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I track my expenses each month and grocery costs are still high. My monthly groceries are slightly more expensive than during the pandemic and roughly 3x highe

I track my expenses each month and grocery costs are still high. My monthly groceries are slightly more expensive than during the pandemic and roughly 3x higher than pre pandemic. My rent also went way up because the house I’m renting has more than doubled in value over the past few years. Rent, groceries, and childcare accounts for close to 75% of my post taxes income. I make well over double the national average, and if I have trouble saving for a house I have no clue how everyone else is managing.

sanderjd 2y ago
What time frame are you calling "during the pandemic" here? The period of high inflation started sometime in the second half of 2021, which is what I usually think of as the beginning of the post-pandemic period. That is, I think the inflation happened after the pandemic (though I believe because of the pandemic and the response to it). I believe your grocery bill went up that much during the period of inflation, though it's a bit higher than the aggregate inflation data nationwide, it's not too far off. But that doesn't tell us anything about how quickly prices are rising now, which is what "inflation" is. Saying "prices are higher now than they were in the past" is not the same as saying "inflation is high right now". And both statements are entirely meaningless without defining the time period being discussed. We could have massive deflation month to month, and it would still be the case that prices are many times higher than they were in the 50s. It's just an apples to oranges comparison that provides no insight. Inflation is typically reported on either by looking at the previous 12 months, or by looking at the previous month and "annualizing" it (calculating what the result would be of 12 repetitions of that month's rate). But clearly people's anchoring on price levels is not all that well aligned with that. I'm also still anchored on what I think things should cost based on what they cost "before the pandemic". But eventually we'll all get used to the new price levels, and our kids will laugh about how there used to be a whole "dollar menu" at fast food restaurants, just like we laugh about the idea of "nickel and dime stores" and only paying "two bits" (which is a quarter, for some reason) for a shave and a haircut. But the question of how long this period of getting used to new price levels requires, and why, is fascinating, and I'd like to read a good book about it :) (Edit to add: I ignored the house and childcare price aspects of this, and I fundamentally agree that it's the "one of these things is not like the others" that explains a lot of the dissatisfaction that people - especially younger people and people with young kids - are feeling.)
- MeetingsBrowser 2y ago
  Inflation, price levels, GDP, etc are not relevant to the overwhelming majority. Most people only care about having enough money to achieve their life goals. Have a family, own a home, whatever. People are upset about inflation because costs went way up and salaries stagnated. Even though inflation is leveling off, many industries are experiencing layoffs, forgoing raises and promotions, etc. Costs (profits) have gone way up but the average income has not.
- floxy 2y ago
  > the second half of 2021, which is what I usually think of as the beginning of the post-pandemic period. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=when+did+the+covid-19+pandemic+end&t=ffab&ia=web https://duckduckgo.com/?q=when+did+the+covid-19+pandemic+end... ...seems to indicate that plenty of authorities considered the pandemic emergency over in the May 2023 time-frame.
  - sanderjd 2y ago
    Ok yeah fair enough! I went and looked at the hospitalizations and excess deaths data, and I was definitely thinking of late 2022 rather than late 2021, so still half a year or so earlier than the end of the WHO's "public health emergency", but over a year later than what I said in my comment!

sanderjd 2y ago

What time frame are you calling "during the pandemic" here? The period of high inflation started sometime in the second half of 2021, which is what I usually think of as the beginning of the post-pandemic period. That is, I think the inflation happened after the pandemic (though I believe because of the pandemic and the response to it). I believe your grocery bill went up that much during the period of inflation, though it's a bit higher than the aggregate inflation data nationwide, it's not too far off. But that doesn't tell us anything about how quickly prices are rising now, which is what "inflation" is. Saying "prices are higher now than they were in the past" is not the same as saying "inflation is high right now". And both statements are entirely meaningless without defining the time period being discussed. We could have massive deflation month to month, and it would still be the case that prices are many times higher than they were in the 50s. It's just an apples to oranges comparison that provides no insight. Inflation is typically reported on either by looking at the previous 12 months, or by looking at the previous month and "annualizing" it (calculating what the result would be of 12 repetitions of that month's rate). But clearly people's anchoring on price levels is not all that well aligned with that. I'm also still anchored on what I think things should cost based on what they cost "before the pandemic". But eventually we'll all get used to the new price levels, and our kids will laugh about how there used to be a whole "dollar menu" at fast food restaurants, just like we laugh about the idea of "nickel and dime stores" and only paying "two bits" (which is a quarter, for some reason) for a shave and a haircut. But the question of how long this period of getting used to new price levels requires, and why, is fascinating, and I'd like to read a good book about it :) (Edit to add: I ignored the house and childcare price aspects of this, and I fundamentally agree that it's the "one of these things is not like the others" that explains a lot of the dissatisfaction that people - especially younger people and people with young kids - are feeling.)

MeetingsBrowser 2y ago
Inflation, price levels, GDP, etc are not relevant to the overwhelming majority. Most people only care about having enough money to achieve their life goals. Have a family, own a home, whatever. People are upset about inflation because costs went way up and salaries stagnated. Even though inflation is leveling off, many industries are experiencing layoffs, forgoing raises and promotions, etc. Costs (profits) have gone way up but the average income has not.
floxy 2y ago
> the second half of 2021, which is what I usually think of as the beginning of the post-pandemic period. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=when+did+the+covid-19+pandemic+end&t=ffab&ia=web https://duckduckgo.com/?q=when+did+the+covid-19+pandemic+end... ...seems to indicate that plenty of authorities considered the pandemic emergency over in the May 2023 time-frame.
- sanderjd 2y ago
  Ok yeah fair enough! I went and looked at the hospitalizations and excess deaths data, and I was definitely thinking of late 2022 rather than late 2021, so still half a year or so earlier than the end of the WHO's "public health emergency", but over a year later than what I said in my comment!