augustus

I wish someone would tell the supermarkets that inflation is licked.

Most consumer essentials like food have doubled or close to it since 2020. A loaf of generic white bread is $1.89, it used to be $1.09. A can of soup is $2.99, they used to be $1.49...cheap spaghetti sauce used to be $1.25/jar...it was 2 for $5 at my supermarket! The basic essentials of life have skyrocketed. Rents have soared and millions of people have been evicted and living in shelters, in their cars and on the streets. The elderly are the fastest growing group of homeless now.

You nailed it!

Live below your means and save/invest.

I can't read the NYTIMES article because it's paywalled, but I've read about this in other articles. The banks and credit card companies use algorithms that catch people paying (or getting paid from) websites they deem sex related, even if the websites are legal! Legal porn actors and actresses are having the same problem. If you are getting paid in cash, use Post Office money orders to pay some bills when you can. And smaller banks and credit unions are less likely to be so nosy or have computers that try to flag this.

Everyone forgets that Argentina was considered rich in the very early 20th century. It took a big turn to the left in the 30s and has been an economic basket case for decades.

The trial lawyers have created litigation hell in Florida. Of course, premiums are going to soar!

From the article below by bankrate: "The biggest issue right now in Florida is home insurance fraud, driven by fraudulent roofing claims. A proclamation from the office of Governor Ron DeSantis notes that, although Florida only accounts for 9 percent of the country’s home insurance claims, it is home to 79 percent of the country’s home insurance lawsuits. Many of these lawsuits are fraudulent. ICA Carter explains how the scams generally work:" Can Lawmakers Save the Collapsing Florida Home Insurance Market? | Bankrate WWW.BANKRATE.COM Bankrate interviewed experts to learn why the Florida insurance market is in crisis.

Here's another article with the same conclusion....... Florida's homeowner insurance rates are four times the national average. That's not getting better anytime soon | CNN Business WWW.CNN.COM Hurricane season officially starts Thursday. But no matter how many storms hit Florida this year, the state’s residents are already struggling as they try to get homeowners’...

"Climate change" is NOT the primary reason for Florida's sky-high homeowner's insurance. The cause is fraudulent roof-replacement schemes and too much litigation, coupled with generous attorney-fee mechanisms. If you lose a few shingles, you can sue the insurance company for a new roof AND have the insurance company pay your attorney fees. Hurricanes are nothing new in Florida and yet some point the finger at "climate change" for everything that is happening. Florida home insurance crisis: Floridians brace for yet another rate increase. Here's why. WWW.PNJ.COM Florida homeowners are about to get hit with another premium hike. Here's why premiums probably aren't coming down any time soon:

They will know about your savings. They have access to IRS computers and the 1099's that financial institutions send out. There is no solution to the 5-year lookback period, except to give your money away and wait for 5 years to pass. As far as blowing your money at casinos (they won't believe it), I guess they can't do anything except put you in the worst rated and cheapest facilities around.

You can get into a better facility with private pay. Some of these nursing homes are terrible.

I used to think that I would try to leave my money to my nearest and dearest and shield it from Medicaid. NOT ANYMORE, once I've seen them in action when an elderly relative needed some temporary help. They all scattered, except for one.

An irrevocable trust is still subject to the 5-year lookback period. Also, once the money is in such a trust you lose total control of it. You can't get it back.

I wouldn't do that. Once they get the money you won't ever see them again. I've seen it over and over again.

And that is the primary reason 800,000 Californians have left the state in the past 3 years. They can't afford to live there and have had to become refugees. How marvelous for the general welfare!

1000% correct. But it's a terribly myopic view! Real estate will crash as it did in the 1980's and the late 1990's. It has to, only so at least the majority of people can afford to pay their rent or buy a home.

The definition of a healthy economy is the greatest amount of quality goods and services available to everyone at the lowest possible price. It's not people who think because their home price has gone up so and so and therefore, they are "rich" and the country is in great shape. Just ridiculous! If it's unaffordable to the majority of people, then it's nothing but an unsustainable bubble. The rise in real estate is INFLATION which has hurt the majority of the country with rent increases and the inability to buy a home. THIS IS NOT PROSPERITY!!

I get a real laugh when people think they are rich because of an overpriced real estate market, caused by low interest rates and real estate speculators. It's like saying I'm rich because my shoes cost $600 a pair. And when the market crashes these same wannabes are in shock.

No they DO NOT. When the next recession comes, these wannabes who think they are "rich" will reap the consequences of these asset bubbles. Overpriced real estate makes shelter unaffordable for the majority of the population and drastically reduces their standard of living. Basic economics.

You seem to think this asset bubble in real estate is permanent. It is not!! Prices are already crashing in SF, Austin and Phoenix.

What???? 80% of Americans See Savings Decline Since Pandemic Peak WWW.PYMNTS.COM 80% of American households by income have seen a decline in their liquid assets since the 2021 peak of the pandemic, after adjusting for inflation. And when the stock and real estate markets tank......................

15 steps backward, 1 step forward. Time to celebrate! Or said another way, shoppers finally balk at higher prices, forcing stores to lower prices. Or another way. People have run out of money. The free money too. Giving me 40 cents off an item that is $2.50 higher than it was just two years ago does give not give me any warm and fuzzy feelings.

That's how you do it! Crank up the prices just long enough for people to forget what it was and then drop it to way more than it was...sit back and watch em happily clear the shelves!

Amazing how SF is cleaned up for the APEC conference. Just unbelievable. Time for a drag queen parade I think. And where did they put all these homeless? I can't find anything on the news about where they were sent!