Because a box of cereal is $7.
I routinely buy big boxes of “extra raisins” raisin-bran at Walmart for less than $4/box, did so today in fact.
People also tend to increase their spendings when they have more money… (not saying inflation isn’t part of it too)
This is the best summary I could come up with:
After years of managing household budgets through the stress of the worst inflation in a generation, US families are increasingly pressured by a different kind of financial squeeze: The cost of carrying debt.
The figures suggest a difficult reality for the millions of consumers who are the engine of the US economy: The era of high borrowing costs — however necessary to slow price increases — has a sting of its own that many families may feel for years to come, especially the ones that haven’t locked in cheap home loans.
Nikki Cimino, a 40-year-old recruiter living in Denver, said she finally saved up enough to buy a condo last year, but missed out on the ultra-low interest rates that had made homeownership more affordable in the early days of the pandemic.
It helps that many families are relatively well-positioned to service that debt: Broad wage gains mean workers are pulling in larger paychecks, and higher home prices have bolstered many households’ net worth.
While the share of income going to debt service is higher than it was three years ago — when stimulus checks were making it easier for people to throw money at their credit card bills — it is still low by historical standards.
And part of the reason some Americans were able to take on a substantial load of non-mortgage debt is because they’d locked in home loans at ultra-low rates, leaving room on their balance sheets for other types of borrowing.
The original article contains 1,345 words, the summary contains 239 words. Saved 82%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Its because the government has been stealing your money for decades via the fed and inflation. But we just keep voting for both parties that have the exact same monetary policies. I guess we got a bunch of wars out of the deal!
Ah; 40 years old means she doesn’t remember the oil crisis in the 70s.
We’ve had over 20 years of low interest and low inflation and people have forgotten how things can be.
The cost of living is still outrageous compared to then even when you adjust for inflation. There also weren’t the same mega corps running every facet of your life while providing the cheapest crap that will never last
That was the era of “made in Japan” — but you’re right; it was different mega corps running every facet of your life.
It was an era where a LOT of people were bankrupted and had to start again from nothing. The big difference was that doing so was possible at the time; this time around it means you’ll likely have no hope of ever owning property because there’s just enough time in one lifetime to get there, if that (for most people).
it was different mega corps running every facet of your life.
It is a completely different ball game in 2024 and you’d have to be blind to not see it. The power and influence companies have in 2024 dwarfs what any company had in the '70s. Especially with the adevnt of the Internet. So I’m sorry there’s just no comparison here. It may have been tough for a lot of people, but like you said, they had a chance to rebuild. People barely even have a chance to get started these days.
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It doesn’t help that discourse online is entirely convinced that everything was absolutely perfect for the baby boomer generation. They never experienced hardship. Nope. Absolutely none. If they did it was no where near 1000 times how bad I have it.
List those financial hardships then, with sources please.
They bought $50k houses with interest rates as high as 11%…my source is my coworker who said she did that…
That’s bidenomics for you.
it’s also greed by the ultrarich
it’s
alsogreed by the ultrarichFTFY.
How we haven’t gone French Revolution on them, I do not know.
We would be fired and lose our health insurance
That gives us more time to revolute.
My landlord said he would not accept Revolute Bucks as payment
I think there might be a language barrier between you and your landlord. I’m pretty sure you’re speaking “third estate”, while he only knows first or second. Go clarify that language issue with him, and ask if he would prefer Guillotinaros instead.
hard to come by guillotines around here
The full size are, indeed, difficult to come by. But, there are some more portable versions that are more widely available. Some are small enough to fit in a pocket.
what kind?
I dunno… Ginsu, perhaps?
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Sounds like a cigar cutter. Small, but popular with billionaires and MAGA cultists for cutting away their tiny intellects and any and all “concern for one’s fellow man” growths.
How is a late 18th century French Revolutionary supposed to decapitate a nobleman with a cigar cutter?!?
No, he’s going to go to his kitchen or barn or woodpile and find a more portable device with which to support the revolution.
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Take your buzzwords back to truth social
That’s what the white house calls it.
ah yes the halcyon pre-Biden days of 2018–9 when the economy was perfect and housing was affordable 🤗
Most Americans prefer that economy. I could easily afford three homes, groceries, four vacations a year, etc
Under Biden, I’ve had to scale back a bit.
ah yes, three things the government directly controls, United Shore Financial, Kroger and Disney Cruises.
