On the inflation front ...

[gmerkt]

One of the ways I use up some of my time is by gardening. I was out there today and noticed the price tag was still on a rhododendron that I planted about a year before the Covid thing hit. The price for a five gallon plant then was $24.49.
The current price of a five gallon plant like that is $49.99. That's a doubling of price in about four years.

When Mrs. Merkt and I go to the store, it's a constant lamentation about price increases. Just the simple stuff like what you'd buy for around the house. We've been married near 49 years, we have a houseful of stuff. About all we need to buy is the occasional replacement item. But it must be a real burden for people to buy all that stuff at once now when newly setting up house.

Home Depot prices. I was there yesterday and today. Yesterday, a 20 pack of AAA dry cell batteries was $18. A two pack of four foot LED replacement tubes for the old T12's cost $14. Today, I went in to look at metal fittings used in framing carpentry. I didn't buy any, they were all ridiculous in price. I'll make my own out of scrap metal that I've saved.

So it isn't just gun stuff that is going up by leaps and bounds.

If you had a $100K CD four years ago during an era of near zero interest return, it's now worth maybe $50K in purchasing power.

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[Mikej]

I'm with you. Practically everything a person buys has has gone up from 30%-100%.
Though, CDs? Back 20 years ago we got a cash inheritance from longtime family friends when they had both passed on. They were my, and my brother's, "Second" parents. At that time CDs were getting 5% ish. We all know those went to .5% after sometime. CDs are now back up into the neighborhood of 5% again.

I don't know how people do it now. No wonder so many people are on the streets. Had we not come into that money, back in 2000, and used a large portion of it as a large down payment on a house, we might be in some real trouble right now. A HUGE, to me anyway, portion of what we had in a portfolio just disappeared!

Just try and find one of the bastard elites that gives a flying bubblegum!

 

[bolus]

I saw that individual sticks of anti-persperant are now $10 each here. The future is going to be stinky.

 

[gmerkt]

I don't know how people do it now. No wonder so many people are on the streets. Had we not come into that money, back in 2000, and used a large portion of it as a large down payment on a house, we might be in some real trouble right now. A HUGE, to me anyway, portion of what we had in a portfolio just disappeared!

I know that story. But we didn't need to buy a house, we already had one. So I gave money away to my children and grandchildren. Paid tuition, got some teeth fixed and straightened, etc. A few years ago, I spent a lot of money on home improvements. I'm glad I did it then because it would cost a lot more now. Oh, and I've put some in precious metals for ill or for good. But when all the paper is blown away, at least it will be something with value at some level. I used to like guns for store of value, but recent changes in those laws have tended to reduce the liquidity of them as an asset. It's too late to buy more real estate, at least for the time being. At least for someone in their 70's. I'm locked into keeping some cash as an asset for the not too distant day when I croak. Mrs. Merkt will need it to carry on, she's five years younger that I. We travel once in a while but the increasing difficulties of that have taken a lot of joy away from the experience.

Yes, we can get CD's at 5% here at local institutions now. BUT: (1) It's only a partial offset to the amount of real inflation that we're experiencing. Forget what the Bureau of Labor Statistics tells us, that's bogus. (2) Increased interest on deposits won't offset all the damage that's already been baked into the cake.

In the meantime, Mrs. Merkt and I will still look for the yellow and red mark-down stickers at Fred Meyer, make trips to Grocery Outlet, and buy selectively at Winco and Walmart. We are of the few who still pick up penny coins in the parking lot. Mrs. Merkt got lucky the other day and found a $20 bill fluttering along the ground. Now here is another lesson: Do not put currency in a pants pocket. It's at much higher risk of loss. People shove it in their pocket out of haste in the store, then shortly thereafter go fishing in that same pocket for car keys. Parking lots are good places for finding stray currency.

We will continue to drive old cars until the wheels fall off. For one thing, I don't know of a new car made that I particularly like or want. I'm fairly handy with working on cars, and now there is this resource called Youtube. And Google.

 

[made in china]

I found a receipt from 2018 for a new seat belt latch for my truck. $23 from Nissan. Out of curiosity, I went to the same place I originally bought it and checked again, it's $49 now.

Busted a windshield in 2020, $230 at Safelite, just had to replace it again, $483 and they don't have enough mobile techs to come to you, I have to go to them.

 

[made in china]

Bloomberg: Where’s the great American pay raise? Midland

In Midland, Texas, average weekly wages rose 6.1%, the biggest increase among the 355 largest counties in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics

www.mrt.com

 

[bolus]

Bloomberg: Where’s the great American pay raise? Midland

In Midland, Texas, average weekly wages rose 6.1%, the biggest increase among the 355 largest counties in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics

www.mrt.com

Cool, only like 140% more to go

 

[Mikej]

In the meantime, Mrs. Merkt and I will still look for the yellow and red mark-down stickers at Fred Meyer, make trips to Grocery Outlet, and buy selectively at Winco and Walmart. We are of the few who still pick up penny coins in the parking lot. Mrs. Merkt got lucky the other day and found a $20 bill fluttering along the ground. Now here is another lesson: Do not put currency in a pants pocket. It's at much higher risk of loss. People shove it in their pocket out of haste in the store, then shortly thereafter go fishing in that same pocket for car keys. Parking lots are good places for finding stray currency.

We are of the same mind set. Still shop for the least cost. Won't buy a chuck roast at Winco $6.00/lb, will wait 'til $3.88. Starbucks in the store wifey works put their out dated coffee at a buck a 12 once, and that's when we get it. yeah, I know, "Whole bean coffee, blah blah. I got addicted to that years ago. Lettuce at a $1.98/head? We eat coleslaw. Some things we don't cheap on and get what we like best. Only thing I can think of now is microwave popcorn.

I won't pick up a penny, unless it's heads up.

 

[bolus]

Granted this is Hawaii but its also your possible future:

 

[CamoDeafie]

Does Japan still want Hawaii?

 

[Certaindeaf]

Granted this is Hawaii but its also your possible future:

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How much is a can of Spam?
I used to live on Oahu many years ago and it was crazy then.

 

[Longwalkhome]

Janet Yellen Announces Updated 'X-Date' for Debt Default

freerepublic.com

 

[bolus]

Does Japan still want Hawaii?

Funny, they still control the politics here. 99.9% Dems but shot down legalizing marijuana once again. It grows wild in yards and they still want it illegal for Japanese tourists.

I dont think they are speculating much on houses anymore. Probably out priced them. Even the SVB bank CEO who sold all his stock right before it went bankrupt and moved to his house in Maui did not even own a single family home. it was like a multi-home structure. Looser criminal bank CEO cant even afford a real house.

 

[bolus]

How much is a can of Spam?
I used to live on Oahu many years ago and it was crazy then.

$4 something a can. I dont like the stuff so dont remember off hand. Do you remember these things that smell like dog food?



They used to be like <$0.50 a can? They are like a $1.49 a can now.

 

[Mikej]

Granted this is Hawaii but its also your possible future:

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What's minimum wage there?

And, do you think you'll ever come back to the mainland? I feel like Hawaii would be a horrible place, for me, to live/be stuck in. I have less than no desire to even visit. THOUGH, if I knew people in some more sparsely populated area, and never had to see a big city, a trip there sounds like it could be okay.

 

[bolus]

What's minimum wage there?

And, do you think you'll ever come back to the mainland? I feel like Hawaii would be a horrible place, for me, to live/be stuck in. I have less than no desire to even visit. THOUGH, if I knew people in some more sparsely populated area, and never had to see a big city, a trip there sounds like it could be okay.

$12 /hr. Many work multiple jobs, live as many as 12 in 1 home (that I have seen). I have patients who work in 1 resort, sleep in the parking lot for a few hours and then start at the next resort and then just go home on weekends. Even as a physician I am working 2 jobs.. Turns out 80% of primary care docs in hawaii have to have two jobs.

but...

• I have 2 acres in a rural area
• corporate medicine in Portland was killing me. I can never go back to that
• I can make a huge difference in people's lives here. We have the 3rd worst shortage of physicians of any county in the US.
• the people are great. People working 2 jobs at 70+ years of age, never going to retire but would still give you the shirt off their back if you needed help. They dont deserve being priced out of their homes and land or paid pennies by the resorts. At least I can fight for them when the companies break labor laws around medical leave (which is all the time)
• I live pretty simply. I certainly dont but $45 bags of coffee. The papayas and guavas grow like weeds.
• Where else could I say I was out looking for the pigs that got through the fence this morning with my trusty Smith and Wesson (tacticool version)?

Its a pretty decent place to watch the world burn.

 

[Mikej]

$12 /hr. Many work multiple jobs, live as many as 12 in 1 home (that I have seen). I have patients who work in 1 resort, sleep in the parking lot for a few hours and then start at the next resort and then just go home on weekends. Even as a physician I am working 2 jobs.. Turns out 80% of primary care docs in hawaii have to have two jobs.

but...

• I have 2 acres in a rural area
• corporate medicine in Portland was killing me. I can never go back to that
• I can make a huge difference in people's lives here. We have the 3rd worst shortage of physicians of any county in the US.
• the people are great. People working 2 jobs at 70+ years of age, never going to retire but would still give you the shirt off their back if you needed help. They dont deserve being priced out of their homes and land or paid pennies by the resorts. At least I can fight for them when the companies break labor laws around medical leave (which is all the time)
• I live pretty simply. I certainly dont but $45 bags of coffee. The papayas and guavas grow like weeds.
• Where else could I say I was out looking for the pigs that got through the fence this morning with my trusty Smith and Wesson (tacticool version)?

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Its a pretty decent place to watch the world burn.

Oh man. Wow! You offered up some very good reasons for why you will never come back here. I totally get it.

They can't find people that will work here. (You probably know this already, though it wasn't like this when you left). When they do hire someone they seem to have many more things that are MORE important than earning money. And so many that work are like they were raised with a device, rather than human contact.

Your last line...

 

[bolus]

I almost accidentally bought a single head of cauliflower today for $25.

This wasnt some Japanese pampered cauliflower hand tended by 30 artisan vegan farmers who only fertilized it with organic manure from Kobe cows. This was a slightly brown, probably a few days from being throw away megafarm produced extra herbacized genetically modified plant.

So I did the math. Using calories, if I wanted to survive on cauliflower alone, I'd have to pay $250 PER DAY just to get enough calories not to starve to death

 

[Alexx1401]

I almost accidentally bought a single head of cauliflower today for $25.

This wasnt some Japanese pampered cauliflower hand tended by 30 artisan vegan farmers who only fertilized it with organic manure from Kobe cows. This was a slightly brown, probably a few days from being throw away megafarm produced extra herbacized genetically modified plant.

So I did the math. Using calories, if I wanted to survive on cauliflower alone, I'd have to pay $250 PER DAY just to get enough calories not to starve to death

WTF! Wonder how hard the stuff is to grow. Sounds like it would make more money than drugs

 

[Mikej]

WTF! Wonder how hard the stuff is to grow. Sounds like it would make more money than drugs

Cauliflower is the magic Shizz! They even make pizza crust out of it! Worth every penny I'm sure.