What are you seeing economically in your area?

a reply to: JAGStorm

I just looked and there are two foreclosures in my immediate area, which is comprised of about 4,000 people. The cost of all food is up here. Either through shrinkflation or price increases, and sometimes both.

I've mentioned before that we've been wanting to have our house renovated. That's still on hold. There is not a single house to rent within 30-40 minutes. We want to stay on the coast and be close to our house while it's under renovation. That's the main holdup for us.

January and this month so far have been much warmer than normal, and we really do not need to heat the house at all.

Crime is still not so bad in our immediate area. They are seeing a significant increase about 45 minutes south of us. They've seen a major increase in their homeless population down there as well. The homeless don't stay in my immediate area for long. There are not a lot of begging opportunities for them. 

i live in New Jersey. Like everyone has said, food, gas and housing has gone up. I do not see house foreclosures. The opposite. Bidding wars are going on for houses. Any house on the market sells within a week and way over asking. I own a small business (auto repair). All my costs have gone up. I started charging more. I am so busy and have a waiting list for customers that wants to come in. Cannot find help. Always short handed. Everyone i know is looking for help. Do not know where all the workers have gone. Everyone still seems to be shopping and driving. So I do not know where everyone is getting money from.
a reply to: JAGStorm

a reply to: HODOSKE

The worker thing is an issue here too.

a reply to: HODOSKE

Do not know where all the workers have gone. Everyone still seems to be shopping and driving. So I do not know where everyone is getting money from.

There are different groups of people, but some people have actually made a lot more during the pandemic.
Health care workers, at home workers no long have commuting costs etc.

Then there are people that are newly retired, they too might be out shopping etc.

There is that other group, they left the workforce and have been living off of threads. The bill is going to come due soon and I fear we are all going to suffer!!

a reply to: JAGStorm

Yea, I loaded a couple 40 round magazines in case the criminals get froggy. Little changes like that since the leftists freed the prisoners and quit enforcing laws in the plamdemic. We are quickly returning to the law of the jungle here under the Biden/Harris agenda... er administration.

I also notice the groceries are spiking in price. But nowhere near the doubling of cost to fuel my vehicle. I see the policies of the left everywhere. And I can't wait to see them utterly crushed in the next few elections as a result of their incompetence.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Housing market is still going up here. No issues getting food at the markets I patronize or with restaurants in the area. The company I work for is extremely busy and we are shorthanded by two people on my team.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: JAGStorm

Housing market is still going up here. No issues getting food at the markets I patronize or with restaurants in the area. The company I work for is extremely busy and we are shorthanded by two people on my team.

That is the other thing I’ve been talking about with people. Workers are jumping ship and going to other companies like crazy! I guess strike while the iron is hot!

originally posted by: JAGStorm
That is the other thing I’ve been talking about with people. Workers are jumping ship and going to other companies like crazy! I guess strike while the iron is hot!

We're paying extremely strong starting salaries and we still can't find enough people for both sales and the various service line personnel we need.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

We're paying extremely strong starting salaries and we still can't find enough people for both sales and the various service line personnel we need.

Recruiters are contacting me daily, and I just laugh and laugh and laugh.
I was tempted by one and then I slapped myself and remembered how much I hated doing that particular kind of work.
I hope people are taking advantage of this career boost because I don’t think it is going to last.

originally posted by: JAGStorm

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: JAGStorm

Housing market is still going up here. No issues getting food at the markets I patronize or with restaurants in the area. The company I work for is extremely busy and we are shorthanded by two people on my team.

That is the other thing I’ve been talking about with people. Workers are jumping ship and going to other companies like crazy! I guess strike while the iron is hot!

When the restrictions relaxed here last year, people on our team jumped ship. It's where I got in and got bumped up. Now things are much more stable, but it doesn't stop with the short-handed issues in other places.

You must be in the same flux we were in when things started to open.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
Recruiters are contacting me daily, and I just laugh and laugh and laugh.

I have the ones I work with and if someone comes along and pays me much more I'm gone. I do like where I work, who I work with and what we sell but money is money.

Egg prices have gone up for the past couple of weeks in some stores.

US flyover territory here.

Runaway real estate prices. Empty lots that would've been under $30,000 three years ago are now starting over $100k.

Getting ahold of vendors at work is all-out pulling teeth. Have some key contacts who'll answer their emails, calling anybody is hopeless.

Not region-specific, but I've noticed too many things priced as monthly payments. Big-ticket items are one thing (even then tell me the cost not the payment). But freaking $40 stuff needs to be sold on credit??

Vancouver BC

As mentioned with many other posts food and fuel costs have gone up. Homelessness downtown has increased, my neighborhood just out of DT area haven’t really seen an increase.

As for shortages I’ve not noticed as I shopped that food on shelves was unavailable, can still get needs and wants.
I work in construction within the city and there is certainly competition for workers we’ve got ads out, very few replies. Could just be most people hate our rainy winters, but was never this much of an issue in the past. It is a good time for wages though I must agree in trades at this point.

Overall I can see the squeeze being applied, I’m lucky enough to have a comfortable position so the squeeze isn’t prevalent yet in my day to day. But I could see this being quite the pinch for some.

SaneThinking

Here is what I've noticed anecdotally...

1) A lot of homeless and drug addicts hanging around my community
2) High home prices
3) High gas prices. We have highest (Or close to) gas prices in the country. Premium is pushing $5/gallon
4) Food prices are definitely up
5) Many small businesses closing, especially restaurants which have not been able to stay afloat due to pandemic rules
6) Next to impossible to find low skilled help. Entry level, low skilled jobs paying $15 - $20/hr around here. Think McDonald's needing to pay someone $20/hr to drop fries with no experience.
7) Knowledge worker incomes are WAY up. Tech based companies fighting over good employees.
8) Trade workers are hard to come by and very busy.
9) Crime seems higher

One thing I've noticed is scarcity economy where it is hard to find many goods at retail and you have to go to the gray market to get them at inflated prices from flippers. Think having to pay $1000 for an XBOX because you cannot find them in stock anywhere. Same with cars. Dealers adding ridiculous market adjustments to cars just because they can. Rolex watches appreciating more than stocks. Can't find them at retail at all with some models trading a 2x - 3xs the MSRP.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Yeah , too Many Illegals . Can't even Speak English looking for Work .

First, car prices..I'm talking used cars locally. I was thinking about getting a used car cause mine had a costly mechanical issue. So I checked on Craigslist locally and the cheapest car was a 1996 Pontiac Sunfire for $3k!! (Those were budget cars way back in the 90s) I decided to just get my car fixed. The mechanic said they were booked out because everyone was having the same issue. People replacing engines etc because it's cheaper than what new AND used cars are selling for.

Also, food. Not just prices but shortages.I went to Wal-Mart today and there were a lot of empty shelves. They were sold out of freaking saltine crackers! In fact, forget crackers in general. Pasta was basically gone, almost out of Milk and NO cream cheese! (Sucks having bagels with no cream cheese)

A can of generic corned beef hash was almost 3 bucks a can. Yeah it's getting weird.

a reply to: JAGStorm
Well inflation is pretty much nationwide. But there is a ton of growth in the city of Tampa and Hillsborough County. New businesses are continuing to fill vacancies. Older homes are being bought and torn down or rehabilitated . It's actually making my neighborhood look alot nicer. Unfortunately some of the bigger properties are getting split into several units. One property on my street was turned into three homes. The houses are t much bigger than a three bedroom apartment and got very little hard yard space. Even the driveways are barely able to accomodate more than two vehicles.

These greedy fellas should think of the families moving in so the kids can have somewhere to play.

Airport is growing, highways are being expanded, more buildings going up downtown etc.. etc..

Pretty sure we are the hottest real estate market in America right now.

A lot of people here are going farther and farther in debt, forced to max out their credit cards over the last six months. I like paying cash for what we buy, We learned long ago that if we are paying cash, we scrutinize what we buy more, prying money out of your wallet seems so much harder than flipping out a credit card. We like to use a checkbook for paying bills, not credit cards. It costs over fifty cents a stamp now, but it is worth sending out checks instead of giving a card number, neither of us even have one of those bank checking account cards or whatever they are, and we don't want one.

a reply to: rickymouse
I just go to amscott to pay my bills with cash. My landlord switched to a new payment processor though, so now I have to go to Ace cash to pay my rent. I like amscott better.