might want to confirm. In Central and South America, people always have a face like you just bought them a Christmas present when you tip them.

 

USA, here. I've never been that affluent. My music computers have always been bought used, 5-6-year-old models. I see prices going up. but I'm not affected so much by that as a lot of Americans because my living expenses have been basic and manageable for a long time. Prices are going up so much that I look at things and feel insulted by the "new" prices and realize that I don't need the stuff anyway. I own only things that I use. All of my clothes and shoes are from thrift stores (though thrift stores' prices are rising, to cover operating costs, apart from employees' wages, which never rise). The laundromat costs twice as much as it had four years ago, and its employees' wages have not risen. I think that one reason for inflation, though, is that there are a lot more affluent people around (tech workers and the work-from-homers), who can and will pay more for things, so things are priced accordingly – they think that $5 for a cup of coffee is "nothing." This widens the gulf between the rich and the poor, and creates one where there hadn't been one. I've always brewed my own coffee at home in the morning. I've also fed myself out of dumpsters, although more and more people might be starting to get "okay with" the idea of that.

 

Here in South America, today I did not have lunch and my dentist did not see me because he is taking care of his son, he postponed me until the following week, the little money is to pay for my dental treatment, in a study team I sold my monitors and bought a laptop I'm still hoping to make some music, musical creation gives me hope.

 

I live in the states as well. I'm a single guy, no kids and I travel for a living. I rarely break $200 at the grocery store. Eating out is awful. Over priced, slow, horrible service and it barely counts as food.

I've watched guitar prices fluctuate but I'm only buying 2 more and that's it.

I feel like inflation isn't really affecting me as long as I'm working as an employee, but it really hurt me as a business owner.

I'd imagine utilities are horrendous but I live at my job so I wouldn't know.

I dont buy things like microwaveable meals or junk food. The most expensive things I buy at the store would be meats, fruit juices and utensils and cookware.

When I first started working for myself it took $60 to fill up my work vehicle. Now it's around $80.

Now if I had to drive to and from a job everyday I'd feel that.

It's pretty crazy that wages aren't keeping pace even now.

The main way I offset inflation is by not having Bill's and living like an expat in my own country.

 

I day trade 0DTE SPX & SPY options for my income. Should have switched to doing this full time 2 decades ago. I stopped buying music gear & basically quit music. Ai is driving QQQ & I'd love nothing more than to see this Ai bubble burst. "Smart money" anticipates the FED might ease interest rates next FOMC which semi explains why bears have gone into hibernation mode the past few months, but we're still kicking the proverbial can down the road. If the market is a leading indicator (approx. 6-8 months) bulls might gore us back up to index highs. BUT Inflation is still nothing to fluff off. Don't let anyone tell you it's not that big of a consumer difference from pre Kung-Flu prices. Gas is double & triple what it was 3 years ago in some places. Shrinkflation is fooling an even bigger majority of consumers as they only see a +10-15% price cost on that bag of chips, cereal or shampoo. But they're missing the fact they're also getting 10-25% less. Anyone else notice the price gouging on top of the inflation? And then there's what some call the "poor mans tax", take a look at updated late payment fees on utility bills, internet & credit cards..... I love capitalism, but there's something seriously disgusting & wrong when monopoly corporations start raising the price of late fees. In short, capitalism + a moral society is the best vehicle by which an individual can attain wealth and financial freedom. But capitalism in a society with a lack of morals can be just as bad as any of the other “isms”

“Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times”

 

Last edited: Jul 15, 2023

I'm just missing a Jazzmaster from my collection, do you think the prices are going to drop because people around here are still trying to sell at inflated covid prices.

 

That's what we all say .... The last one ...

 

There's fun ways to 'crack' supermarkets w/o any penalties. For instance, my price-gouging big chain supermarket (I live on the Leftie coast of California) charges for Broccoli by the pound. I snap off the large stems at the end before I bag them to save money since they're usually not edible.

Learn to cut up whole chickens and make stock from the bones - chicken sold by the piece is a rip off. Date a check out girl and get the store 20% off..of course, you still have to deal with a woman so the 20% might not be worth it... jk..

 

I was day-trading to pay the bills for about a year and it got really stressful and tough. I was mostly doing options and shorts. Interestingly enough, i was always up. It's when I decided to passively invest in crypto when I lost my shirt. Huge regrets with that one, but I'm a HODLer with my Shitcoin..as long as it hits $45k I won't take any losses. You're making me re-consider getting back into options.

 

I live in England and I spent the entire winter living in my bedroom. The reason being that energy costs have went through the roof. I put my living room storage heater on a few times but I soon realised that having two heaters on would push my electric bill up to £160-£200 per month. I live alone in a local government owned 2 bedroom apartment with costs £420 per month to rent.



I've started to buy tinned curries which are a good but expensive brand. This works out cheaper than buying chicken and cooking it in the oven due to the high energy costs. I've also cut down on watching my 65inch TV which I used to have on all day as a PC monitor. Now I only put it on to watch a movie, sports or gaming. Everyone in the UK has to pay a high standing charge on our electricity which means that even if we used no electricity we are still being charged.



Apart from rent and energy my biggest expense is food. I try to buy things that are on offer but food is one of my few pleasures so I will never compromise on quality. I use Waitrose, M and S, Tesco, Asda and Amazon fresh. I heard that a lot of people are buying those 7 in 1 Ninja cookers as they use a lot less electricity than a conventional cooker. I spent about £60 a week on food and drinks not including alcohol.



I've also cut down on takeaways which has improved both my waistline and wallet.



I'm trying to save up so that I get a few things for my apartment. But high food and energy prices do not make saving easy.

I'm ill at the moment but I'm hoping that things improve next year so that I can go into teaching.

 

It isn't bad for everybody Davman, Sunak is reducing the tax Banks pay from 8% to 3%, saving them 7.3 billion pounds a year. You know, because we're all in this together...

 

I don't know how many times I've said that and then somehow ended up with an other one. At some point I was even putting new ones in a closet when they came so that I wouldn't have to hear "you got an other one?"

The market is softening now, might take a couple of months for every dealer to get the point. I noticed this about three weeks ago when I started getting calls from stores I had visited when I was looking for 000 Martin or similar (Taylor, Larrivee...) and nobody had one. These guys weren't just calling, they were calling and offering deals, when before when I was calling them it was basically 'stop bothering us, we'll call you and you better have your CC ready when we do."

 

Last edited: Jul 15, 2023

What is it that you guys try to achieve by buying so many guitars ? Is it a hoarding disorder or is it because you hope to be able to keep them for a few decades and get a big price on resell ?
Or is it that you feel they really just all sound different and you need one for every different task ?
I'm not mocking anyone here and my question is sincere. I just don't get it.
Just so you feel safe, I collect vinyl records so I'm not judgmental at all here. I do have a hoarding disorder in that respect as most will stay there for decades until I listen to them again, If I ever....