How is inflation affecting you?

[Brainonska511]

The government should heavily subsidize switch overs to heat pumps. Lot more options now will all the mini splits and such too.

Yes, if climate change (and getting away from fossil fuels for other reasons) is any sort of priority, this should certainly be the case.

Love my mini splits but they still aren’t cheap to run as heaters here in New England. I had a couple $400 electric bill months this winter and I turn them off at night .. and my house is only 1800sqft. That’s what 1930 construction will get me I guess. Of course our electricity in MA is super high as well, like 26 cents per kWh. It’s much cheaper to run them as ACs in the summer because the temperature delta is far smaller.

I have solar on my roof which pays back a decent amount quarterly at least.

Yeah, after the utility charge and the generator charge, it can be pretty pricey. Which is unfortunate, because then we're effectively subsidizing natural gas use.

Thank your friendly neighbors for that 😛 hidden advantage of density for sure.

Yes, part of it is certainly neighbors. Modern insulation and a western exposure helps a lot too. We'll be paying for it in the summer though come time to use the AC; need to get a window fan to help bring in the cool evening air when the time comes, since we don't really get cross-breezes.

However, my old apartment was the 2nd-floor of a triple-decker built circa the end of WWI. Fairly drafty windows, but at least with a cheap programmable thermostat, I was able to keep it comfortable and the bill around $150/mo in the winter. But god forbid we tear down the old firetrap shitboxes and allow newer housing to go up...

 

[K1052]

Love my mini splits but they still aren’t cheap to run as heaters here in New England. I had a couple $400 electric bill months this winter and I turn them off at night .. and my house is only 1800sqft. That’s what 1930 construction will get me I guess. Of course our electricity in MA is super high as well, like 26 cents per kWh. It’s much cheaper to run them as ACs in the summer because the temperature delta is far smaller.

I have solar on my roof which pays back a decent amount quarterly at least.

Haha, old homes are famously cheap to heat and cool. Its like the people who move here to central Texas and buy some old bungalow have strokes when they get their summer electric bills.

 

[highland145]

The boss hated our heat pump. Didn't put out "hot" air. So we got gas logs so she could sit by the fire. The replacement unit is a gas pack.

Our house was built in 1937 and had some insulation. Done a lot more in 26 years. Jan bill was $270.

 

[Torn Mind]

As shitty as increasing fuel costs are for people, it's a net good thing. We want to reduce our use of fossil fuels, especially wasteful uses. Cheap fossil fuels have led people to build, buy, and live in extremely wasteful ways. And by decreasing our fossil fuel use, we protect ourselves long-term from fluctuations and global instability caused by authoritarian petro states.

It harms the lower classes more because they wind up in the far out suburbs.

 

[Brainonska511]

It harms the lower classes more because they wind up in the far out suburbs.

Yes, increased gas costs hurt some people more as a proportion of their income. But let's not pretend our society gives 2 shits about less well off people, especially the poor. If we cared, we wouldn't have forced them, via high housing costs, to live so far from their work.

 

[ultimatebob]

Time to get a heat pump and only use fossil fuels as a backup/emergency heat source.

Thanks to living in modern, 3-story apartment building, my natural gas bill has been $25/mo to cover the baseline water heater use. Our heat has barely come on, and we're not even trying to keep it cold in here.

I have a plucky little Mitsubishi mini-split heat pump, but it struggles to keep the house warm when it gets below 50 degrees. It also struggles to cool the place when it gets above 90, but that doesn't happen all that often on the Connecticut coastline.

 

[highland145]

Yes, increased gas costs hurt some people more as a proportion of their income. But let's not pretend our society gives 2 shits about less well off people, especially the poor. If we cared, we wouldn't have forced them, via high housing costs, to live so far from their work.

Here, that's a load of bullshit. 3 months of my rent income goes to property tax, insurance cause it's a rental. Then add fed/state tax...I get 6 months if nothing has to be fixed. Get a tenant that fucks shit up, I have no recourse to collect. Not seeing the WE. Put their ass under a bridge, in a box. And thanks to the eviction moratorium, owners got doubly fucked because of.....no recourse.

I'm cutting one of my current peeps rent 10% so she stays. No problems or worries. The current market, I could raise it 15%.

Look at me, a nice guy.



Otherwise, yes, the poors get screwed. Politicians give 2 shits. When's the last time diaper J pumped his own gas.

 

[Brainonska511]

Here, that's a load of bullshit. 3 months of my rent income goes to property tax, insurance cause it's a rental. Then add fed/state tax...I get 6 months if nothing has to be fixed. Get a tenant that fucks shit up, I have no recourse to collect. Not seeing the WE. Put their ass under a bridge, in a box. And thanks to the eviction moratorium, owners got doubly fucked because of.....no recourse.

I'm cutting one of my current peeps rent 10% so she stays. No problems or worries. The current market, I could raise it 15%.

Look at me, a nice guy.

Sounds like you're describing some of the well-known pitfalls of rental property ownership for investment purposes. Granted, the eviction moratorium was a bit of a ham-fisted approach to keep people from being thrown out of housing during a pandemic; there was rental assistance in some of the relief bills to help landlords out, but if I recall, much of that was stymied by local and state governments.

As for "we" - it's a euphemism for society. Choices made by generations past, our addiction to inefficient suburban sprawl, and not wanting to build enough housing in places people want to live ensures housing remains costly. It's great if you're using real estate as an investment. It's pretty shitty if you want to keep a roof over your head and not break the bank at the same time.

 

[highland145]

Sounds like you're describing some of the well-known pitfalls of rental property ownership for investment purposes. Granted, the eviction moratorium was a bit of a ham-fisted approach to keep people from being thrown out of housing during a pandemic; there was rental assistance in some of the relief bills to help landlords out, but if I recall, much of that was stymied by local and state governments.

As for "we" - it's a euphemism for society. Choices made by generations past, our addiction to inefficient suburban sprawl, and not wanting to build enough housing in places people want to live ensures housing remains costly. It's great if you're using real estate as an investment. It's pretty shitty if you want to keep a roof over your head and not break the bank at the same time.

Pitfalls, yes. Shit tenants need to be under a bridge and on a black list (illegal). Or recourse laws need some bite, jail.

stymied by local and state governments. Yes, here, the monies weren't applied for or the state screwed it up. But if you're getting $900/wk unemployment where you made $450/wk before...pay your damned rent.

I could seriously cut the rent if the city/county didn't screw me. But they're too busy building taj mahal office buildings.

And my add tracked on several different thoughts so I'll stop here....

 

[Red Squirrel]

I heard lot of horror stories from landlords too. Crossed my mind to get into rentals and decided it's not worth the trouble. What little money you make they can trash the whole place and you lose everything and end up worse off than if you never got into it in first place.

 

[highland145]

Yeah, 2 pack of 2 loins. Pretty good deal until the child takes 1 for his dinner. 🙄🙄 No leftovers.

 

[Captante]

EIA expects U.S. petroleum trade to shift toward net imports during 2022

 

[Torn Mind]

I heard lot of horror stories from landlords too. Crossed my mind to get into rentals and decided it's not worth the trouble. What little money you make they can trash the whole place and you lose everything and end up worse off than if you never got into it in first place.

My mom's decision-making and pricing strategy has given me firsthand experience in numerous types and flavors of destructive tenants, and seeing 4d chess firsthand. When people have an understanding of the system, all they need is nerves of steel and practice to take the hidden systemic "profits" ripe for the taking.

Here's a few of the types
1. The ones who trash up the joint as a sort of "shield" for their own occupancy while driving others out. (Mensa senior Jewish woman. 50+ year white Irish male.)
2. The drug dealer who got jailed and then became a barber after getting out
3. The county bus driver who caused a drug bust and the police damaged a house due to said bust.
4. The white son of a real estate agent who was a habitual troublemaker
5. A recommendation from dude #2 who had a history in which he did an armed robbery of woman. Young black male from the shitty zip code. His little brother(discovered through case search) also is engaged in crime. He had a girlfriend at the time, which he got pregnant just before his tenancy ended.
6. Sex offender #1. This one did shit with his daughter. Hispanic
7. Sex offender #2. This one convinced a co-worker that he was in a tough situation. That co-worker's mom or parents then rented out the basement to him. Over the course of 1.5 years, he violated the co-worker's sister. He also exposed himself three times in public stores. Hispanic, from Columbia.
8. The druggie delinquent white son of an American university professor(prof is his mom)
9. Old man Chinese acquaintance. Introduced via a old lady who was the acquaintance of my mother.
10. Nigerian #1
11. Nigerian #2
12. Nigerian #3
13. The malevolent former neighbor's son. Their deceptive family never disclosed that he had an assault charge where he attacked his aunt with a sword.
14. Homeless professional tenant from hell. The unsympathetic type of homeless who deserves the streets and no better.
15. #2's king pin drug buddy and his "clean record" front woman, who apparently used religion to enhance her "front".

For the legal shit I had to do to mop up the messes, I'd fucking wonder if I should focused on going law school.

 

[biostud]

Luckily our district heating is running on straw and wood chips, so no changes to our heating bill.

 

[lxskllr]

That's how I run the house :^D

I wonder if US natural gas is going up? Not sure I care enough to poke around BGE's site. I don't use much of it. Boss lives on a farm and when he renovated the farmhouse, he removed all the woodburning apparatus. I told him he was a dumbass. It's like moving some place that has full gas cans popping up in the fields, and you just leave them there to rot. Bet he's enjoying the heating oil prices. If only there were a solution...

 

[K1052]

I wonder if US natural gas is going up?

Yes, gas is up. LNG export terminals going at full tilt for Europe, some production dips in TX due due cold fronts, and higher utility usage.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Natural gas seems to be one of the few bills that has stayed stable here for the past years. If I keep the house cold enough I can sometimes manage to get a bill under $100. I find with hydro it does not matter how little you use there's so many fixed fees it's at least $100 no matter what but with natural gas they only charge for what you use. I'm on equal billing but when the usage is low enough for a while it drops the bill down.

Then there's insurance that has gone up like crazy too. I keep removing optional coverage as needed to try to keep it low but I'm pretty much at my limits without taking serious risks with the house.

 

[FelixDeCat]

Natural gas seems to be one of the few bills that has stayed stable here for the past years. If I keep the house cold enough I can sometimes manage to get a bill under $100. I find with hydro it does not matter how little you use there's so many fixed fees it's at least $100 no matter what but with natural gas they only charge for what you use. I'm on equal billing but when the usage is low enough for a while it drops the bill down.

Then there's insurance that has gone up like crazy too. I keep removing optional coverage as needed to try to keep it low but I'm pretty much at my limits without taking serious risks with the house.

Bean dip. Cheap and effective.

 

[deadlyapp]

That's how I run the house :^D

I wonder if US natural gas is going up? Not sure I care enough to poke around BGE's site. I don't use much of it. Boss lives on a farm and when he renovated the farmhouse, he removed all the woodburning apparatus. I told him he was a dumbass. It's like moving some place that has full gas cans popping up in the fields, and you just leave them there to rot. Bet he's enjoying the heating oil prices. If only there were a solution...

Spot price of natural gas is way up. Most providers hedge against this pretty well by locking in supply contracts and have huge storage facilities to help, but eventually the cost is passed on.

I paid a total of ~$.86 per CCF for Feb this year and ~$.62 per CCF last year, looking all the way back to 2020. Even such that's only a $16 difference in my monthly bill (we use gas for heating, water heater) and this was my highest bill ever at $75.

 

[Red Squirrel]

This 12 year old girl knows what's up.

 

[Captante]

This 12 year old girl knows what's up.

I'd be nervous saying stuff like that out loud in public even if I was a 12 year-old kid.

The "powers that be" might get pissed you giving up their secrets and make you go "away".

 

[Red Squirrel]

More people getting into buying gold and silver.

U.S. Mint sees strongest gold bullion demand in 23 years, sells 426k ounces in Q1

Kitco News' general-interest stories takes a look at what is making headlines in the marketplace and how that is impacting precious metals prices

www.kitco.com

Been stacking up myself as much as I can afford... which is not a lot, but got to start somewhere. Only silver for now but may do gold too.

 

[ponyo]

More people getting into buying gold and silver.

U.S. Mint sees strongest gold bullion demand in 23 years, sells 426k ounces in Q1

Kitco News' general-interest stories takes a look at what is making headlines in the marketplace and how that is impacting precious metals prices

www.kitco.com

Been stacking up myself as much as I can afford... which is not a lot, but got to start somewhere. Only silver for now but may do gold too.

Premium on physical silver is kind of stupid right now and have been since covid so I don't recommend buying physical silver. Premium on physical gold is better but premium is still kind of high compared to the past and gold isn't particularly cheap atm imo. That being said, I think everyone should own some gold and silver. And some cryptos like Bitcoin and Ethereum too.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Woah that's an awesome stash. And yeah I'm kinda late to the game. This is more long term. My hope is that in like 20+ years from now I can turn it in for a profit, even with premiums accounted for.

It's not so much a get rich quick scheme but rather trying to keep up with inflation. Though in the end I think the only way to really keep up is to reduce costs of living as much as possible which is also my main goal with living off grid.

 

[ponyo]

Woah that's an awesome stash. And yeah I'm kinda late to the game. This is more long term. My hope is that in like 20+ years from now I can turn it in for a profit, even with premiums accounted for.

It's not so much a get rich quick scheme but rather trying to keep up with inflation. Though in the end I think the only way to really keep up is to reduce costs of living as much as possible which is also my main goal with living off grid.

That's part of my gold stash. But I haven't bought any in about 4 years and have no plans to buy more other than jewelry for the wife.

I highly recommend sticking with stocks for the long term and to keep up with inflation. Gold and silver is ok at keeping up with inflation but I only recommend keeping tiny portion of your net worth in precious metals. PM are more insurance, not investment. Invest in quality stocks for the long term. That's how you create and maintain long term wealth and soundly beat inflation.