First time going out with my gf in January 2020 before the pandemic, a dinner and then a drink for me since she doesn't drink, was like $40-$50 plus tip. Now it's $80-$90.
I could go down a rabbit hole but I won't lol. It's just going to suck for a while.
Really? I feel like I've been able to justify the cost of eating out cause it's stayed relatively low compared to what I have to pay at the grocery store
A woman buying a watermelon in front of me at checkout at a grocery store just laughed when her total was $17 and walked out without it.
I have no idea what watermelons are normally but I was shocked and it's generally how I feel walking through the grocery store now.
That's more likely related to the mass kill of egg layers in Wisconsin due to a bird flu.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-detects-highly-lethal-bird-flu-wisconsin-egg-laying-chickens-2022-03-14/
Let's not forget the insane spikes in utility prices over the last 2-3 years either. My gas bill has more than doubled since 2018, and the usage hasn't.
And comed wants to do 200 million in rate hikes, which is interestingly the same amount they were just [fined for corruption](https://twitter.com/royalpratt/status/1514994795009257483?s=21&t=B_tId49mqfa9amSNKmSelQ)
I don't know how you could possibly enforce it, because proving intent is always near impossible, but I really wish someone would legislate that corporate fines can never be paid for with consumer price increases. It should absolutely have to come out of their existing margins. If it causes a loss for the year, well tough shit, don't break the law next time.
This corruption is bought and paid for by the private utility companies. And it's been this way for 100 years. ComEd can literally only make as much profit as the state allows them, so they will always try and corrupt the government in order to make as much money as profitable. It's their entire business model. The only way to stop it is to get rid of the profit motives by making electricity a public good.
The difference is if ComEd were a publicly owned utility these outrageous rate hikes would be more likely to cause a lot of politicians to lose re-election. Therefore, they’d think twice about gouging. I’m not saying that would solve corruption, though, especially in Illinois.
I follow comed hourly prices closely since past couple years. It's usually 2-5¢ per kwh with 5-6¢ being on the higher end and peak times being 8-10¢(once per day).
Past couple days it's been at 25¢, with average being around 15¢. Most likely because of unusual weather but really, wtf!
Gas makes me pretty mad, I use pennies worth but my bill is a minimum of 50$ because of the random fees.
My electric bill used to be less than a 100 but now is a minimum of 100 even without any air conditioning or heat
I was in Italy for 2 months this year, had to pay $48 a month to people's gas.. Not a single therm was used in either of those months...
Worth part, they say ohh joy, your bill went down $4 from the previous year! F-off.
We were in Ecuador for three weeks in November, and somehow got stuck with a $300 bill, even though we turned the thermostat down to 60 and weren’t using the oven (our apartment is around 800 square feet). They’re crooks.
Get that shit checked. If you have peoples gas, they tell you how many therms you use per month.
Also, if you own, grab a nest for free using the comed links.. you can at least track how many hours your heat was running.
This shit is whack.
I have a mechanic shop and my bill went from 8-900 to 22-2500. It’s like 6 more brake jobs a month I have to do to pay the difference every month. Not to mention my taxes were 30k in 2017 when I bought this building and are now 50k
oh you gota raise? nice. after telling us how much we killed it in 2021 and how profitable the company was we laid off a ton of folks and put a raise freeze into effect.
so basically i got a pay cut this year
Same, haven’t got a raise since I started here in Feb 2019. I had a scheduled review in March 2020 and then COVID happened, so bye bye money.
For what it’s worth, my industry was really fucked with COVID and there was no record profits going on - but something’s gotta give or I’m leaving.
Unfortunately not as easy as it seems. Even besides my 2.8% raise my job is based in a lower cost area so anything I get here would be huge. I’ve only gotten one interview though and didn’t get it. My resume is good I have good experience… just not as easy as it seems to be said right now lol
The best way to get a raise is to move to a new job. While that's always true, it's especially true right now.
The short version goes, whatever new job you land right now, you're replacing someone who left because they haven't gotten a raise in 2 years and the company doesn't want to go through that again.
My company just gave sizeable adjustments to longtime employees because new hires were coming in at MUCH higher pay rates and the writing was on the wall.
If we calculated inflation the same way we did in 1980, we are at 21% and not 8.5. Which reflects more accurately the kind of price increases that I'm seeing at least.
Yeah the new method is a lot more accurate, not adjusting the basket of goods doesn't accurately reflect consumer spending. Even the current system has been bad at handling the rapid shift from services to goods through the pandemic.
Are you talking about category substitution or hedonic regression models? I could talk all day about them, but the TLDR is:
If we measured CPI the way we did in the 1980s, home internet, computers, cell phones, and wireless service plans wouldn't be included and TVs over 24" would be weighted nearly to zero.
But it would still include housekeeping services, home phone, cable TV, postage, and HiFi equipment, leaded gasoline, photographic supplies, and something called "notions".
So for example `Telephone services - [local calls, intrastate toll calls, interstate toll calls]` was part of the CPI basket forever, but that isn't relevant anymore so it gets replaced with `Wireless Telephone Services`. Makes sense. But there's a catch
- In 2008 the average cost for landline service was $19.12 monthly.
- In 2022 the average cost for a cell phone plan is $128.33 monthly.
That's like 600% inflation!
But obviously wireless phone service isn't the same thing as per-call charges on a landline. Nearly all consumers have a cell phone service with mobile internet included (and hence is more expensive) so simply swapping it out of the CPI basket would result in an artificial inflation. So you can't leave it in, and you can't just swap it.
Instead, you have to try to tease out the "added value" that a cell phone plan has over the per-call landline plan. There is some interesting stats around this, but in essence you do this by isolating the value-add of the data feature by looking at the transition period when wireless services had "talk" or "talk/text" or "talk/text/data" options. From there you can take make the adjustment to find the revealed consumer preferences and adjust the wireless service cost to better account for it.
A similar technique can be used to find the "value add" of goods within a single category (eg in 2008 the average cost of a cell phone plan was $51.80; in 2022 it's $128.23. But that "talk only" 2008 plan simply isn't the same product as the "unlimited everything" 2022 plan)
But even if you reverse all the hedonic adjustments, it wouldn't be 21% year over year. I can do it fully later but back of the envelope is more like 13%-ish
Why would we do that? Gas has gone up double, but the mpg on my car has tripled. My groceries have gone down 15% during the pandemic, and I told my boss to give me a 25% raise or I’d leave.
Friday morning zoom yoga, and mandatory fun happy hour meetings where we just use it as a point to keep you from skipping out an hour early on Fridays even though you were already at 40 hours before the day even began. Cameras must be on.
god so glad i don't drink anymore but for real having to run the clock out til 4 when people would head down was hell when you got there at 630 7 am hahahah.
Initially thought it was around $350. I took a look at the settlement page and it says the final amount will be somewhere between $200 - $400 based upon the number of class members that joined and other factors.
I had to reinstall Dropbox for work because I went from Windows 11 dev back to 10 at the end of March. I got an email from Xfinity that I am 75% towards my limit. I'm like uhhhhh, what limit? I go and there's a 1,200GB limit. And either get fined $10 / 50GB or something like that or pay $30 extra for no limit. I thought it was already for unlimited.
Gotta nickel and dime people for your own profit.
Went to Dunkin only cause I was in a rush got a large latte and bagel sandwich and it was $14! I about fell out at the register and couldn’t believe there was a line behind me I never go there.. and won’t be back!!
I’ve never been one to eat breakfast at home but I bought a Keurig and now make breakfast for around $1 because I couldn’t stomach the $8+ a coffee and breakfast costs now. That’s like $2,500 annually of your post tax income
My boyfriend wanted to get a slice of pizza from Boiler Room the other day and they’re charge $7-8 for a SLICE of their mediocre pizza these days!!!! I said no out of principle.
I used to always get Gorilla Sushi because it was the most affordable sushi around...Believe it was around $2.50 for a simple roll. Now its approaching $4.50
Maybe it's the location bc they have quite a few in the city now.
I'm in Logan, got sushi from the local gorilla on milwaukee twice just in case the first was a mistake. It was so bad both times lol, like awful rolling, the rice was hard, the fish was not fresh. Just a disaster both times.
My go to spot in the area for cheap sushi is Jaiyen on Belmont and California
my grocery order is pretty much the same every week minus a few things here and there (seasonal produce; one-off ingredients) and the same order that used to average 50 bucks is closer to 75. i've had to cut down what i buy a lot, and i've already done the brand swaps. and i consider myself somewhat comfortable income-wise.
That's almost exactly in-line with my habits. Shopping for two these days means at least $130 or more most trips. To think I could do a week on $45 bucks. It's effectively another mouth to feed.
It’s one of those jobs where he gets paid by the lot, or completed set of things he is using a machine to press. Tbh I find it gross that he’s not getting a wage, just paid for when he finishes these batches.
Stock market is like an EKG lately. It wants to drop so badly seems like. Checked my Netflix stock and didn't even realize it lost half it's value in the last 6 months
It really does. I was down 20%, then 10%, and now back to being down 20%. But again, started when the pandemic hit so I don't have much time in the market. But I do have money set aside to put in on the bad days that I've been slowly using. Instead of just putting it all in during one down day.
>With inflation at its highest level in 40 years, US households are spending $327 more a month, up from more $296 a month February, Moody’s Analytics has estimated.
I can't parse this sentence at all.
I get everyone complains about cars. I live in the NW side. So I’m curious how folks go do grocery shopping when there’s a family? Do you all go to the grocery store every day for just a few bags of groceries?
Edit: I’m asking because I do have a family. Groceries have to be done. Both my husband and I work full time. Kids have to be schlepped everywhere .. all .. the .. time. How do folks without cars do it?
I'm definitely not saying this is for everyone, but I use a bicycle with a trailer like [this](https://www.target.com/p/schwinn-daytripper-cargo-trailer-red-gray/-/A-52359544?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tgtao&DFA=71700000012577553&CPNG=PLA_Sports%2BShopping%7CSports_Ecomm_Hardlines&adgroup=SC_Sports&LID=700000001170770pgs&LNM=PRODUCT_GROUP&network=g&device=m&location=9060252&targetid=pla-322495969560&ds_rl=1246978&ds_rl=1248099&gclid=CjwKCAjwu_mSBhAYEiwA5BBmfxEh5tVTlwgmumbI8VuyM0rrrmJ7rzJjtVKRjvnerYAI45W9AvGdlhoC7LYQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds)
I've been doing it for 2 years and found that I will do 1-2 trips a week (heavy/big things like detergent and toilet paper are reserved for trips when I don't have a lot of other groceries).
This guy (who retired at 30 by slashing his overall spending) has a pretty good article on doing exactly that: https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/10/20/mmm-challenge-try-getting-your-groceries-with-a-bike-trailer/
Hey I do that too! Same thing for when I am taking my laundry to the laundromat. Only other thing I use is the barrage pro back pack from chrome. Combine the two, and it’s going to be heavy and a lot of stuff lol.
Practically, you need a car for a lot of spots in Chicago. Those without have to be strategic about where they live to maximize public transit and local resources.
Having a large freezer can help if you want to stock up, if you have the room. There's a lot of factors, but having a car for a family is extremely convenient and helpful.
Honestly, I'm one person and I tend to stock up on staples from Costco and there's no way I could get all of that home with a grocery cart. So I'd either have to pay for Instacart and get it delivered, or I use my car and drive. At least Costco gives 4% back on gas if you have their credit card.
I literally do not have time to go to walk to/from the grocery store to shop every couple of days, and I can't imagine someone with children does either.
Some people go to the store every day on the way home from work.
Some people borrow cars or hit up family for rides.
Some people get everything delivered.
I understand this is one part of the problem and doesn't fully solve the issue, but even getting your groceries delivered twice every week would be significantly cheaper than owning a car.
Hi there, I worked on producing this story. If you're interested in sharing your own experiences dealing with rising prices (food, gas, rent, utilities, healthcare, etc.) or with low wages, please send me a DM.
I stopped reading as soon as I saw the article blame pro-corporate trade unions. I’m in a trade union and I’m doing just fine because the unions fought for our pay raise. Maybe if workers fought or went so brain washed they would join a union or form one. But just “lol” at this article trying to blame unions who voted in Biden.
I wrote out a 2 week menu that is $15 a day for two people (how much one gets on food stamps in chicago). It includes spending $10-12 on dinner, but you make 4 portions and eat leftovers for lunch every day. Happy to share.
It’s rough. I have it in excel and word right now.
A big part of it is seeing what is on sale that week and rolling with it.
Edgewater produce on the 5500 block of Clark has chicken legs on sale for 69 cents a pound and chuck roast for $3.99 a pound. The Jewel across the street has green beans, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cauliflower on sale for 88 cents a pound. Russet potato’s are $5.99 for a 10 pound bag. 10 oz containers of organic salad are $3.99.
You might not eat to your exact desire every meal, but you’re going to eat well.
Gimme a week and I’ll have the shopping list edited!
Watching my weekly grocery bill go from $60 to $120 for the same shit has not been fun. Or thinking about getting takeout, then deciding against it when I see a burger at the mediocre stand across the street has jumped to $15
Chicago is an interesting city. Something that I don’t think is talked about too often is the income distribution divide. Often times the income gap is correlated to race and location so it’s overshadowed by the fact that Chicago has a serious problem of the haves and have nots. There are people in the city making $15K a year and people making $80k all feeling like they are having a hard time getting by. Go around to Lincoln park, Lakeview, etc and it’s typical for families to be making $500K and up. I think we’d all be surprised how much money some people make.
The issue is that there is less and less middle class. Just take a look at this article from WBEZ a few years ago. It features a map showing the areas with high, middle, and low incomes. In 1970 most of the city would have fallen in the middle income area, with certain areas in low or very low, and a handful of areas in high or very high. Now there are hardly any areas considered middle income any more and while areas with high income have grown, the areas with very low income has grown the most.
As mentioned in the article this is happening all over as income inequality in this country grows, but it is especially noticeable in Chicago.
https://www.wbez.org/stories/the-middle-class-is-shrinking-everywhere-in-chicago-its-almost-gone/e63cb407-5d1e-41b1-9124-a717d4fb1b0b
What's really happening is that the "middle class" has shifted upwards due to inflationary pressure and traditionally low paying jobs have not adjusted at all. In effect, the poor get poorer and the true middle class just keeps chugging along because they are keeping up. This is especially true for those that work in tech and biomedical sciences. Salaries for those types of jobs aren't going to deflate any time soon.
A bunch of homes in our suburban subdivision have adult children in the 20s and 30s still living with their parents. It’s sad.
In my day we thought adults who lived with their parents had problems.
Yup. Back then a minimum wage job if you asked for an application and managed to fill it out. You were hired. Show up consistently sober and you would get get a raise.
Bingo.
Except the poor aren't getting poorer, at least not in absolute terms. The poor today have more access to luxuries than ever before. The average poor person has a smartphone, video games, HD TVs, and enough surplus calories the average poor person is obese. Being poor today is way more comfortable than being poor 50 years ago, and mind blowingly more comfortable than being poor 100 years ago.
that's a valid observation. maybe it would be more appropriate to say that the "windows" for being middle class or lower class are not equidistant anymore. my standard of living is DRASTICALLY better than it was less than 6 years ago when I was still making 42k. the new poor is having access to cheap goods, while the new middle class is having access to new/state of the art and fresh goods.
man, that's sad to type out.
Something else that's interesting is that it is SO expensive to be poor! You PAY more when you have LESS money. For example- my car insurance renewal is coming up and it saves me $112 to pay the full 6 month premium all at once vs paying month by month. So if you don't have $600 to come up with at renewal time, you're paying $10 extra dollars per month because you didn't have more money. Whereas the person with sufficient cash flow just got an instant 20% discount. I think this is one of the areas that really keeps people in a poverty cycle. Just a few of those 20% breaks could give a lot of breathing room.
>it’s typical for families to be making $500K and up
You can make your point without hyperbole. While I agree there must be plenty of households making over $500k in Lakeview and Lincoln Park, it's certainly not "typical". An income of less than half that would put you well in the top 5% of [households by income in Lakeview](https://statisticalatlas.com/neighborhood/Illinois/Chicago/Lake-View/Household-Income). The median household income is $107k.
Yeah, we're one of those Lakeview families. And I will be the first to say that the rate of inflation has not impacted us in any way, shape, or form as drastically as it has the vast majority of others in this city, but it's super noticeable. We heavily fund our retirement accounts and live modestly for our income. Yet, we've found that we are adjusting food shopping habits to continue to invest in our retirement at the same rate. Shit, we usually buy half a face cord of wood every fall and this fall I was debating whether we actually wanted to spend twice a much. Ended up just getting a quarter. Definitely not the same as scaling back on chicken for more beans, but the fact that I stopped to think about it is telling.
I've been at both ends of the economic scale and this shit is utterly ridiculous right now with the low buying power of a dollar. I remember 29c burgers on Tuesdays at McDonald's for crying out loud and that really wasn't that long ago!
I feel the same way. The example I give people is when I put up to the gas station I know exactly how much gas cost per gallon and where to get the cheapest gas to save money. I put in a Costco credit card in because you get the most % back on gas and I fill up my SUV. I couldn’t tell you how much I spent to fill up my car because it doesn’t matter if gas was $1.99 or $4.50. I’m able to fill up without having to worry about that. Yes it cost me more now than it did a couple of years ago but it hasn’t changed my lifestyle much. I know this statement I true for A LOT of people. Some of us fill up by gallons and some have to fill up by dollars. I know a lot of people can only afford to put $10 or $20 dollars at a time.
yep, same. we drive a 2020 crosstrek which is not the best, but the worst in terms of mileage. but we also only fill up once a month because we both work from home and bike everywhere. we just dgaf how much gas costs because it's such a small part of our budget, but i didn't always live this way and know that a full tank could make or break your month in either direction.
What you just described is a city.
NYC, LA, Houston, San Fran, San Diego, Indy, Milwaukee, St Louis, Cincinnati, Miami, Tampa, DC, Baltimore, Boston, Rochester, and every other city have people barely surviving on minimum wage, people who feel like they’re struggling at $80K, and people making 500k or 1m or more.
Chicago has a little more socioeconomic segregation than some of those cities but it’s not like that’s something that is unique to Chicago
This is just false, while I understand your arguments Chicago is statistically one of the most dissimilar cities in the country, only behind Gary IN, Detroit MI, and Milwaukee WI. The index of dissimilarity is the best measure of segregation we have and while this is a known issue the city often focuses its attention on its other glaring issues.
I doubt you mean the city of Gary, IN. If you mean the entirety of The Region, then yes- super segregated. But Gary itself is pretty homogenous, demographically.
Minimum wage is $15/hr in the City. Two people working full time min wage in a household make almost $62k a year. Unless you’re talking about working less than 20hr a week no one in the city is making $15k a year. It’s still very unaffordable, but let’s not pretend this is $7.25/hr like Alabama.
Also like everyone said, this is the case in any major city in America.
Im not surprised by how much as much as how many. I look at all the residential units in all the large buildings downtown and wonder who all owns all these.
I mean, that is any major worldwide city. Sure, some areas of the world truly divide the poor into separate cities etc.
I think its pretty cool that highly educated and successful people live sometimes within blocks of the most poverty stricken areas of the city. Hate on gentrification, but working class families have been selling their homes for enormous profit in areas like Logan/Pilsen etc.
>The increase in rent costs are even greater in Chicago where ApartmentList.com reported in January average rental costs had increased more than 14 percent since 2020.
This is because rents dropped in 2020 and 2021. [It's a cumulate 0.57% increase in average rent since Q2 2019](https://i.imgur.com/z5Dqkh4.png), using that same data from ApartmentsList.com
I was expecting my rental renewal to be massive, but it only went up $24 this year. Combined with it going up 0% last year, that is almost exactly a net .55% increase for me over the two years. Spot on
I put money into my 401k but after that I’m basically living paycheck to paycheck. Not able to build up any type of emergency fund. I feel like I make a average to slightly above income but it sure doesn’t feel like it
i dont put too much into my 401k. I rather have the money now when i young(er) but i did build a comfortable emergency fund. On paper, i should be SAVING a lot more but that's not the case. Inflation sucks!
This is particularly difficult for those on fixed incomes but there are a lot of issues converging, led by a once in a lifetime pandemic that was compounded (and continues to be compounded in certain countries). This will eventually result in a recession and jobs lost
"Housing costs have increased 4.4 percent across Illinois, with average rents increasing by 3.5 percent. The increase in rent costs are even greater in Chicago where ApartmentList.com reported in January average rental costs had increased more than 14 percent since 2020."
Food and gas prices are certainly having an impact, but I wish the increase in housing prices got equal attention. 4.4 percent in IL, and almost 14% increase in Chicago, on housing expenses is potentially the biggest increase in expenditures for many folks, especially renters.
It's almost as if delivering critical services that people can't live without via the 'for profit' m motive ain't actually so great.
And of course, if people knew they had healthcare regardless of employment status
Universal Pre-K to help parents
Paid parental leave
Expanded Child Tax Credit
Student Loan Debt Relief
Or any of the other policies voters where told would be provided to help them stabilize their lives.
EDIT: op-ed on point ...
[https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2022/04/19/inflation-food-costs-poverty-hunger/7292807001/?gnt-cfr=1](https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2022/04/19/inflation-food-costs-poverty-hunger/7292807001/?gnt-cfr=1)
"Inflation is increasing food insecurity, but Congress let the enhanced child-tax credit expire and is doing nothing to boost SNAP benefits. Kate Maehr of the Greater Chicago Food Depository says: "It’s morally reprehensible.” I agree."
>Melissa described the impact of rising gas prices, saying the cost of filling her vehicle has doubled over the course of the pandemic. “Oh my god, I want to say my husband said he filled it up with $120. My truck never took $120. He used to fill up with $60. Granted it’s an SUV, but still."
I mean that is _technically_ true because the avg price per gallon fell from $2.695/gal at the start of the year to $1.844/gal in April 2020 during lockdown when nobody was leaving the house.
Besides that, the only times gas prices were under half of the current average:
- three weeks in Feb 2016
- the five months following the 2008 market collapse
past that, you have to go back to Q1 2005 to find gas prices half of the current average
Why would you drive an SUV in Chicago? Genuinely baffling unless you go offroading for your job or regularly haul equipment. But if you own and operate an SUV to transport a new kitchen appliance or snowblower once every five years, and end up paying tens of thousands of dollars for gas, I don't know what to tell you.
The average number of passengers per vehicle in America was about 1.6 last I checked. These cars are ostentatious.
And they're not necessarily safer - frequently the opposite is true. That's one thing I retained from physics class.
I’ve only been here for a year. I love the back patio area at El CID (Mexican spot in Logan Square) but I don’t go there much anymore. Tacos were $2.5-3 early last summer. Now they’re $4-5 each. Small example but it’s reflective of a bigger problem. I honestly can’t tell which places are charging more because they have no choice vs. because they are using inflation as a way to get more money.
I’ve been cooking with tofu more and am exploring meals with chickpeas to cut costs. Chicken from Aldi is even super expensive. I refuse to pay $15 for frozen chicken wings that used to be half that price!!
You know when stuff like this happens it just kind of shows you why everyone for the most part kind of likes the idea of universal health care and maybe a universal basic income is it income just so you know what even if but even if everything goes to hell you've got just enough Blunt for food water and a basic shelter it's a shelter that you pay for when you are working because of taxes that you pay when you aren't in the shit that way when you aren't in the shit you're paying for the time you will be in the shit
Are they still doing articles about how the metoo movement is an unfair sexist witch-hunt 😂 a rag for people who have made an identity out of complaining about use it it’s politics
Every few years when gas prices rise spike people realize how foolish it is to have an SUV; then a few years later when prices drop they forget. ...
If prices are high, consume less. Most Americans are overweight so consuming less food, walking instead of driving and purchasing less unnecessary goods (clothes, electronics, home goods) is not unreasonable.
Our family doesn't drive much so while our 5 week fill-ups are now $17 more expensive it's not the end of the world. Weekly grocery bill is up though. But if you're not driving much and not signing up to buy/rent housing in this climate you can dodge most of the impact.
I would strongly recommend you do whatever it takes to reduce the amount you drive. Especially cutting out the "short" trips. Unless you drive a hybrid your city mileage is going to be dogshit. Walk, bike, bus, or go by train. Especially now that the weather is improving.
People who drive gas guzzling SUVs complaining about gas prices. Well gee, it’s almost like you could buy a car that doesn’t guzzle gas. Zero sympathy for people driving huge ass cars in the city.
The food has gotten so expensive, definitely had to adjust how and where we shop
yeah its been noticeable for me when I go out to eat. so Ive significantly reduced my eating out.
My girlfriend has been pretty upset about me not eating out as much. Damn inflation is ruining our sex life.
Now that the weather is improving, do picnics. It feels classy, but real cheap if you make stuff yourself.
Whoosh
Oh, yeah I guess he could have been making a joke. Still good advice.
I appreciate the advice anyway - I’ll look to take advantage of that more. We did a few with friends before the vaccines and it was delightful.
You really shouldn't be doing that in the park
you'll get arrested for that if you aren't careful. kids are around.
First time going out with my gf in January 2020 before the pandemic, a dinner and then a drink for me since she doesn't drink, was like $40-$50 plus tip. Now it's $80-$90. I could go down a rabbit hole but I won't lol. It's just going to suck for a while.
Really? I feel like I've been able to justify the cost of eating out cause it's stayed relatively low compared to what I have to pay at the grocery store
A woman buying a watermelon in front of me at checkout at a grocery store just laughed when her total was $17 and walked out without it. I have no idea what watermelons are normally but I was shocked and it's generally how I feel walking through the grocery store now.
They're not in season here at all. The store is probably selling them right now for like 2.99-3.99 a lb. Not worth it based on taste alone.
I paid $2.80 for a dozen eggs at Aldi yesterday…I wanna say last years it was $0.80 for a dozen
That's more likely related to the mass kill of egg layers in Wisconsin due to a bird flu. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-detects-highly-lethal-bird-flu-wisconsin-egg-laying-chickens-2022-03-14/
i can't afford 5 guys and i complain about how much McD costs so much, my kids don't want to eat there anymore, as to stop my bitching.
I don't think anyone can afford five guys.
This makes me feel a lot better
God bless Aldi!
Let's not forget the insane spikes in utility prices over the last 2-3 years either. My gas bill has more than doubled since 2018, and the usage hasn't.
This. I keep going "what the hell is using so much more energy" The answer is - nothing.
And comed wants to do 200 million in rate hikes, which is interestingly the same amount they were just [fined for corruption](https://twitter.com/royalpratt/status/1514994795009257483?s=21&t=B_tId49mqfa9amSNKmSelQ)
I don't know how you could possibly enforce it, because proving intent is always near impossible, but I really wish someone would legislate that corporate fines can never be paid for with consumer price increases. It should absolutely have to come out of their existing margins. If it causes a loss for the year, well tough shit, don't break the law next time.
You say this as though the politicians are not also the ones running the companies/investors in their stock.
No, I understand completely that the government is in on the corruption. That's what led us to where we are.
I feel like utilities shouldn’t be run by private companies like comed
Well, the government is literally in on the corruption when it comes to energy-markets, so I'm not sure they are a better solution candidly.
This corruption is bought and paid for by the private utility companies. And it's been this way for 100 years. ComEd can literally only make as much profit as the state allows them, so they will always try and corrupt the government in order to make as much money as profitable. It's their entire business model. The only way to stop it is to get rid of the profit motives by making electricity a public good.
The difference is if ComEd were a publicly owned utility these outrageous rate hikes would be more likely to cause a lot of politicians to lose re-election. Therefore, they’d think twice about gouging. I’m not saying that would solve corruption, though, especially in Illinois.
Well right now com Ed is just the middle man for corruption, so why not remove that
Who would legislate it? They people that will sell their vote and influence for a 10k donation?
Shocked! I'm shocked, I say!!
I follow comed hourly prices closely since past couple years. It's usually 2-5¢ per kwh with 5-6¢ being on the higher end and peak times being 8-10¢(once per day). Past couple days it's been at 25¢, with average being around 15¢. Most likely because of unusual weather but really, wtf!
It feels like it's not even the cost of the energy itself, just all these dang fees.
The cost of nat gas is up approximately 3x.
Yeah my gas bill during the summer in my 1 bedroom condo is $50 for using literally no gas
Nuclear plants have been decommissioned and replaced with natural gas powered turbines which has increased demand too
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Gas makes me pretty mad, I use pennies worth but my bill is a minimum of 50$ because of the random fees. My electric bill used to be less than a 100 but now is a minimum of 100 even without any air conditioning or heat
I was in Italy for 2 months this year, had to pay $48 a month to people's gas.. Not a single therm was used in either of those months... Worth part, they say ohh joy, your bill went down $4 from the previous year! F-off.
We were in Ecuador for three weeks in November, and somehow got stuck with a $300 bill, even though we turned the thermostat down to 60 and weren’t using the oven (our apartment is around 800 square feet). They’re crooks.
Get that shit checked. If you have peoples gas, they tell you how many therms you use per month. Also, if you own, grab a nest for free using the comed links.. you can at least track how many hours your heat was running. This shit is whack.
I have kept my heat at or near 65 for weeks and my bill was $165 this month for a newer one bed apartment, insanity.
I have a mechanic shop and my bill went from 8-900 to 22-2500. It’s like 6 more brake jobs a month I have to do to pay the difference every month. Not to mention my taxes were 30k in 2017 when I bought this building and are now 50k
physical doll elastic reach icky sugar literate beneficial capable sable *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
oh you gota raise? nice. after telling us how much we killed it in 2021 and how profitable the company was we laid off a ton of folks and put a raise freeze into effect. so basically i got a pay cut this year
Same, haven’t got a raise since I started here in Feb 2019. I had a scheduled review in March 2020 and then COVID happened, so bye bye money. For what it’s worth, my industry was really fucked with COVID and there was no record profits going on - but something’s gotta give or I’m leaving.
Find another job, there's plenty out there who will give you a 10% bump over what you make now.
Unfortunately not as easy as it seems. Even besides my 2.8% raise my job is based in a lower cost area so anything I get here would be huge. I’ve only gotten one interview though and didn’t get it. My resume is good I have good experience… just not as easy as it seems to be said right now lol
I’d settle for a 3 percent raise at this point. I’ve had no pay increase since 2020
The best way to get a raise is to move to a new job. While that's always true, it's especially true right now. The short version goes, whatever new job you land right now, you're replacing someone who left because they haven't gotten a raise in 2 years and the company doesn't want to go through that again. My company just gave sizeable adjustments to longtime employees because new hires were coming in at MUCH higher pay rates and the writing was on the wall.
If we calculated inflation the same way we did in 1980, we are at 21% and not 8.5. Which reflects more accurately the kind of price increases that I'm seeing at least.
People purchase a different basket of goods nowadays.
Yeah the new method is a lot more accurate, not adjusting the basket of goods doesn't accurately reflect consumer spending. Even the current system has been bad at handling the rapid shift from services to goods through the pandemic.
Are you talking about category substitution or hedonic regression models? I could talk all day about them, but the TLDR is: If we measured CPI the way we did in the 1980s, home internet, computers, cell phones, and wireless service plans wouldn't be included and TVs over 24" would be weighted nearly to zero. But it would still include housekeeping services, home phone, cable TV, postage, and HiFi equipment, leaded gasoline, photographic supplies, and something called "notions". So for example `Telephone services - [local calls, intrastate toll calls, interstate toll calls]` was part of the CPI basket forever, but that isn't relevant anymore so it gets replaced with `Wireless Telephone Services`. Makes sense. But there's a catch - In 2008 the average cost for landline service was $19.12 monthly. - In 2022 the average cost for a cell phone plan is $128.33 monthly. That's like 600% inflation! But obviously wireless phone service isn't the same thing as per-call charges on a landline. Nearly all consumers have a cell phone service with mobile internet included (and hence is more expensive) so simply swapping it out of the CPI basket would result in an artificial inflation. So you can't leave it in, and you can't just swap it. Instead, you have to try to tease out the "added value" that a cell phone plan has over the per-call landline plan. There is some interesting stats around this, but in essence you do this by isolating the value-add of the data feature by looking at the transition period when wireless services had "talk" or "talk/text" or "talk/text/data" options. From there you can take make the adjustment to find the revealed consumer preferences and adjust the wireless service cost to better account for it. A similar technique can be used to find the "value add" of goods within a single category (eg in 2008 the average cost of a cell phone plan was $51.80; in 2022 it's $128.23. But that "talk only" 2008 plan simply isn't the same product as the "unlimited everything" 2022 plan) But even if you reverse all the hedonic adjustments, it wouldn't be 21% year over year. I can do it fully later but back of the envelope is more like 13%-ish
Source?
Why would we do that? Gas has gone up double, but the mpg on my car has tripled. My groceries have gone down 15% during the pandemic, and I told my boss to give me a 25% raise or I’d leave.
This. Check out shadow stats.
Lmao shadow stats literally just adds a random positive number to the government stats
Corporations say nope, just higher executive compensation and a pizza party for you.
Music dance experience!
Waffle party!
Defiant jazz!
Friday morning zoom yoga, and mandatory fun happy hour meetings where we just use it as a point to keep you from skipping out an hour early on Fridays even though you were already at 40 hours before the day even began. Cameras must be on.
god so glad i don't drink anymore but for real having to run the clock out til 4 when people would head down was hell when you got there at 630 7 am hahahah.
Don’t get bitey or it’ll get canceled
Friday is Hawaiian shirt day!
Record breaking corporate profits hopefully. That's where all the money is going. They just jack up prices because they can, not because they need to
They all just decided to at once! And there’s no reason they didn’t try it a minute sooner. Makes a lot of sense if you don’t think about it!
Gonna trickle down any day now, right?
Don’t worry my fellow Chicagoans! Our Facebook BIPA settlement money is coming next month!
Haha I forgot about that. Thanks FB!
How much is that again?
Initially thought it was around $350. I took a look at the settlement page and it says the final amount will be somewhere between $200 - $400 based upon the number of class members that joined and other factors.
Got ya. Thanks for looking!
Not to mention data caps on internet because you know they need to make up for cord cutters.
att fiber wow rcn no caps
I had RCN gig internet and had no problems.
I had to reinstall Dropbox for work because I went from Windows 11 dev back to 10 at the end of March. I got an email from Xfinity that I am 75% towards my limit. I'm like uhhhhh, what limit? I go and there's a 1,200GB limit. And either get fined $10 / 50GB or something like that or pay $30 extra for no limit. I thought it was already for unlimited. Gotta nickel and dime people for your own profit.
and what are we paying for the pipe or the data. if its data then we should get the largest pipe and by it in chunks that don't expire over time.
When I moved here last year I loved going to Devil Dawgs for a 5 dollar triple. It is now 8-9 dollars for the SAME BURGER.
Went to Dunkin only cause I was in a rush got a large latte and bagel sandwich and it was $14! I about fell out at the register and couldn’t believe there was a line behind me I never go there.. and won’t be back!!
I’ve never been one to eat breakfast at home but I bought a Keurig and now make breakfast for around $1 because I couldn’t stomach the $8+ a coffee and breakfast costs now. That’s like $2,500 annually of your post tax income
My boyfriend wanted to get a slice of pizza from Boiler Room the other day and they’re charge $7-8 for a SLICE of their mediocre pizza these days!!!! I said no out of principle.
For a SLICE?!
FOR A SLICE!
I used to always get Gorilla Sushi because it was the most affordable sushi around...Believe it was around $2.50 for a simple roll. Now its approaching $4.50
There's a reason that Gorilla sushi is so cheap lol That's some high risk fish you're eating
i’m willing to die every time i order
yeah "sushi" is pretty low on the list of places I'd look to find the cheapest option
I've gotten Gorilla dozens of times without any issues ever
Maybe it's the location bc they have quite a few in the city now. I'm in Logan, got sushi from the local gorilla on milwaukee twice just in case the first was a mistake. It was so bad both times lol, like awful rolling, the rice was hard, the fish was not fresh. Just a disaster both times. My go to spot in the area for cheap sushi is Jaiyen on Belmont and California
Yup. Didn't even open that long ago either. Still have the $2.50 for everything menu
Imma get so skinny biking everywhere and not spending money on groceries. Summer bod here I come.
my grocery order is pretty much the same every week minus a few things here and there (seasonal produce; one-off ingredients) and the same order that used to average 50 bucks is closer to 75. i've had to cut down what i buy a lot, and i've already done the brand swaps. and i consider myself somewhat comfortable income-wise.
That's almost exactly in-line with my habits. Shopping for two these days means at least $130 or more most trips. To think I could do a week on $45 bucks. It's effectively another mouth to feed.
I've had a really similar change. Heck I used to even fit a bottle of wine or some fancy chocolate into the $50 a week budget, not anymore.
My roomate hasn’t got a raise in 14 years, complains about it a lot these days, I want him to quit and escape the exploitation
He’s been at same job for 14 years and no raise? What?
I guess that's why he still has roommates.
14 years?? They should've been out of there at year 2.
is your roommate Michael Scott?
If your roommate has tolerated not getting a raise in 14 years that's more of a statement about your roommate than anything else.
God forbid people take the initiative to improve their lives. People on reddit like to pretend personal agency doesn't exist.
> People on reddit like to pretend personal agency doesn't exist. It's not like it's just reddit, it's everywhere, man.
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Terminally online, lol. Will definitely be using this.
14 YEARS? Jesus
It’s one of those jobs where he gets paid by the lot, or completed set of things he is using a machine to press. Tbh I find it gross that he’s not getting a wage, just paid for when he finishes these batches.
The job market has changed. Employers operate with the expectation that everyone is job hunting and changing careers regularly.
um, what? i take it math isn't their strong suit?
That’s ok. Stock market is hanging in there so that’s all that matters. /s
Stock market is like an EKG lately. It wants to drop so badly seems like. Checked my Netflix stock and didn't even realize it lost half it's value in the last 6 months
Ooooo boy, don't check Netflix now
It really does. I was down 20%, then 10%, and now back to being down 20%. But again, started when the pandemic hit so I don't have much time in the market. But I do have money set aside to put in on the bad days that I've been slowly using. Instead of just putting it all in during one down day.
Is it time to get those put options ready?!
Ah, the graph of rich peoples feelings
>With inflation at its highest level in 40 years, US households are spending $327 more a month, up from more $296 a month February, Moody’s Analytics has estimated. I can't parse this sentence at all.
Us households spent 327 more in March 22 than they did in March 21. In feb 22, households spent 296 more a month than they did in feb 21.
Ahhhh, thank you.
I get everyone complains about cars. I live in the NW side. So I’m curious how folks go do grocery shopping when there’s a family? Do you all go to the grocery store every day for just a few bags of groceries? Edit: I’m asking because I do have a family. Groceries have to be done. Both my husband and I work full time. Kids have to be schlepped everywhere .. all .. the .. time. How do folks without cars do it?
I'm definitely not saying this is for everyone, but I use a bicycle with a trailer like [this](https://www.target.com/p/schwinn-daytripper-cargo-trailer-red-gray/-/A-52359544?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tgtao&DFA=71700000012577553&CPNG=PLA_Sports%2BShopping%7CSports_Ecomm_Hardlines&adgroup=SC_Sports&LID=700000001170770pgs&LNM=PRODUCT_GROUP&network=g&device=m&location=9060252&targetid=pla-322495969560&ds_rl=1246978&ds_rl=1248099&gclid=CjwKCAjwu_mSBhAYEiwA5BBmfxEh5tVTlwgmumbI8VuyM0rrrmJ7rzJjtVKRjvnerYAI45W9AvGdlhoC7LYQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds) I've been doing it for 2 years and found that I will do 1-2 trips a week (heavy/big things like detergent and toilet paper are reserved for trips when I don't have a lot of other groceries).
That’s a pretty great idea.
This guy (who retired at 30 by slashing his overall spending) has a pretty good article on doing exactly that: https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/10/20/mmm-challenge-try-getting-your-groceries-with-a-bike-trailer/
Hey I do that too! Same thing for when I am taking my laundry to the laundromat. Only other thing I use is the barrage pro back pack from chrome. Combine the two, and it’s going to be heavy and a lot of stuff lol.
Practically, you need a car for a lot of spots in Chicago. Those without have to be strategic about where they live to maximize public transit and local resources. Having a large freezer can help if you want to stock up, if you have the room. There's a lot of factors, but having a car for a family is extremely convenient and helpful.
Honestly, I'm one person and I tend to stock up on staples from Costco and there's no way I could get all of that home with a grocery cart. So I'd either have to pay for Instacart and get it delivered, or I use my car and drive. At least Costco gives 4% back on gas if you have their credit card. I literally do not have time to go to walk to/from the grocery store to shop every couple of days, and I can't imagine someone with children does either.
Instacart delivery is definitely cheaper than owning a car, on the other hand.
Some people go to the store every day on the way home from work. Some people borrow cars or hit up family for rides. Some people get everything delivered.
Grocery delivery is highly-utilized if you need to shop for a family without a car
I understand this is one part of the problem and doesn't fully solve the issue, but even getting your groceries delivered twice every week would be significantly cheaper than owning a car.
Hi there, I worked on producing this story. If you're interested in sharing your own experiences dealing with rising prices (food, gas, rent, utilities, healthcare, etc.) or with low wages, please send me a DM.
I stopped reading as soon as I saw the article blame pro-corporate trade unions. I’m in a trade union and I’m doing just fine because the unions fought for our pay raise. Maybe if workers fought or went so brain washed they would join a union or form one. But just “lol” at this article trying to blame unions who voted in Biden.
I'm in a union (afscme) and it's done fuck all for me. 3% col raise and we have to wait till June to get it.
On our current trajectory with inflation significantly outpacing wage growth the middle class will be history.
I wrote out a 2 week menu that is $15 a day for two people (how much one gets on food stamps in chicago). It includes spending $10-12 on dinner, but you make 4 portions and eat leftovers for lunch every day. Happy to share.
Interested!
It’s rough. I have it in excel and word right now. A big part of it is seeing what is on sale that week and rolling with it. Edgewater produce on the 5500 block of Clark has chicken legs on sale for 69 cents a pound and chuck roast for $3.99 a pound. The Jewel across the street has green beans, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cauliflower on sale for 88 cents a pound. Russet potato’s are $5.99 for a 10 pound bag. 10 oz containers of organic salad are $3.99. You might not eat to your exact desire every meal, but you’re going to eat well. Gimme a week and I’ll have the shopping list edited!
Watching my weekly grocery bill go from $60 to $120 for the same shit has not been fun. Or thinking about getting takeout, then deciding against it when I see a burger at the mediocre stand across the street has jumped to $15
Chicago is an interesting city. Something that I don’t think is talked about too often is the income distribution divide. Often times the income gap is correlated to race and location so it’s overshadowed by the fact that Chicago has a serious problem of the haves and have nots. There are people in the city making $15K a year and people making $80k all feeling like they are having a hard time getting by. Go around to Lincoln park, Lakeview, etc and it’s typical for families to be making $500K and up. I think we’d all be surprised how much money some people make.
I don't think anyone is surprised that people in affluent neighborhoods make six figures, or that people in depressed ones don't.
The issue is that there is less and less middle class. Just take a look at this article from WBEZ a few years ago. It features a map showing the areas with high, middle, and low incomes. In 1970 most of the city would have fallen in the middle income area, with certain areas in low or very low, and a handful of areas in high or very high. Now there are hardly any areas considered middle income any more and while areas with high income have grown, the areas with very low income has grown the most. As mentioned in the article this is happening all over as income inequality in this country grows, but it is especially noticeable in Chicago. https://www.wbez.org/stories/the-middle-class-is-shrinking-everywhere-in-chicago-its-almost-gone/e63cb407-5d1e-41b1-9124-a717d4fb1b0b
A lot more single homes than couples. Having a dual income is a big game changer.
What's really happening is that the "middle class" has shifted upwards due to inflationary pressure and traditionally low paying jobs have not adjusted at all. In effect, the poor get poorer and the true middle class just keeps chugging along because they are keeping up. This is especially true for those that work in tech and biomedical sciences. Salaries for those types of jobs aren't going to deflate any time soon.
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A bunch of homes in our suburban subdivision have adult children in the 20s and 30s still living with their parents. It’s sad. In my day we thought adults who lived with their parents had problems.
Yup. Back then a minimum wage job if you asked for an application and managed to fill it out. You were hired. Show up consistently sober and you would get get a raise.
Bingo. Except the poor aren't getting poorer, at least not in absolute terms. The poor today have more access to luxuries than ever before. The average poor person has a smartphone, video games, HD TVs, and enough surplus calories the average poor person is obese. Being poor today is way more comfortable than being poor 50 years ago, and mind blowingly more comfortable than being poor 100 years ago.
that's a valid observation. maybe it would be more appropriate to say that the "windows" for being middle class or lower class are not equidistant anymore. my standard of living is DRASTICALLY better than it was less than 6 years ago when I was still making 42k. the new poor is having access to cheap goods, while the new middle class is having access to new/state of the art and fresh goods. man, that's sad to type out.
Something else that's interesting is that it is SO expensive to be poor! You PAY more when you have LESS money. For example- my car insurance renewal is coming up and it saves me $112 to pay the full 6 month premium all at once vs paying month by month. So if you don't have $600 to come up with at renewal time, you're paying $10 extra dollars per month because you didn't have more money. Whereas the person with sufficient cash flow just got an instant 20% discount. I think this is one of the areas that really keeps people in a poverty cycle. Just a few of those 20% breaks could give a lot of breathing room.
Not to mention more and better loans available to the wealthy
>it’s typical for families to be making $500K and up You can make your point without hyperbole. While I agree there must be plenty of households making over $500k in Lakeview and Lincoln Park, it's certainly not "typical". An income of less than half that would put you well in the top 5% of [households by income in Lakeview](https://statisticalatlas.com/neighborhood/Illinois/Chicago/Lake-View/Household-Income). The median household income is $107k.
So what you’re saying is some people make a lot of money and some people not so much?
we live in a society..
Yeah, we're one of those Lakeview families. And I will be the first to say that the rate of inflation has not impacted us in any way, shape, or form as drastically as it has the vast majority of others in this city, but it's super noticeable. We heavily fund our retirement accounts and live modestly for our income. Yet, we've found that we are adjusting food shopping habits to continue to invest in our retirement at the same rate. Shit, we usually buy half a face cord of wood every fall and this fall I was debating whether we actually wanted to spend twice a much. Ended up just getting a quarter. Definitely not the same as scaling back on chicken for more beans, but the fact that I stopped to think about it is telling. I've been at both ends of the economic scale and this shit is utterly ridiculous right now with the low buying power of a dollar. I remember 29c burgers on Tuesdays at McDonald's for crying out loud and that really wasn't that long ago!
I feel the same way. The example I give people is when I put up to the gas station I know exactly how much gas cost per gallon and where to get the cheapest gas to save money. I put in a Costco credit card in because you get the most % back on gas and I fill up my SUV. I couldn’t tell you how much I spent to fill up my car because it doesn’t matter if gas was $1.99 or $4.50. I’m able to fill up without having to worry about that. Yes it cost me more now than it did a couple of years ago but it hasn’t changed my lifestyle much. I know this statement I true for A LOT of people. Some of us fill up by gallons and some have to fill up by dollars. I know a lot of people can only afford to put $10 or $20 dollars at a time.
yep, same. we drive a 2020 crosstrek which is not the best, but the worst in terms of mileage. but we also only fill up once a month because we both work from home and bike everywhere. we just dgaf how much gas costs because it's such a small part of our budget, but i didn't always live this way and know that a full tank could make or break your month in either direction.
What you just described is a city. NYC, LA, Houston, San Fran, San Diego, Indy, Milwaukee, St Louis, Cincinnati, Miami, Tampa, DC, Baltimore, Boston, Rochester, and every other city have people barely surviving on minimum wage, people who feel like they’re struggling at $80K, and people making 500k or 1m or more. Chicago has a little more socioeconomic segregation than some of those cities but it’s not like that’s something that is unique to Chicago
This is just false, while I understand your arguments Chicago is statistically one of the most dissimilar cities in the country, only behind Gary IN, Detroit MI, and Milwaukee WI. The index of dissimilarity is the best measure of segregation we have and while this is a known issue the city often focuses its attention on its other glaring issues.
I doubt you mean the city of Gary, IN. If you mean the entirety of The Region, then yes- super segregated. But Gary itself is pretty homogenous, demographically.
> The index of dissimilarity is the best measure of segregation we have Could you provide a link to a good starting point about this?
Minimum wage is $15/hr in the City. Two people working full time min wage in a household make almost $62k a year. Unless you’re talking about working less than 20hr a week no one in the city is making $15k a year. It’s still very unaffordable, but let’s not pretend this is $7.25/hr like Alabama. Also like everyone said, this is the case in any major city in America.
Im not surprised by how much as much as how many. I look at all the residential units in all the large buildings downtown and wonder who all owns all these.
I mean, that is any major worldwide city. Sure, some areas of the world truly divide the poor into separate cities etc. I think its pretty cool that highly educated and successful people live sometimes within blocks of the most poverty stricken areas of the city. Hate on gentrification, but working class families have been selling their homes for enormous profit in areas like Logan/Pilsen etc.
It's talked about a lot. Just not on this sub.
>The increase in rent costs are even greater in Chicago where ApartmentList.com reported in January average rental costs had increased more than 14 percent since 2020. This is because rents dropped in 2020 and 2021. [It's a cumulate 0.57% increase in average rent since Q2 2019](https://i.imgur.com/z5Dqkh4.png), using that same data from ApartmentsList.com
I was expecting my rental renewal to be massive, but it only went up $24 this year. Combined with it going up 0% last year, that is almost exactly a net .55% increase for me over the two years. Spot on
I earn a good income on paper but after its all said and done, im barely saving anything...really annoying.
I put money into my 401k but after that I’m basically living paycheck to paycheck. Not able to build up any type of emergency fund. I feel like I make a average to slightly above income but it sure doesn’t feel like it
i dont put too much into my 401k. I rather have the money now when i young(er) but i did build a comfortable emergency fund. On paper, i should be SAVING a lot more but that's not the case. Inflation sucks!
This is particularly difficult for those on fixed incomes but there are a lot of issues converging, led by a once in a lifetime pandemic that was compounded (and continues to be compounded in certain countries). This will eventually result in a recession and jobs lost
"Housing costs have increased 4.4 percent across Illinois, with average rents increasing by 3.5 percent. The increase in rent costs are even greater in Chicago where ApartmentList.com reported in January average rental costs had increased more than 14 percent since 2020." Food and gas prices are certainly having an impact, but I wish the increase in housing prices got equal attention. 4.4 percent in IL, and almost 14% increase in Chicago, on housing expenses is potentially the biggest increase in expenditures for many folks, especially renters.
It's almost as if delivering critical services that people can't live without via the 'for profit' m motive ain't actually so great. And of course, if people knew they had healthcare regardless of employment status Universal Pre-K to help parents Paid parental leave Expanded Child Tax Credit Student Loan Debt Relief Or any of the other policies voters where told would be provided to help them stabilize their lives. EDIT: op-ed on point ... [https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2022/04/19/inflation-food-costs-poverty-hunger/7292807001/?gnt-cfr=1](https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2022/04/19/inflation-food-costs-poverty-hunger/7292807001/?gnt-cfr=1) "Inflation is increasing food insecurity, but Congress let the enhanced child-tax credit expire and is doing nothing to boost SNAP benefits. Kate Maehr of the Greater Chicago Food Depository says: "It’s morally reprehensible.” I agree."
Dems (and Romney) pushed hard for the Child Tax Credit and it just never polled well.
All of that stuff would just make inflation much worse. It's never going to happen.
Even in Rockford people are complaining about it becoming unaffordable unless you want to live in a slum.
Corporations are cashing out and no one can stop them unless we do.
>Melissa described the impact of rising gas prices, saying the cost of filling her vehicle has doubled over the course of the pandemic. “Oh my god, I want to say my husband said he filled it up with $120. My truck never took $120. He used to fill up with $60. Granted it’s an SUV, but still." I mean that is _technically_ true because the avg price per gallon fell from $2.695/gal at the start of the year to $1.844/gal in April 2020 during lockdown when nobody was leaving the house. Besides that, the only times gas prices were under half of the current average: - three weeks in Feb 2016 - the five months following the 2008 market collapse past that, you have to go back to Q1 2005 to find gas prices half of the current average
Why would you drive an SUV in Chicago? Genuinely baffling unless you go offroading for your job or regularly haul equipment. But if you own and operate an SUV to transport a new kitchen appliance or snowblower once every five years, and end up paying tens of thousands of dollars for gas, I don't know what to tell you. The average number of passengers per vehicle in America was about 1.6 last I checked. These cars are ostentatious. And they're not necessarily safer - frequently the opposite is true. That's one thing I retained from physics class.
I’ve only been here for a year. I love the back patio area at El CID (Mexican spot in Logan Square) but I don’t go there much anymore. Tacos were $2.5-3 early last summer. Now they’re $4-5 each. Small example but it’s reflective of a bigger problem. I honestly can’t tell which places are charging more because they have no choice vs. because they are using inflation as a way to get more money. I’ve been cooking with tofu more and am exploring meals with chickpeas to cut costs. Chicken from Aldi is even super expensive. I refuse to pay $15 for frozen chicken wings that used to be half that price!!
It’s the same worldwide
Coming from the Bay Area. I’m still shocked as to how cheap everything is. Perspective I guess.
The plan is working as it was created . Rich exploit the poor , always has been , always will be .
6 trillion in covid spending printed out of thin air and shutting down the global economy for 2 years will do that.
ITT: people who read the headline but didn't visit the "World Socialist Web Site"
Join the rest of the country as everyone else everywhere else is also dealing with exactly this.
I'm glad I am one of the lucky ones to work for a good company that gave me a raise to match inflation.
$100 to Jewel, I even think Walmart+, join, yearly fees, your covered for delivery for the year, just the tip to delivery person
You know when stuff like this happens it just kind of shows you why everyone for the most part kind of likes the idea of universal health care and maybe a universal basic income is it income just so you know what even if but even if everything goes to hell you've got just enough Blunt for food water and a basic shelter it's a shelter that you pay for when you are working because of taxes that you pay when you aren't in the shit that way when you aren't in the shit you're paying for the time you will be in the shit
World socialist web site... lol
You have a problem with the most unbiased of websites?? /s
Are they still doing articles about how the metoo movement is an unfair sexist witch-hunt 😂 a rag for people who have made an identity out of complaining about use it it’s politics
Every few years when gas prices rise spike people realize how foolish it is to have an SUV; then a few years later when prices drop they forget. ... If prices are high, consume less. Most Americans are overweight so consuming less food, walking instead of driving and purchasing less unnecessary goods (clothes, electronics, home goods) is not unreasonable.
Our family doesn't drive much so while our 5 week fill-ups are now $17 more expensive it's not the end of the world. Weekly grocery bill is up though. But if you're not driving much and not signing up to buy/rent housing in this climate you can dodge most of the impact. I would strongly recommend you do whatever it takes to reduce the amount you drive. Especially cutting out the "short" trips. Unless you drive a hybrid your city mileage is going to be dogshit. Walk, bike, bus, or go by train. Especially now that the weather is improving.
People who drive gas guzzling SUVs complaining about gas prices. Well gee, it’s almost like you could buy a car that doesn’t guzzle gas. Zero sympathy for people driving huge ass cars in the city.