This question was raised in another thread yesterday. It gave me pause, since with inflation and gasoline and the stock market and on and on the most common answer would presumably be an emphatic No! -- but that's not the case with me. Sure, groceries are up, but we still eat good. Gas is up, but I'm not driving any less. My meager portfolio is down 22%, but I won't need any of that money for a long while (hopefully) so there's plenty of time for it to come back.
And that's just the financial stuff. My work situation -- such as it is -- is actually rather enjoyable rather than stressful and frustrating and full of dread. Me and the wife still get along fine, each doing our things while each of us take care of what needs to be done to make things work. I'm still doing a bit of volunteer work that occasionally gives me the impression I might be doing a little good (although that could be a figment of my imagination). And on the politics side, while I'm not happy with a lot of what's going on, I'm no longer ashamed and aghast over the occupant of the Oval Office.
So how about it, people? As much as we like to bitch and moan, I don't think many of us have had to deal with much adversity or make a lot of sacrifices in the last two years. Have any of you had to significantly change the way you live? Are you better off or worse off in your day to day living than you were two years ago? And no matter how you answer, to what/whom do you attribute that change?
Prior to this administration, the answer to the question in your title by and large was no. Including the Obama and Trump administrations. From a family budget and planning perspective, the biggest change coming out of the Obama administration was healthcare. My premiums went up significantly and my “share” of paying for doctor visits for my family skyrocketed due to paying 100% of deductible. Was this insurmountable? No. We adjusted and adapted and due to low costs of core items such as gas, energy, food and financing rates, our household could absorb, adjust and adapt. The Trump administration continued with low core costs and our economy picked up significant steam, so it became “high times” allowing for bigger Christmases, eating out more, vacations, etc. In short, we were able to relax a little bit and spend on luxury items without the fear of going into debt and not being able to pay bills.
Since Biden came into office, the ability to loosen the proverbial belt when it comes to luxury items is gone. Savings are getting exhausted to compensate for lack of wage increases offsetting historical inflation. We have to watch every dollar we spend and in the event something unplanned happens, ie major health event leading to high medical bills, major house improvement item comes up, ie new AC unit, appliance, etc, we are in trouble. What we are experiencing right now with the Biden admin is just the tip of the iceberg. As interest rates continue to go up, hiring and investment in business will cool and at an accelerating rate. I do not believe costs of core items will go down to pre-pandemic levels as most of this is now imbedded into costs, specifically higher labor, insurance and energy.
So, long story short, yes, this administrations policies have drastically impacted my family. I resigned from a company I had been with for 23 years so I could get a higher paying job but with this new job, comes increased risk.
Candidly, anyone who thinks that historically high inflation is not or will not impact them are either independently wealthy, have little to no debt, live off the government and/or are in complete denial. Again, if anyone has not been impacted yet, strap yourself in, because ‘23 is going to be worse and it’s going to be difficult for awhile, IMHO. The world order has changed with supply chain woes. Let’s just hope this deal in Ukraine does not escalate.
I am happy for you that it has not impacted you adversely. However, for those families earning less than $250,000 household income per year, the majority are struggling and it’s only going to get worse before it begins to get better.
