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Huh, I'm seeing the opposite here. My health insurance premium (Kaiser) went down 5% this year, and dental insurance gave a 1-month "premium holiday" (~8% disco

Huh, I'm seeing the opposite here. My health insurance premium (Kaiser) went down 5% this year, and dental insurance gave a 1-month "premium holiday" (~8% discount). Granted, that seems also related to "skimpflation", because people made fewer non-emergency visits due to the pandemic and just reduced consumption of medical services, versus individual medical services getting cheaper. But it does still save me money on my own insurance coverage, independently of my own consumption, which adds a bit of a twist. On other big-ticket items: My rent is exactly same as it was in 2019 (I pay the same rent for the same apartment). My commute (on transit) got a whopping 25% cheaper as they slashed the price of monthly passes. For leisure, the prices of Amtrak tickets, hotels, and AirBnBs are all down a lot, at least in the Northeast, maybe in the range of 30-50%. Fresh groceries are definitely a bit up, that much I agree with. My staple Amazon Subscription orders, though, are flat to slightly down, e.g. La Colombe canned coffee is about 15% down from its 2019 prices (used to be $12/4-pack and is now $10/4-pack). Overall my cost of living is deflating a moderate amount. I suspect some of the disconnect is that supply/demand has shifted, e.g. cars have gotten more expensive while trains/buses have gotten cheaper. So those effects partly cancel out. I'm not going to argue they fully cancel out, but for me personally I have seen slight deflation.

justinlloyd 5y ago
My Kaiser health insurance is increasing from $1392 to $1563 in December. It is actually a bigger increase this year than last year. My wife and I haven't talked to a Doctor or stepped foot in a hospital in four years. I have noted increases in many staples on Amazon Subscriptions which include pet food, shampoo, shaving foam, pet treats and so forth. Routine pet medication at the vet has increased around 10% over the course of the year. Oddly enough our 5lb bags of coffee have stayed the same price for almost 4 years.

justinlloyd 5y ago

My Kaiser health insurance is increasing from $1392 to $1563 in December. It is actually a bigger increase this year than last year. My wife and I haven't talked to a Doctor or stepped foot in a hospital in four years. I have noted increases in many staples on Amazon Subscriptions which include pet food, shampoo, shaving foam, pet treats and so forth. Routine pet medication at the vet has increased around 10% over the course of the year. Oddly enough our 5lb bags of coffee have stayed the same price for almost 4 years.