Inflation Worry?

[tortoise]

He and I live in different worlds and I don’t want to live in a city-any city and ride a bike. I’m 25 miles from anywhere on a dead end road. I love my life and sure wouldn’t trade it for his. Ok I get it, he is living a financial Sufficient Self lifestyle. In a city with everything close at hand, that makes it a lot easier to save money by walking or riding a bike.
This forum is all about living within one’s means, being as Self Sufficient as possible. Most of us, and the author, practice the same ideals, just in different ways.

I agree, that's why I love reading his blog. Even though many of his ideas don't apply to rural living, it makes me think more carefully about which of my habits are truly needs versus wants/luxuries.

I thought the non-political perspective on inflation was interesting too. It's hard to find realistic news on economic issues due to election season. I'm personally not convinced we're seeing 100% true inflation - record corporate profits? Shady AF, IMO. Effects of pandemic, war and abnormal climate all at the same time too. I know many people don't care the cause because they're just trying to make ends meet. I prefer to understand the reasons because I want to know if they are temporary or long-lasting. e.g., what types of adjustments do I need to make right now?

I read the book "Scarcity" (linked above) this week. Also very thought-provoking. One of the topics discussed is the big reactions when gas prices increase. (I like this book because it applies to any resource that is scarce - time, money, physical energy, uninterrupted work time, social relationships, food, etc. I enjoyed the discussion of how people get trapped in scarcity (emphasis on poverty here). It does a great job of explaining the systemic problems at play, how to fix them, AND it also addresses behaviors that perpetuate scarcity. Having been trapped in poverty in the past and experienced the effects of scarcity - and being on the other side now - I thought this sensitive topic was handled perfectly.)

 

[flowerbug]

a lot of things are now lower priced than they were for a while so that is helping ease off inflationary pressures. eggs, butter, gas, and propane are the main things i've noticed doing better but i'm sure there are other things too.

if it were just up to me i could get by for a lot less on groceries and other things, but Mom really doesn't care too much and will just buy what she wants when she sees it. i'm happy with ground chuck for most things we might cook with meat in them and she will get steaks. to me a splurge item would be a chuck roast for her it's a ribeye.

the past few weeks she decided to stop buying margarine for baking because it has so much water added to it now that her recipes are not working out. butter is at least more regulated. she also said she wasn't going to be baking so much any more but you could never tell that from what she's been doing the past few weeks.

 

[flowerbug]

it is not just inflation and shrinkflation that is making things tough it is also the adulterated foods that are being shipped around as genuine when they're not even close to what they say they are.

i'm really glad we grow our own tomatoes.

 

[tortoise]

I think it's funny that bananas are now the cheap produce. I remember them being "expensive", at least according to mother.

 

[tortoise]

He operates on the assumption that people have well paying jobs with investments.

True, but his definition of well paying is lower than average. He breaks down many ways people waste money - large and small in his case studies.

Dave Ramsey is a more relevant model for those starting in debt or with a low income.

 

[flowerbug]

i've never had a problem living in a small town, but the bigger cities are often way too much noise for me and large crowds are things i tend to stay away from. not that it has prevented me from spending some time in quite a few large cities, but a few weeks or a month at a time is about as much as i want to visit those and then i'm ready to be elsewheres...

 

[tortoise]

@baymule you were right about the author's optimism. Interesting viewpoint. I tend to be cautiously optimistic - plan for the worst, hope for the best.

The Practical Benefits of Outrageous Optimism

If you ask me, everything is pretty ****ing great these days. Your life and my life are both going to continue to increase in awesomeness over time. We are likely to have exceptional fortune and he…

www.mrmoneymustache.com

 

[tortoise]

Frugalwoods, a FIRE blogger that is more rural-SS than Mr Money Mustache, also wrote about inflation. Her approach is much more practical. Without excess optimism, she explains how to dodge the worst effects of inflation and maybe benefit from it.

How to Survive Inflation and Make it Work for You - Frugalwoods

www.frugalwoods.com

 

[tortoise]

The bubble he is living in is called "lack of scarcity." Scarcity (in any context) dramatically changes people's cognition and choices. Fantastic book on that topic here: https://smile.amazon.com/Scarcity-Having-Little-Means-Much-ebook/dp/B00BMKOO6S/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=2RHE7JQCXY5MP&keywords=scarcity+why+having+too+little+means+so+much&qid=1668036199&sprefix=scarcity+,aps,445&sr=8-1

The author retired at age 30. I believe he is 48 now. He's part of the FIRE movement, in which people live extremely frugally and save/invest to retire early. He lives in a city and promotes bicycling or walking rather than driving as a way to save money. (Frugalwoods is a FIRE blog that is more relevant to rural SS lifestyles.)