Everywhere I turn I’m surprised by the price of things. Groceries, restaurants, parking, shoes, alcohol, no matter what I’m looking to buy, prices seem significantly higher than just a couple years ago. It’s not subtle, it’s very noticeable.
I wonder if the percentage of people living below the poverty line has increased? How are lower-middle class families doing? How many houses have been sold due to interest rates being too high? How many people are commuting from farther away from work than they hoped because rentals in cities are too high?
How are people making minimum wage making ends meet? How many kids in their 20’s and even 30’s are living at home with their parents? How many are renting with no hope of coming up with a deposit to buy a house?
Prices don’t seem to go down either, even when the economy and interest rates lower, prices stay hiked up… they don’t increase as fast, but they also don’t lower. New lows are set and we are forced to settle with the new hikes as the new normal.
It doesn’t seem sustainable.
We were just talking today about how the cost to purchase many things have doubled in the last decade.. my vehicle, my home, groceries, clothing… but my salary has not. Not sure how people are making it… but my kids are concerned about what it means for the future.
I agree Brenda,
I’m concerned for our kids too. It’s disheartening for them to look and think, “I’ll always own a second hand car, and I’ll never afford a mortgage.”
Sure it might get better, but until then the outlook for them isn’t great, and I think that’s weighing on an entire generation (or two).