Rising Costs

113 comments

• Call.Me.Ishmael

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  2 years ago

  My day gig used to insist that I work on site every single day. All that driving, plus rush hour and beach traffic, meant a fair number of hours on the road and a lot of time just sitting and not being very productive. COVID forced them into telework and they discovered that it solved a lot of big problems including a lack of office space and parking spots. So, now I only go on site for face-to-face meetings and a few other tasks. That translates into 0 to 2 days on site total per week. So, even with the increased gas prices, I'm probably either saving some money or at least breaking even compared to pre-COVID. I've scaled back my diet to lower-cost basics and learning how to make cheap food taste good (or at least better...). That's not a hardship for me. I'm figuring out how to fix more things (thank you, YouTube) rather than buying new replacements. I've got my own business that is profitable, but I'm still investing the profits back into the business to grow. So far, I'm making non-painful adjustments and rolling with it. I'm doing fine.
• san_jose_guy

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  2 years ago

  Shailynn always bragging about spending money in ways which sound silly. Now complaining. SJG Newshour [view link]
• Tetradon

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  2 years ago

  I don't drive a ton. Other than reimbursed work trips, my longest drives over the last few months have been the hour drive to Club Desire every 2-3 weeks. I have one longer drive planned, and that won't change. My favorite restaurants have hiked prices, so I cook more and eat out less (except for civvie dates). I'm willing to (no pun intended) eat the cost of good, healthy food. However, I see a lot more bare shelves and have had to adjust recipes. My biggest adjustments have come through rotating into inflation-safer investments and increasing my consulting gigs and rates (which I know my clients can handle).
• san_jose_guy

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  2 years ago

  ^ Well if inflation is making people feel that they need to belt tighten, that will lead to a general recession. SJG Wicker Park School of Rock [view link]
• san_jose_guy

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  2 years ago

  ^ :) :) :) A very good idea. SJG
• Tetradon

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  2 years ago

  "Well if inflation is making people feel that they need to belt tighten, that will lead to a general recession." God forbid people try to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads. The recession is all but formalized. Biden and the Democrats own this.
• Muddy

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  2 years ago

  I’ve been trying to get a water in clubs over an $11 beer, it piles up. I’m also gonna try to just eat once a day and see if I can stick with it
• san_jose_guy

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  2 years ago

  Biden and his Democrats have done a very good job. The dishonesty was in the COVID hysteria, and then in the Weimar Fiscal Policy to get people to go along with it. As the precautions stopped the Work Ethic Squirrel Cage, what needed to happen was the Real Estate and Securities bubbles collapsing. But rather than letting this necessity happen, Pelosi and Trump ran the printing press non-stop. Cash without an economy to back it up. So they devalued our currency and this is still being felt as it plays out in all pricing. That Weimar approach was really stupid, but it was politically expedient. SJG You Keep Me Hangin' On - VANILLA FUDGE [view link]
• Call.Me.Ishmael

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  2 years ago

  So, the "one meal a day" thing. I did that for a good long while leading up to COVID. The initial challenge is that for the first 1 to 2 weeks your stomach and body really puts up a fight and the cravings can be rough. But ... if you can get through that rough initial phase, then I found that I had better/increased energy during the day. Then I'd have a decent meal at night and sleep like a baby. My body and metabolism got used to it and actually functioned better. I fell off the wagon during the COVID shutdowns because of tedium, stress, and Doordash. I'm thinking of going back to it again, though.
• san_jose_guy

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  2 years ago

  Could just have smaller meals or snacks. SJG
• PinkSugarDoll

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  2 years ago

  Wow, that one meal a day thing is actually a really good idea for saving money. I am doing it right now and I actually never thought of it in the way of spending less though. 🙀
• Icee Loco (asshole)

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  2 years ago

  I thought everyone here js a rich old man! 😂😭🤡 I'm trying to save on gas and electricity. Not paying bills as long as I can then getting payment arrangements to keep costs lower. Eating out more coz stores don't Carry a lot of what I want. Or things are too expensive. Sometimes I have to go to 2 or 3 stores just to get basic things. Work out at home instead of a gym. I'm thinking of leaving the country for a while and making money renting my place out On airbnb. As far as clubbing goes. I either go hang out where I get jn for free and girls can hook me up with drinks. If I make the rounds around clubs it's a lot. 4 clubs end up being like $180 at least just for cover charges. I just stick to one or two clubs now.
• Huntsman

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  2 years ago

  I haven’t bought a new gun in 2022. For me, that’s saying a lot. I’ve also held off on some bigger purchases. For instance, my riding mower is very long in the tooth but I’m trying to limp it through another summer. I’ve also held off on getting a new vehicle with the crazy prices for both new and used as well as limited selection. In different times, I would likely be getting new-to-me wheels. I already cook most of my meals and use vegetables I’ve grown, deer I shot and fish I caught. So there isn’t much to cut in the food budget. As far as driving, I’ve shortened up two trips I’ve been planning but I’m still going to go. Driving for work is what it is.
• PinkSugarDoll

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  2 years ago

  I just tried to book flights to Vegas today and it was SEVEN HUNDRED FORTY NINE DOLLARS ONE WAY.
• Huntsman

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  2 years ago

  ^PSD, that’s unnerving given that flights to Vegas have often been dirt cheap in the past. I haven’t been out that way in some time but it used to seem that they would damn near pay us to fly there.
• Papi_Chulo

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  2 years ago

  I’ve always lived below-my-means and mostly spent on needs vs spending/buying just b/c I could (just my default-wiring and what came normal/natural to me; not something I necessarily forced myself to do) – I really haven’t made any changes currently since I’ve usually just stuck to the basic-needs although my expenses have increased – I eat out a lot b/c I’m not that adept at cooking and don’t want to put in the effort into meal-preparation (although it's been on my mind for a while to start preparing my own meals in part to spend less eating out, and in part to eat healthier; but I've never gotten around to making that change) – eating-out means I can eat w/e it is I’m in the mood for at the moment; and since I’m single I felt I wasn’t saving a huge amount by eating at home compared to a family-of-four for example. Other than eating out, my largest discretionary expense used to be SCing; but I haven’t SCed since last Fall – w.r.t. gas, I guess like most people I do-what-I-need-to-do/go-where-I-need-to-go; I don’t avoid doing something to save gas – in the past a lot of my extra-driving used to be hitting the SCs and since I liked variety it wasn’t uncommon for me some to hit some SCs that were a bit far from the crib. Thus I haven’t changed my normal-routine for the most-part but will avoid any major expenditures for now if I can (I currently don’t have any summer plans but in the last few years I've mostly avoided travel in the summer).
• Papi_Chulo

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  2 years ago

  I haven't flown since pre-Covid but been hearing flights have gotten expensive (as well as hotels; car-rentals; etc) - have also been hearing of cancellations/delays etc; in-short, like many things, flying currently doesn't seem to be what it used-to-be pre-Covid. The Brandon administration likely didn't help w/ all their Covid heavy-handed-shit which seems to have had an effect on the air industry - recently I heard a news-segment that there had been a mass sickout protest of air-controllers b/c Brandon was forcing them to wear a mask all day while they tried to do their job.
• rickdugan

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  2 years ago

  If I had to cut anything to make ends meet, visits to strip clubs would be the first thing to go. Fortunately that has not been the case. But I do find myself feeling a bit more pressure to set the right example for my kids regarding things like food waste. They're hearing a lot about inflation now and how much it's impacting some people. Lately I've been more targeted in my shopping, including making them finish the stuff we have before I buy more and doing a better job of using leftovers, explaining to them along the way how shameful it would be to waste good food when other people are struggling. I was throwing out way too much food for convenience and time efficiency reasons, but now not so much.
• From978

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  2 years ago

  ^PSD. I don't know where you're starting from, but I checked a few flights from east coast airports to Las Vegas. It is possible, but difficult, to find flights around $750. Most are half that, and if your date is flexible and you depart from a major airport, Delta looks like the low $200s. This seems to be a common pattern in inflation horror stories: the outrageous examples are true, but not remotely typical.
• PinkSugarDoll

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  2 years ago

  Yeah I am usually paying under $200 round trip to Vegas.
• ElDuderino_AZ

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  2 years ago

  Driving less...well, less than pre-Covid. Return to the office began this week, though just two days/week. Cooking / grilling my own, but still not a whole hell of a lot. At the store, typically sticking with Jameson instead of upgrading to Scotch. But most importantly? Sports gambling winnings are on the up!
• nicespice

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  2 years ago

  I’ve always been pretty minimalist, so there isn’t much for me to cut, and I haven’t done anything yet as far as lifestyle adjustments. I anticipate in the future having to work harder (wah). And being less spontaneous with how I go about things. The biggest thing I’m concerned about at the moment is not that prices are rising, but the future scenario where it seems likely things become unavailable period. And that includes certain food items or gas. I noticed a few weeks ago at Costco the bags of flour seemed like they were getting bought up. I guess enough people read the headlines about Ukraine and wheat and stocked up. And being a little over 900 miles away from people really important to me is something I’m getting increasingly uncomfortable with and I might not be able to do my thing of hanging out in some different area for a while and easily checking in once every few months. I’m not giddy about Texas’s leadership and ability to prevent or respond to bad situations. (Hello Odessa and water outages 🤦🏻‍♀️), but I guess whatever happens, at least there are people nearby who I don’t want to lose access to. Especially the ones getting up there in age.
• shadowcat

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  2 years ago

  Biggest change for me is not driving one or more times each week to strip clubs 30 miles away. It's been 6 weeks since I last went but I have replaced those trips by having my current favorite drive to my house once a week. I normally eat out 2 or 3 times a week and that hasn't changed. I'm paying more for groceries and occasionally finding some things out of stock. I am wasting a lot of food though because cooking for one is hard to do. I can only eat so many left overs. Just basically paying more but not having any difficulties with money. I haven't seen any reduction in the amount of traffic.
• Icee Loco (asshole)

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  2 years ago

  For some of you ladies. Things like makeup and tampons are out of control. It's like $10 for tampons now. If they're available
• nicespice

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  2 years ago

  Yeah. Now is probably not a bad time to look into the alternatives to tampons out there. They are more environmentally friendly anyways. Omg just thought of an amazing troll idea for San Antonio: dancers wears the reusable period underwear that absorbs blood. (San Antonio requires relatively large underwear anyways in their clubs that don’t show too much ass). Don’t stop the handsy customers from doing their thing when they try to reach below the underwear. (And there’s lots of customers who behave like that constantly) Then later on enjoy the look of horror on their faces when they see the blood on their hands. Bwahahaahhahaha Not that I actually would do something like that, for more than one reason. But if dancers started pulling stunts like that, I’m sure customers would suddenly start chilling out on that behavior. 🤔
• whodey

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  2 years ago

  I have to cut back on unnecessary spending (including strip clubs) for the next couple of months to build back up my discretionary spending account after draining the account at the end of last month. I lucked into the chance to buy 4 adjoining lots (3.25 acres in total) in a private gated lake community just a few miles from my house. The seller was desperate to sell the properties before the 1st of June to get his home out of foreclosure and he had a buyer lined up but the financing fell through on the 27th. I was able to pick them up for less than 60% of the price the other buyer had negotiated because the seller absolutely needed the deal to close before the first and couldn't get any other cash offers before then. Planning to keep one of the empty lots because it allows me full access to the lake and other amenities and I'll eventually sell the other 3 lots for what should be a nice profit. It will lead to a boring summer not going to as many events as usual but at least I will have plenty of free time to go fishing. I felt a little bad for the seller because it felt like I was taking advantage of a bad situation, but at least I helped him keep his home. I guess strippers aren't the only ones that get screwed at the end of the month when they need quick cash.
• docsavage

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  2 years ago

  I've cut back on spending by eating in restaurants less and switching from weekly visits to a strip club to only going two thirds of the time. When I go, I usually just buy a couple lap dances from one girl instead of multiple lap dances from multiple girls. Cutting back on strips clubs is easy to do because my local clubs have been in a slow decline for years, so I don't feel like I'm missing much when I don't go.
• Icee Loco (asshole)

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  2 years ago

  This thread js too much. Some of you attack me so viciously and act like you're so much better and so well off. But here you are admitting to eating one meal a day or rationing food. So that you can afford to fuck a hooker once in a while. That's really sad but also fucking pathetic
• jackslash

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  2 years ago

  I'll be traveling to foreign countries as much as possible. Lower costs, nicer people.
• motorhead

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  2 years ago

  I don’t necessarily have to watch my expenses - like the typical TUSCL member I make $350k per year and I’m single no kids. That goes a long way But I’d be happy to accept an inflation adjusted increase this year. I hear even Social Security might boost their payments 8%. Not that I’m on SS, but hoping the private sector raises are in line I ordered some curbside pickup from Outback last week. (No OTC girl so I passed on Olive Garden which was right next door) Holy crap, it was $43 and change for one person - dessert but no drinks
• mark94

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  2 years ago

  During the Great Depression, real estate values in Southern California plunged. People with cash ( including some movie stars in the day ) were able to buy property that became the source of a great fortune a decade later. As interest rates rise, there are going to be similar possibilities for those fortunate enough to have the cash.
• Dolfan

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  2 years ago

  I live pretty modestly given my salary. I grew up watching people have a little success and leave the small town I grew up in like they were rock stars, only to come back a few years later to move back into their parents trailer a few years later. It stuck with me and I've always had money set aside for shit like this. My actions are more like things getting rooftop solar quotes planning on putting that on my home and maybe one of my rental properties, as a hedge against rising energy prices. It's unlikely I'll go EV, but I might consider it if gas gets worse and something prompts me to drive more. I've been thinking about it at least. I've been eating out less, but mostly because I'm dissatisfied with service and food quality when I do and not as a money saving thing. If something has to go, strip clubs is clearly the first area I'd cut back or eliminate.
• nicespice

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  2 years ago

  And while mark94 celebrates his investing acumen by partying over at Hiliter, some squatters will enjoy finding a new empty rental property (that has no tenants yet because the rent is too pricy) and party it up over there. 💉🎊
• twentyfive

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  2 years ago

  Playing it close to the vest is just smart, conserving a bit of cash, for daily expenses, but folks. the world is not coming to an end just yet, these cycles are just that, cycles, eventually the markets will function and life will go on, and in the meantime conserve a bit of cash to be able to take advantage of the bargains that will inevitably become available.
• skibum609

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  2 years ago

  It seems silly to say what we will or might cut down on, when there are a lot of people in this country who are suffering because they were living on the edge. My Wife has made it easy to save. On Memorial Day the tough lady I married decided that 103 fever meant nothing and she'd be fine and back to work after a day of rest. That led to Sepsis, 8 days in the hospital and once she recovers surgery. That killed the summer vacation so we have plenty of money top throw at rising expenses.
• mark94

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  2 years ago

  I’m in the “ always lived below my means” category. I guess I’ve been preparing for financial Armageddon all my life without realizing it.
• Icee Loco (asshole)

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  2 years ago

  The problem is how long can we sustain it . This isn't sustainable for people. I'm all for an uprising
• Tetradon

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  2 years ago

  Lol uprising. The young and poor these days are too busy watching Netflix, getting high and jerking off to PornHub to overthrow anything.
• Dolfan

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  2 years ago

  "take advantage of the bargains that will inevitably become available" ^ This. But for this to happen I need you assholes out there living recklessly & spending beyond your means. So, go live it up!
• iknowbetter

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  2 years ago

  Hard to make this not sound judgmental, but the US govt pumped something like $5 trillion of “fake” money into the economy (money that was not earned by contributing to GDP), we all happily took our stimulus $ and/or PPP $, then spent / saved / bought crypto, NFTs, real estate, (and lap dances). What did you think was going to happen? This is the textbook definition of inflation - even without global supply chain disruption, a war in Eastern Europe, and questionable environmental policy. What I can’t understand is how millions of people can still to afford to quit their jobs? Or are these the people complaining about putting food on the table?
• 8TM

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  2 years ago

  Not going broke, but it’s going to be a lot longer before I can buy a second rental property, if ever. To echo what some other guys said, I’ve been going to restaurants and strip clubs less, but it’s more because of the service and quality getting worse. I wanted to do more traveling to where the strip clubs are good, but prices are pushing $400 for a domestic round trip and $200 a night for a hotel.
• twentyfive

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  2 years ago

  ^ if you have some cash, it’ll be easier than ever to get that second rental property, there’s plenty of opportunities available now, and more opening every day.
• Icee Loco (asshole)

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  2 years ago

  You mean more and more people are losing their homes thN ever. So if you have money you can buy them up and charge exorbitant rents.
• twentyfive

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  2 years ago

  ^ That's the American way, you snooze you lose.
• san_jose_guy

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  2 years ago

  The COVID hysteria and economic collapse amounted to a huge upwards wealth transfer. And this is what happened with all that bail out money which is the reason our currency continues to sink. SJG
• Icee Loco (asshole)

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  2 years ago

  25 it's being a bottom feeding predator exploiting others tragedy for profit
• san_jose_guy

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  2 years ago

  Capitalism was driving us to a breaking point. COVID turned out to be it. SJG
• datinman

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  2 years ago

  "You mean more and more people are losing their homes thN ever. So if you have money you can buy them up and charge exorbitant rents." Hey Icey, you know, when you move out of the Country, instead of using your house as an Airbnb for exorbitant profit, you could provide low rent housing that way you won't be a bottom feeding predator. It's the socially responsible thing to do!
• san_jose_guy

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  2 years ago

  Capitalism means less and less jobs. And so it goes like most societies, dividing into the very rich and the very poor. If you want to have a middle-class, then you have to create it by progressive taxation or other kinds of public expenditure. COVID is what really crushed the people at the bottom, while the real estate and securities bubble were kept alive by printing money faster than the ink could dry. SJG
• twentyfive

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  2 years ago

  @Icee So pimping is taking the moral high road, steaking groceries, is fine even though you claim to have money in the pocket, I mean you're not exactly Jean Valjean, from Les Miserables are you.
• san_jose_guy

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  2 years ago

  If we want to avoid recession and overall build a good economy, the best we could do is: 1. Pass Biden's Build Back Better and also his tax hikes which only effect annual incomes ove $400k. 2. Pass the Green New Deal. As AOC presented this it seems like it is mostly just a concept. But it would still be more infrastructure. 3. But then continue from there to: A) Universal Basic Income (never any needs test) B) Strong Public Housing offering (some of best jobs ever. Never a needs test. Any rationing would be only by age. This in lieu of any rent control) C) Medicare For All (avoiding discussion of this was why the Democratic Party promoted COVID hysteria) D) Free College and College Debt forgiveness SJG
• Tetradon

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  2 years ago

  ^ Aka the American Hyperinflation Act of 2022. You're a reliable indicator of what American suicide would look like.
• san_jose_guy

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  2 years ago

  You cut the inflation off with progressive tax hikes. Get that COVID relief money back so that it can be put to some good use, instead of the stock and real estate ponzi schemes. Biden wants tax hikes effecting only annual incomes of $400k. Now the Fed can do what Biden asks for. But tax hikes require 51 Senate votes, and really more like 60 Senate votes to shut down a filibuster. SJG
• Tetradon

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  2 years ago

  ^ What you're proposing requires several orders of magnitude more deficit spending than what tax hikes would cover, especially because the rich aren't getting it through income and wealth taxes don't work. I notice when you're proven wrong, you just repeat yourself and pretend you didn't hear.
• san_jose_guy

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  2 years ago

  NO! The COVID bail out involved huge unpaid for spending. I think more the printing press than deficit. So they trillions in seed money is out there already. Most everything else is just the same money recirculationg. You only have money not recirculating when it gets into the hands of rich people. And it is on this account that you need professive tax hikes, and only to the extent that the fat are being fattened. SJG
• Icee Loco (asshole)

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  2 years ago

  Biden isn't doing shit. The only promise he ever kept is telling his rich donors that things will basically stay the same. He won't stand up to Manchin because they have the same donors and thus interests. Biden isn't pushing or fighting for any legislation to help us because he doesn't want to and doesn't support it. Only thing the rich and ruling elite need are an American Robespierre.
• Tetradon

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  2 years ago

  ^ Which will end up in an American Napoleon. Slow clap.
• Icee Loco (asshole)

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  2 years ago

  Nope. It would end up in liberation. Fuck this system. Biden is the most corrupt corporate stooge to ever hold the presidency
• Icee Loco (asshole)

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  2 years ago

  Look at his actions not made up scenarios about legislation he won't fight for
• Tetradon

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  2 years ago

  "Nope. It would end up in liberation." LOL. You used the French Revolution example. Some liberation that ended up in. Look at the Russian, yeah, that didn't end up in dictatorship and starvation either. Besides, all your "revolutionaries" are either weak ass Antifa cosplayers, or too numbed on cheap booze, porn, and weed to do anything.
• Tetradon

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  2 years ago

  And when your revolutionaries get hitched to plows, or forced to work the fields for 15 hours a day, they'll think "gee, maybe my life of playing XBox, smoking J's, and beating off in mommy's basement wasn't so bad after all!"
• san_jose_guy

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  2 years ago

  Franklin Roosevelt made the changes needed to preserve capitalism. Now we need someone who will do that again, and go even further. SJG [view link]
• Tetradon

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  2 years ago

  FDR prolonged the Great Depression. WW2 pulled us out of it.
• Icee Loco (asshole)

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  2 years ago

  The American people can only take so much. The New Deal should have been strengthened and built upon. It was some of the best legislation in American history. Covid emergency measures like expanded unemployment and eviction moratoriums should have been made permanent
• san_jose_guy

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  2 years ago

  FDR acted to mitigate the Great Depression and to mitigate the causes of it, and also to make sure we were active in WW2. SJG [view link]
• Tetradon

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  2 years ago

  Most have turned docile in the grasp of mindless entertainment and substances. The only people who could rise up are men with guns trained in tactics and survival, and they won't rise up for anything you'd like. Those COVID emergency measures would generate even greater inflation. But I wouldn't expect you to have even a basic grasp of economics.
• Tetradon

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  2 years ago

  "President Roosevelt believed that excessive competition was responsible for the Depression by reducing prices and wages, and by extension reducing employment and demand for goods and services," said Cole, also a UCLA professor of economics. "So he came up with a recovery package that would be unimaginable today, allowing businesses in every industry to collude without the threat of antitrust prosecution and workers to demand salaries about 25 percent above where they ought to have been, given market forces. The economy was poised for a beautiful recovery, but that recovery was stalled by these misguided policies." [view link]
• twentyfive

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  2 years ago

  We actually know the causes of the great depression so this is a weird conversation to have those causes were "The stock market crash of 1929; the collapse of world trade due to the Smoot-Hawley Tariff; government policies; bank failures and panics; and the collapse of the money supply."
• Icee Loco (asshole)

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  2 years ago

  Tetradon. You're so dogmatic you're out of touch with reality.
• san_jose_guy

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  2 years ago

  No, unsustainably high levels of production and consumption were responsible for the Great Depression. One of the things which brought this about was when Warren Harding dropped the top tax rate from 90% down to 20% Tetradon, your education obviously comes from Fox News disinfo sources. Icey wrote, "The New Deal should have been strengthened and built upon. It was some of the best legislation in American history." Yes that is completely true. But Strom Thurmond's States Right's Party and then his move to the Republican Party were the first move to break up the New Deal Coalition. I wouldn't go specifically for Eviction Moratoriums and Expanded Unemployment, what we need instead are Universal Basic Income and a Strong Public Housing Offering. And we should have run the printing press as needed to get that going, but not to make the stupid bail out payments, which are completely responsible for our currency sinking and for a huge upwards wealth transfer. But in the climate of Supply Side, MAGA, and Fox News that would have been impossible SJG Sasha Allen, Gimme Shelter [view link]
• Tetradon

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  2 years ago

  ^ Dogmatic? Is this Iceespeak for "having a grasp of economics, not just talking to a few neighbors at a suburban Vegas trailer park?"
• Tetradon

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  2 years ago

  "Tetradon, your education obviously comes from Fox News disinfo sources." Did you see me cite Fox anywhere? I don't watch Fox (or any other TV news) so you can kill that ad hominem. "And we should have run the printing press as needed to get that going" Utterly laughable if you look at the current indicators. Yet you keep repeating yourself.
• Icee Loco (asshole)

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  2 years ago

  You're not smart. You're just spouting what if scenarios based on right wing dogma. But keep it up. 🤡
• san_jose_guy

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  2 years ago

  Tetradon you are a supply side, MAGA, Fox News Ditto Head. All your ideas come from them. You want the money recirculating to create jobs, business opportunities, and to take care of peoples needs, not to inflate the stock and real estate markets SJG
• Tetradon

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  2 years ago

  ^ You don't have the slightest grasp of economics, yet insist that I'm "out of touch with reality." What's your "reality"? What are your data points?
• georgmicrodong

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  2 years ago

  The lack of commuting has saved a crapload of gas, and since my job doesn't require any travel, I've unregistered and uninsured one of my cars. It sits in the garage, and I take it out to fun it back and forth around our cul-de-sac once or twice a month. My wife and I share the other car now. We also don't eat out nearly as often as we used to, and she often brings leftover food home from where she works, so our food costs have gone down. The house was paid off last year (because I lump-summed the payoff from a windfall I had) so we don't even have that now. The tax deduction for mortgage interest was almost non-existent by this time anyway, so another free 1500 per month is welcome. My 401K appears to be doing pretty well, so thanks to whoever is managing that, I haven't lost nearly as much as some folks I've heard of.
• Tetradon

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  2 years ago

  "Tetradon you are a supply side, MAGA, Fox News Ditto Head. All your ideas come from them." Once again, you say this without any evidence. Didn't even vote for Trump, and elsewhere have advocated for higher taxes on the rich. Just not funding some insane spending binges. "You want the money recirculating to create jobs, business opportunities, and to take care of peoples needs, not to inflate the stock and real estate markets" Look up the definition of inflation, too much money chasing too few goods.
• Icee Loco (asshole)

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  2 years ago

  Others in this thread have shared interesting personal points. You're on here arguing abstract bs and what if scenarios based on right wing dogma. Arguing with such Stupidity is pointless. Now hurry and post how smart you are and keep it up
• Tetradon

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  2 years ago

  ^ Again, you have neither data nor any grasp of economics, just insults. Be quiet when the adults are talking.
• san_jose_guy

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  2 years ago

  Progressive taxes on high income and high wealth portfolios soaks up the excess money. As it is in most industrialized countries, agricultural prices are already under the control of the central gov't. Strong public housing offering pegs down the lower end of the real estate market. Progressive taxation pulls down the high end. SJG Sasha Allen [view link]
• Icee Loco (asshole)

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  2 years ago

  What passes me off the most is the level of price gouging. Carls Jr has a $14 burger $5 for large fries at McDonald's 30 pieces of chicken for $104 at Popeyes.... I got a 6 pack of coke for $3.79 at Target. Same thing is $5.99 at Albertsons. Corporate greed will make us want to go back to the summer of 2020 if this keeps up
• san_jose_guy

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  2 years ago

  Well these people all want to keep in business. Nancy Pelosi and Donald Trump were printing money faster than the ink could dry. And all this did was protect landlords and mortgage lenders. Real stupid. But it does mean that our money is worth less. Needed to go instead to UBI and a strong public housing offering. SJG
• wallanon

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  2 years ago

  "are you doing anything different now or planning to in regards to this summer?" Not really, but I'll try not to go broke. I'm not great with money but have enough to pay the bills. And those of a variety of strippers lol. Realistically if I cared about money more than the day-to-day experience I'd have a different hobby.
• ElDuderino_AZ

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  2 years ago

  @ Icee... Friggin Carl's Jr. I usually hit that once/week because it's in a shopping center I frequent, and now the "value" meal I get + jalapeno poppers is like $20. Wtf?! 20 years ago in college, $20 at Taco Bell would feed three or four of us after the bars.
• Phoenix133

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  2 years ago

  Well I quite the club I had been working on and off cause of a coworker (not dancer) that kept costing me money. I grew fed up with it so now I’m looking for a new place to make hopefully the same or more at. But I’m also having to drive farther now. So that’s different. I’m also in the process of making an onlyfans, something I never thought I would do but times are tough. Besides work changes I’m doing a little travel for some competitions. I wanted to plan a big trip to go mining various places but prices on everything (mainly gas and hotels. Plus leaving the club I was at) ruined those plans.
• Icee Loco (asshole)

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  2 years ago

  Fast food prices are ridiculous. I don't see lines like I used to. And places like Habit Burger grill offer better food at lower prices. In n out went up. It's like over $5 for a double double now. I know a few girls who are playing the system. Living in hotels classifies you as homeless. So they get ebt and other benefits plus are on an expedited list for section 8 vouchers. I don't blame them
• Phoenix133

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  2 years ago

  @2Icee but hotels are so expensive right now. So that’s crazy to me that that’s their method. I have a hotel booked in July and it’s going to cost me for two nights almost 500$! That’s almost my mortgage payment.
• Icee Loco (asshole)

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  2 years ago

  Phoenix133 it depends on the city I guess. And they're not staying in top hotels. But in LA you can do it for like $2000 a month and that includes all of your utilities. In Vegas it's possible in a decent motel and even off strip hotel for like $1200 a month. No utility bills. Plus they get ebt. It's not really that bad. It can be cheaper than having your own place unless you have roommates.
• rickdugan

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  2 years ago

  ===> "Some of you attack me so viciously and act like you're so much better and so well off. But here you are admitting to eating one meal a day or rationing food. So that you can afford to fuck a hooker once in a while." I have to admit that Icee has a point here, lol. I was a little surprised myself at some of the responses I've seen in this thread. Maybe I'm lucky to have a skill set that is sellable even in difficult times. Unless true financial Armageddon hits I expect to ride it out like I did in '08-09, '01-'02, etc. Indeed if '08-09 is any indicator, another deep recession could make the strip club environment <strong>very</strong> interesting. My ATF came out of that era and may never have become my ATF if she hadn't become more motivated to finally say YES to my occasional inquiries.
• Call.Me.Ishmael

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  2 years ago

  Scrolling back, I can't see anyone saying "I stopped feeding my children to support my strip club habit.", or anything like it. There are several people who have said, "Costs are higher, so I'm reducing expenses." How else should people react to higher costs? How is that surprising? How is that not smart?
• skibum609

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  2 years ago

  Lmao Rick, neither you, nor Icee get anything that was said. Too busy fueling what others do through your own myopic set of beliefs. Older guys have lived through the crushing inflation of the 70's and 80's. We recall 16% mortgages and passbook savings accounts at 5.5%. We also know that spending money just because you can is ridiculous. I am making more money now than I have in my forty years of practice, but as prices go up, certain things will give. Regardless of the economy my budget is always the same. I don't change it for external sources. On a last note, taking advantage of people who are hurting financially is a totally dipshit move. You remind me of Donald Trump, who no matter how much money he has, will never be a member at Palm Beach Country Club, because like others, he thinks its how much you have, not who you are.
• shadowcat

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  2 years ago

  At my go to club yesterday, a favorite dancer told me that the DJ gets pissed off if the girls give blow jobs on the floor because it cheats him out of his $10 cut of the house VIP fee. Everybody is money hungry.
• mark94

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  2 years ago

  Left to its own devices, capitalism can cure any financial situation. If there is a shortage of something, someone will find a way to produce more. If unemployment is high, people will discover what skills they can add to be employable. If labor becomes expensive, employers will use technology to reduce the need for labor. If labor is inexpensive, employers will hire. The problem is that government can’t let the healing power of market forces correct imbalances. They keep interest rates artificially low for too long. They mandate labor laws that make it difficult to hire. They subsidize one industry and penalize another. Government meddling is 90% of the reason we are in this economic hell hole.
• rickdugan

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  2 years ago

  @CMI: I hardly expected anyone on this board to talk about moving to one meal a day, lol, especially one who reviews as many clubs as he does.
• rickdugan

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  2 years ago

  @Skidumb: See above post to CMI. I was also around during the 70s and remember it all too well. But that doesn't mean I expect a serious discussion about cutting back on a board which celebrates spending on something as frivolous as strip clubs. The whole notion of a thread like this on a site like this is - entertaining. The first and mot obvious answer if one feels the need to conserve cash is to stop going to strip clubs, lol. As far as using cash to make new strip club friends, you're certainly entitled to your opinion, but honestly your smarmy and pompous pontificating gets a bit tiresome sometimes. You have arrangements that work for you and that's fine, but understand that not everyone shares your view on these things. I have fun with other grown adults, who make their own decisions with their eyes wide open, and I make no apologies for it. we are in the U.S., not Venezuela. Nobody here ever has to go homeless or hungry with the ample charitable services available in virtually every metro area, including soup kitchens, food banks and shelters. If someone says yes to me, it's not because she needs to do so to survive, but because it is preferable to her than her next best option.
• Call.Me.Ishmael

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  2 years ago

  I was doing exactly that before the current inflation crisis and before COVID. Once you get used to it, it's pretty great (at least for me). A person can choose to be minimalist in certain aspects of their lives and not in others. Intermittent fasting is certainly a buzz word in the health / diet world now, but I first got wind of it as a practice of Gen. Stanley McChrystal several years ago. To each their own. Doing better at living within our means isn't a bad thing and shouldn't be a source of ridicule.
• Daddillac

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  2 years ago

  I have definetly been cutting back.... between now and the end of August I'll be in 6 different states and only at home for 19 days total. All of my trips are in the Southeast so I am driving instead of taking the KingAir. I figure driving instead of flying is cutting back, right?
• twentyfive

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  2 years ago

  For those of you that are following up on what’s happening in the world right now Turkey is suffering from inflation approaching 75%
• skibum609

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  2 years ago

  Rick the mere fact you revert to inane, childish stupidity like "skidum" just proves you're a full of shit fraud and that I hurt your feelings. Go abuse some more poor women you psychopath. Fake, rich douchebag. Guess what stupid? If you really had money you wouldn't be so focused on taking advantage of poor people. You fool one person: you.
• Hank Moody

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  2 years ago

  Lol
• Hank Moody

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  2 years ago

  Sorry, premature post button press. I’m very fortunate to not need to cut back much. I do voluntarily try to use less gas by taking the more fuel efficient of our vehicles when possible. Aside from being mindful about gas and trying not to waste food, life is good.
• gammanu95

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  2 years ago

  The only change I'm making that is remotely influenced by inflation is the intention of getting a hybrid or electric. Otherwise, I've always been a saver and always lived within my means. People need to learn how to budget. You don't need six streaming services. You don't need to drive an import or luxury SUV. If you do feel you need that, then get a higher paying job. Can't get a higher paying job? Learn to budget within your income.
• mark94

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  2 years ago

  If Arizona real estate drops 30%-40%, as many predict, I might buy a vacation home or upgrade my primary residence. The last time Arizona real estate corrected, it took 2 years to hit bottom.
• Hank Moody

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  2 years ago

  “If you do feel you need that, then get a higher paying job.” And then still budget within your income.
• rickdugan

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  2 years ago

  @Skidumb: You earned your moniker a long time ago with your incessantly snarky attitude. It's good to see that you still don't disappoint. 😉 My finances are my own affair, but I don't feel like I'm taking advantage of anyone when I'm paying her the equivalent of what many would work 20+ hours to earn for a single hour with me in a notel room. She has many other options besides saying yes to that proposition: work extra hours in the club, seek out other charitable support services, borrow money from someone, work her list of regulars, etc., etc. Now sure I enjoy the availability of more of these opportunities when the clubs slow down. So what? That doesn't make anything I posted above any less valid, nor does it make her going home without the cash that she needs a more desirable outcome for her.
• Icee Loco (asshole)

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  2 years ago

  Basically you like preying on desperate women
• twentyfive

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  2 years ago

  ^ yet you were complaining of being attacked and for some reason you felt a need to pile on Don’t you have any thing you could add to a conversation that’s not some more negative crap
• mark94

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  2 years ago

  Times are changing George P. Bush lost his race in TX. Liz Cheney is about to lose her race in Wyoming. For the first time in nearly 50 years, there will not be a single Bush, Cheney, Clinton, Obama or McCain at any level of government.
• twentyfive

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  2 years ago

  ^ why do you feel the need to make this a political thread ?
• Icee Loco (asshole)

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  2 years ago

  20fag how is the price of McDonald's senior coffee in Miami?
• twentyfive

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  2 years ago

  I have no idea I’m in palm beach county, Iceefag if you’d prefer to be referred to as a fag it’s fine by me
• twentyfive

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  2 years ago

  BTW I haven’t been in any McDonalds in a few years
• san_jose_guy

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  2 years ago

  Don't really know what is behind this, but it suggests a recession exploding before our very eyes: 6,000+ US flights canceled or delayed Friday after one of worst summer air travel days yet [view link] SJG