Between inflation and the abject horror of the job market, my family is in trouble.
Before the pandemic, I was near the top of my field in the market I serve, and we did well. Now beef is off the menu, vacations simply don't happen, and things that break around the house are replaced using circular-economy sites. We're rid of almost all our subscription services, and apart from dues at the martial arts school where I train, I spend maybe 30 bucks a week on luxuries.
My wife has been looking for work long enough that prospective employers are getting weird about it, and ageism is very much a factor. Realistically, she's in forced retirement now... and I'm likely to have to work until the end.
My partner has been out of work for almost a year and the recruiters started asking about the the gap last month. Its not great. Ageism also a factor for us too.
We’re lucky I make great money. Im saving what I can and cutting our costs but Im terrified. I never thought id be sole breadwinner, I’m a total fuckup.
Hey, give yourself credit. You feel like a total fuck up but you're obviously not. At least downgrade yourself to "partial fuck up" if you can't give yourself more grace than that (✿^‿^)
It's probably a good thing health-wise, but beef is off the menu much of the time. My cats also now eat a mix of what they'd usually get (Hills dental) and the still good, but more cost efficient (Prime dental) kibble.
For me, it's the savings. I have automatic withdrawals for ETFs and investments each cheque, but those numbers get squeezed more and more.
Don't remember the last time I bought red meat, but chicken is our staple once-a-week meat meal, and it's gotten expensive since the bird 'flu outbreak. Weirdly, shrimp is now the same price as chicken (yes, I still buy organic chicken - there's an antibiotic used in conventional poultry that I'm exquisitely allergic to, and it's not worth the occasional trip to the ER if I get a bad batch). If you're not too particular about how and where the shrimp is harvested. Even meat substitutes (i.e. TVP, tofu, seitan) are as costly as meat on a per-pound basis. We're eating more beans and eggs (which are still relatively cheap, easy to prep protein).
My cats get a mix of canned and dry cat food. I'm scrupulous about giving them high-quality protein (poultry and fish), which is expensive. Most dry and cheaper wet foods have excess carbohydrates for feline diets, which can cause dental problems, diabetes, and liver/kidney disease. It's gotten as costly to feed them as me, though...
I've got my cats on Ketokibble to graze and either 1/2 can of fancy feast or Costco's pate 2x a day each. It's the cheapest of the low carb option kibble that I've found (cheaper than prescription diet) and keeps my costs as low as I can while keeping the diabetic cat healthy alongside the other two.
Fancy feast and friskies pate are both incredibly low carb and cheap and the Costco pate works out comparably and they eat less of the denser kibble now that they're used to it.
It's not cheap but it's cheaper and I'm not sure it's "high quality" vs focusing on the "low/no carb" part but they're healthier for it
Not much difference. The only thing I’ve really done less of is drink. Cocktails are like $22, beers on tap are at least $13. Not that I completely abstain but for casual meals I usually skip a drink these days, which is probably better healthwise anyway.
Inflation is extremely good thing. It basically slowly decays all debt. Without it, people have routinely had to sold themselves into slavery. The first solution to that issue was periodic debt forgiveness, e.g. when a new monarch has gotten crowned. I'd argue doing a little bit every year is smoother.
What is worrisome is that our power to negotiate fair share of produce diminishes every year. Normally when company has more expenses -- say it has to pay more for electric power -- they raise prices. Now obviously workers have more expenses, so it would follow they would ask for a rise, too.
Some employers try to argue that the worker does not deserve a rise, because they are not better at the job than they were say last year. Curiously a lot of employees find that hard to argue with. I would recommend replying: "OK. In what ways have the electric power improved since last year? Because it has gotten the raise."
So what's left then is the naked truth. Unless you can credibly threaten to withdraw your work from the employer -- much like the power company can withdraw the electric power deliveries -- you are screwed.
Either you accept that this is the reality and find others to bargain collectively with, or you stick to dreaming about meritocracy as you starve, freeze or succumb to a treatable illness. And I hear you: you cannot afford to risk getting fired. The thing is, it is going to be even worse the next year. And the one after that. And the one after that. And then you are going to have debts and maybe untreated medical problems. Every year you postpone organizing makes it harder to organize down the line.
We have moved away from a large city and I now work 100% remotely. I lucked out and the people I work with are OK with this and our clients are no wiser as all meetings are online anyway. I am able to put in more hours, which means my revenue went up a tiny bit and our costs fell quite a bit. We pay zero rent as we are living in my wife's parents house now. It's a separate unit, but they are very nice and we cook and eat together quite often. After many years in a city we are finally saving something every month.
This would be impossible were I not a software developer. Regional job offers I might be forced to accept otherwise, typically in manufacturing, would net me not even half of what I am making now. I have no idea how people get by here. Well, that's a lie. That are frugal and do not rent. Municipal apartment rents are very low here, too. When I look back how much have I been paying for all those years... Landlords truly are the scourge of our times.
Handshape | 2 hours ago
Between inflation and the abject horror of the job market, my family is in trouble.
Before the pandemic, I was near the top of my field in the market I serve, and we did well. Now beef is off the menu, vacations simply don't happen, and things that break around the house are replaced using circular-economy sites. We're rid of almost all our subscription services, and apart from dues at the martial arts school where I train, I spend maybe 30 bucks a week on luxuries.
My wife has been looking for work long enough that prospective employers are getting weird about it, and ageism is very much a factor. Realistically, she's in forced retirement now... and I'm likely to have to work until the end.
snake_case | an hour ago
My partner has been out of work for almost a year and the recruiters started asking about the the gap last month. Its not great. Ageism also a factor for us too.
We’re lucky I make great money. Im saving what I can and cutting our costs but Im terrified. I never thought id be sole breadwinner, I’m a total fuckup.
DefinitelyNotAFae | a minute ago
Hey, give yourself credit. You feel like a total fuck up but you're obviously not. At least downgrade yourself to "partial fuck up" if you can't give yourself more grace than that (✿^‿^)
(I get it but you're doing the thing!)
kingofsnake | 2 hours ago
It's probably a good thing health-wise, but beef is off the menu much of the time. My cats also now eat a mix of what they'd usually get (Hills dental) and the still good, but more cost efficient (Prime dental) kibble.
For me, it's the savings. I have automatic withdrawals for ETFs and investments each cheque, but those numbers get squeezed more and more.
[OP] patience_limited | 2 hours ago
Don't remember the last time I bought red meat, but chicken is our staple once-a-week meat meal, and it's gotten expensive since the bird 'flu outbreak. Weirdly, shrimp is now the same price as chicken (yes, I still buy organic chicken - there's an antibiotic used in conventional poultry that I'm exquisitely allergic to, and it's not worth the occasional trip to the ER if I get a bad batch). If you're not too particular about how and where the shrimp is harvested. Even meat substitutes (i.e. TVP, tofu, seitan) are as costly as meat on a per-pound basis. We're eating more beans and eggs (which are still relatively cheap, easy to prep protein).
My cats get a mix of canned and dry cat food. I'm scrupulous about giving them high-quality protein (poultry and fish), which is expensive. Most dry and cheaper wet foods have excess carbohydrates for feline diets, which can cause dental problems, diabetes, and liver/kidney disease. It's gotten as costly to feed them as me, though...
DefinitelyNotAFae | 4 minutes ago
I've got my cats on Ketokibble to graze and either 1/2 can of fancy feast or Costco's pate 2x a day each. It's the cheapest of the low carb option kibble that I've found (cheaper than prescription diet) and keeps my costs as low as I can while keeping the diabetic cat healthy alongside the other two.
Fancy feast and friskies pate are both incredibly low carb and cheap and the Costco pate works out comparably and they eat less of the denser kibble now that they're used to it.
It's not cheap but it's cheaper and I'm not sure it's "high quality" vs focusing on the "low/no carb" part but they're healthier for it
stu2b50 | 2 hours ago
Not much difference. The only thing I’ve really done less of is drink. Cocktails are like $22, beers on tap are at least $13. Not that I completely abstain but for casual meals I usually skip a drink these days, which is probably better healthwise anyway.
Everything else is about the same.
mordae | 27 minutes ago
Inflation is extremely good thing. It basically slowly decays all debt. Without it, people have routinely had to sold themselves into slavery. The first solution to that issue was periodic debt forgiveness, e.g. when a new monarch has gotten crowned. I'd argue doing a little bit every year is smoother.
What is worrisome is that our power to negotiate fair share of produce diminishes every year. Normally when company has more expenses -- say it has to pay more for electric power -- they raise prices. Now obviously workers have more expenses, so it would follow they would ask for a rise, too.
Some employers try to argue that the worker does not deserve a rise, because they are not better at the job than they were say last year. Curiously a lot of employees find that hard to argue with. I would recommend replying: "OK. In what ways have the electric power improved since last year? Because it has gotten the raise."
So what's left then is the naked truth. Unless you can credibly threaten to withdraw your work from the employer -- much like the power company can withdraw the electric power deliveries -- you are screwed.
Either you accept that this is the reality and find others to bargain collectively with, or you stick to dreaming about meritocracy as you starve, freeze or succumb to a treatable illness. And I hear you: you cannot afford to risk getting fired. The thing is, it is going to be even worse the next year. And the one after that. And the one after that. And then you are going to have debts and maybe untreated medical problems. Every year you postpone organizing makes it harder to organize down the line.
mordae | 8 minutes ago
We have moved away from a large city and I now work 100% remotely. I lucked out and the people I work with are OK with this and our clients are no wiser as all meetings are online anyway. I am able to put in more hours, which means my revenue went up a tiny bit and our costs fell quite a bit. We pay zero rent as we are living in my wife's parents house now. It's a separate unit, but they are very nice and we cook and eat together quite often. After many years in a city we are finally saving something every month.
This would be impossible were I not a software developer. Regional job offers I might be forced to accept otherwise, typically in manufacturing, would net me not even half of what I am making now. I have no idea how people get by here. Well, that's a lie. That are frugal and do not rent. Municipal apartment rents are very low here, too. When I look back how much have I been paying for all those years... Landlords truly are the scourge of our times.