Mountains of people bad at math convincing bigger mountains of people even worse at math that they can’t afford anything of major value.
So in turn they go and spend what money they do have because why bother saving it if you’ll “never afford a x”
In reality most of the “you can’t afford this and that” shit is built on top of bad math and content creators that don’t understand how shit works.
And literally anyone with basic math skills can just go look for themselves and discover how bogus the claims are, or how much they misrepresent the state of things.
But nope, it’s easier to give up and just buy forty Stanley Cups instead!
Phone upgrades even though there’s barely any change from the last model.
Since 2018, the trend seemed to be going toward removing features instead… sd card slot, headphone jack, physical buttons, intrusions of screen space…
consumers have noticed, since sales of smartphones have plateaued
Foldable are pretty neat, but still too expensive for most
Been eyeing that (still on a 6 year old phone), actual compactness is one of the few things I’d be willing to sacrifice most of the smartphone things I like for.
I have the fold and I wouldn’t call it compact, the flip style phones seem better for that aspect, I just enjoy the large screen when I use it for gaming or watching videos, it’s certainly more compact then if I had a tablet instead I suppose.
Might be better to wait and let it mature a bit if size is your main concern.
I was going to go with the Z Flip over the Fold, I’d want that half size phone.
The flip is pretty great, you can close the pockets on the front of your shirt now if you wear those type. First phone I’ve managed to not smash or send up a grain auger.
I think that’s the hidden cause of increasing phone pricing. I’m still using my note 9. The battery is starting to give so maybe this time next year I finally upgrade.
Smartphone sales are at their lowest since 2013. Everyone has figured this out now.
Monthly payments. Not just entertainment subscription devices but all kinds of stuff. Almost every product online now has a monthly cost option, a buy now pay later scheme. Another one I see a lot at the grocery store is organic/non GMO foods. They are always way more expensive but are usually the same food, and if they aren’t organic will contain more pesticides without the “natural” immunity/resistance of GMOs. They aren’t healthier, they don’t taste any better, are worse for the environment and are much more expensive.
Second is expensive and humane meat. Most metrics these meats/eggs are graded by are so loose that they are still extremely inhumane. Unless they are from a local farm, that you can confirm are humane/free roam, just buy the cheapest meat and best marbling.
Computers. I’m a tech guy and the vast majority of people are still buying computers far more powerful than they need. Unless it’s cad, programming or gaming you can use almost any computer. If you want it to be really fast install, or ask your local shit to install an SSD. Plus most reputable refurbishers will install SSDs on all laptops for sale. I recommend PC server and parts, good quality refurbishment and customer support. There may be a few dings/scratches but never severe or noticeable.
Premade/processed food. Either it’s frozen meals or fast food these get expensive fast. Depending on where you live quality home cooked meals can be had for 1-3$ (based on the US). Ditch even storebought pasta sauce, it’s not hard to make at home.
Wifi. Most ISPs will try to upsell you on everything but for most people an families the most you would ever need is 150-300 MBps. Also the max speed can only be reached with a hardwired Ethernet connection, WiFi speed is barely affected. If you have slow wifi use an old phone or laptop as a wifi amplifier, storebought solutions are criminally expensive.
That’s enough for now but if you have more questions feel free to ask.
Seen some people harp about not forgetting frozen vegetables can be cheaper than fresh depending on the season and close in nutrition and cooking results. That’s one thing about getting good deals, in groceries and in other things is you’re going to have to swap ease of buying for better deals at times and need to keep yourself aware of when that trade off stops being beneficial. My grandfather used to go to three or four stores depending on what the sales were. That sometimes meant riproaring savings from cherry-picked loss leaders, but I think most of the time it was something to do during the day with his grandson
In your experience, would you say premade/processed food has gone up in price faster than staples or at roughly the same rate?
In Canada, milk is one of the few things that have stayed the same-ish level due to supply-management setting the price. Everything else went up in price and I’m having a hard time keeping track.
How do people handle having to pay off things over 6 months to 2 years? (Or is the answer they don’t?) I don’t enjoy having that over my head for that long, I’d rather just take the hit, which is why BNPL hasn’t worked on me…
I was talking about groceries with a friend over in England a few nights ago. Apparently my pasta prices are 4x hers. And that’s just the store brand dry noodles. If I found the cheapest deal I used to see from various places, it’d still be 2x. I’d need a pound of noodles for $0.49 to even be in the ballpark.
If a simple item like that is casually 4x more expensive, I’m sure everything else is also up there. I’ve been lucky that my income allows me to be a single family income provider and have money left over to throw around wherever I want, but just finding this out the other day really left a deep impression of just how sorry of a state things are in over here.
Yeah it’s always surprising when I hear Americans say that eating healthy is more expensive that eating fast food / eating unhealthy.
When I was veggie and just eating vegetables I could buy a week’s worth of food for about £10 a Kilogram of carrots was about 50p potatoes were 60p/kg brocoli and salad item were a little bit under £1/kg
Then as you said basic things like pasta is pretty cheap, I used to get 1kg of pasta for 30p and then a jar of tomato pasta sauce for 60p and that could last me 3 meals.
Some folks don’t have access to fresh groceries like that. Food deserts are a major issue in the states.
“10 pounds a kilogram” is a funny phrase out of context
Additionally, going out to eat has many hidden costs, like liquor tax in some cities on an already overpriced drink. Soda or Iced tea is $2.50 or more. Now add tax and tip and your $7 cheeseburger & coke is $25.
It’s not for everyone, but my family has been enrolling in CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) produce. It’s cheaper and local. Granted, I’ll get 3 eggplants in a box one week and I need to get creative to be able to use it, but that’s part of the fun. I’ve expanded my produce repertoire 5-fold and now know how to cook fennel.
- Quarter the fennel lengthwise
- Spread olive oil, coarse salt and pepper
- Roast in the oven until the edges starts to brown
- Devour
I’m assuming that’s the bulb. What about the stalk?
Put them in a salad maybe? I usually buy just the bulbs…
devour indeed. I also had a recipe for fennel lemonade that I made with the tops.
They are paying 2/3rds of their income from a 80 hour warehouse job for a 1 futon closet in the middle of bumfuck nowhere, and then being told they are living too frivolously by assholes.
Shop like a billionaire
Look buddy, I got a great deal on that mega yacht, so don’t go criticizing my spending habits… Did not realize I’d need to hire a staff and pay docking fees, though…
Please send money I am in a bananas amount of yacht debt.
This ranks low in the scam scale, and it’s been around for decades, which leads me to believe it works well enough to keep around. At (some) supermarkets whenever an item is on sale the bright attention grabbing tag will say something like 3/$6 or 10/$10 leading you to believe you have to buy 3 or 10 or whatever at the same time to get the deal, when really the sale price is just $2 or $1 for the items in these examples, and you can buy however little you want.
Maybe adults don’t fall for it, but it sure worked on me when I was a dumb kid spending my few dollars I had on candy or whatever.
Notable exceptions include sale prices by Target and Circle K/Holiday, which typically do require you to buy the posted quantity to get the deal
Learned that one the hard way at Target one day
Edit: In the US
Guidelines in Ontario for retail were that “unless you list the price for 1, you must honour the unit price for combo deal”…
Grocery stores in Canada are much more commonly now “3/$7 or $2.99 each for less than 3.”
This varies. There are some stores where it really is 10 for $10 and individual items will ring up at $1.19 or whatever. It can pay to ask.
That’s a hell of a lot better than needing to buy all of them to get the sale price.
True. That’s usually the case with 12 packs of soda. Gotta buy 3 or 5 or whatever or you get nothin’
Yeah they do that at convenience stores with the single bottles. Like you’re not already paying more for one bottle than you would for a 12pack/2liter already.
Cars are a huge one. I know Lemmy is very radically against cars, but they are basically necessary for many (most?) Americans.
What is not necessary is the average price of a new car nearly doubling in 10 years. A $50k car should be a big luxury, not the fucking national average.
In order to afford a car that pricey, most people will have to severely compromise their savings, and/or get a loan that will last as long or longer than the car.
Hmm, rapid price increases are consistent with inelastic demand, whereby sales remain high even in the face of rising prices. Why wouldn’t car manufacturers raise prices, if it doesn’t affect sales numbers? It’d be breach of fiduciary duty to the shareholders to do otherwise!
What could cause inelastic demand for cars? Making them basically necessary for most Americans, perhaps.
Cars have also become extremely reliable (in the EU at least) over the last ten years. Car companies have slowly convinced millions of people that leasing is the way to go, and nobody realised they were being sold a car on subscription lol
Then they have to give back a perfectly fine car with at least a decade of life left in it, and get hooked into another subscription
Fucking mugs tbh
See, that’s interesting because in America they seem to have gotten worse over the last decade or so. Domestic manufacturers have started designing things in an explicitly maintenance-hostile manner, even if they aren’t exactly less reliable.
I’m super interested if European cars are finally pulling it together. They’ve been an upkeep trap here for years due to the cost of maintenance and likelihood of problems.
I wouldn’t say that. In my experience even domestic cars are on average more reliable. BUT when they do break, it’s a fuck ton more expensive to repair anything. There is a genuine feeling of dread in newer-older vehicles because one part might require dismantling half the vehicle to get at, or that part is only available as part of a larger assembly.
Cars have also ballooned in size since the 90s. In the 90s, sedans were the most common type of car. Now, it’s SUVs and light trucks, which use tons more materials.
True, but materials used did not double within 10 years, and materials are not the entirety of the cost of the car.
I’m not surprised they’re more expensive, I’m surprised that they’re so transparently being gouged. Like housing. And food. And gas.
Nevermind, I’m not surprised anymore.
Agreed. I think both are part of the picture. Consumers are buying the wrong kind of car (or manufacturers are selling the wrong type of car), too big and too inefficient, and there is price gouging, especially during the pandemic shortage. It’s telling that car prices were the fastest to come back down of almost any consumer category last year. Shows how much they could come down.
OP using word ‘convinced’ is relevant here because whilst most people in USA ‘need’ a car (because there is no practical alternative to driving), they are being convinced every day that a private car is the only viable solution to transport in general…
… and then of course you get everyone freaking out when someone has the audacity to suggest that installing a dedicated bike / bus lane would mean less people need a car, and that would save everyone time and money.
Also while I’m ranting, I’m so over people harping on about how they can’t rely on public transit and that’s why they need a car. Like reliable and affordable public transport is some magical and unobtainable goal.
But then when gas prices inevitably get crazy high, or they get in a wreck, or traffic is a mess then that’s just The Way It Is and in no way an indication that maybe everyone driving a personal car for every single trip isn’t the most reliable or sustainable way to run a city.
That last paragraph is the big thing I face most often. We got Amtrak service in my city and I hype that shit. I’ve talked to a bunch of people who are firmly anti-Amtrak because they caught one delay, but they’ll sit in daily interstate gridlock to go to work without batting a fuckin eye.
I have been thinking of getting a new car, but didn’t want to use the dealers finance system, so I went to the bank. Turns out, banks will only give auto loans if you’re buying a car that’s only 3 years old.
yeah right, since I can barely afford a new car, lemme just buy a BRAND fuckin NEW one. Nah, gimme that 2012 for 30k less thank you.
Some banks will probably loan you money for a used car, but you won’t be able to use an old car as collateral (as easily). And it may be more expensive.
Buy now pay later schemes like Klarna.
You can spread the cost of a takeaway over 6 weeks. Wtf? If you can’t afford a takeaway make a fucking sandwich.
During the pandemic an old friend of mine and myself reconnected abd played video games together. He told me a couple of times that money is kinda tight and whatever. He worked way different shifts than me so i invited him to eat at my place 4 times a week or so. I love cooking and cooking double doesn’t really makes much of a difference. After a few weeks i was at his place for the first time ever and he had two full ass garbage bags full of delivery and fast food on his porch. Motherfucker that’s where your money goes. I can coock for the both of us a good healthy meal for a week for what he spends alone in two days. He basically said: well, i can’t cook, so there is nothing he can do, really. Wegot out of touch again, aside from talking on discord every bow and then, but i seen him recently and he’s almost doubled in size now, so i assume nothing has changed.
I don’t get people who say they “can’t cook”. Anyone can cook basic recipes…. No, the real issue is that they lack the willpower to cook. I say this as someone who dislikes cooking. I can do it if I need to (or rarely, if I feel inspired), and hell, I can do it well! But I detest the idea of spending like an hour cooking every day when I could just buy premade things like frozen meals or whatever and save myself the time. If my wife didn’t like cooking, that’s what I’d be doing for dinner each night (I already do it for lunch basically).
That’s sad. I don’t mind cooking, but after a typical work day, I often don’t have enough mental energy leftover to cook for myself either though. If I didn’t have a wife who loved me, I’d probably end up a lot like your friend. We try to save eating out for special occasions or when we’re both pooped and there’s no leftovers at least. But I can totally understand how that can happen to a person.
where i live renting a small room is more expensive than all minimum starting salaries i have seen, and you also need to pay two months rent upfront, and the security deposit is equal to 12 months of rent and because of high inflation that means you are literally paying an extra months worth of rent just on the deposit alone (which goes up by inflation).
so people telling me how much life is worth living? cause that’s certainly beyond my means.
security deposit is equal to 12 months of rent
Jeez. Why the hell are landlords asking for a downpayment on a home they are leasing?
cause they can, and it’s a good source for an interest free loan. i mean who would pass on the opportunity to get an interest free loan where you can arbitrarily deduct the amount you owe?
Because some tenants will just stop paying and refuse to leave. Some will trash the place and sell everything they can pry off and either disappear or just move on. Trying to go after them is a long legal battle and the end result can be that they have no money and you’ll get nothing.
Security deposits are security deposits. 12 months sounds crazy though. That really is enough for a downpayment in many places.
Silly, that’s a down payment for the next house to turn into a rental.
Be selling them the idea the end of the world is nigh. Who cares about the 30 year mortgage if everything’s going to be gone in 10 years?
That sort of thing. By selling the idea that our existence is short, they encourage near-term thinking.
Subscriptions everywhere. Video, credit, energy bills (subscription for repairs/maintenance), music, news sites, YouTubers, CARS, etc. I can’t fucking escape this hell!
Other than energy bills, you’ll just have to dodge the rest of the subscriptions as best you can.
I am doing my okayest.
Energy bills aren’t really subscriptions like the others though. You pay for the energy you use.
Whereas with the others, you’re paying the same price every month regardless of how much you use.
I have seen plans where you pay a fixed price/kWh; almost seemed like a decent deal, until I read the fine print - the regular fees & transportation/kWh is on top of the fixed cost.
Yours doesn’t come with a delivery fee that you’d have to pay every month regardless of any usage?
Oh yeah. Does that count as a subscription too?
The maintenance plan is in addition to the gas usage
I’ve done pretty well so far. Only subscription I have is for Spotify and 1Password.
Why 1password when you can use bitwarden, its free for most features, and 10 bucks a year for features I don’t need
Is it a password manager? I’ve been wondering if there’s a good alternative to Keeper, which is what I use. I like that I can access my passwords on different devices, and it tells me if a password has been compromised or is weak. But, I’ve also been trying to save money. I think the one I’m using now is $30 a year so free or $10 a year for similar features would be an improvement.
Yes, bitwarden is a password manager, and A very good one at that
I like the convenience of the 2 factor being included with the paid version, and password autofill with TOTP seems to work much more often than Bitwarden (S23 Ultra, latest version of Android) So with that being said, I really like Bitwarden, but prefer 1Password for the convenience.
2fa is included in bitwarden, just not in the free version
They remind me that it’s cold outside and that I have to work every day to live in a hundred year old house that was probably built in a few months.
“CREDIT”
deleted by creator
Why is everyone so excited about NHL trophies this year?
That’s one thing that I’ve only heard about second-hand.
