Does this article on spending resonate with you?

[DawnM]

Are you spending more?   less?   same?

It would seem to me that people are just spending in response to two years of cars not being available to buy, supplies to stores were down, etc....and it will level out in a year or two.   Maybe I am just naive.   

We are spending pretty much the same, maybe a little less (due to two kids in college where the bulk of our extra money is going at the moment!)

We will need a car in about a year or so, but not now.

https://www.npr.org/2023/02/25/1159284378/economy-inflation-recession-consumer-spending-interest-rates

[Tree Frog]

We're spending more on us than we have in the past. All the kids have, or will be this year, graduated and are living independently, so we have more flexible income. And next year, I'll have a regular salary for the first time in 20 years  But it's mostly all items we've planned for, the rugs when our incontinent dog passes away, the couch and chair when we replace the rugs. We've also bought plane tickets to visit kids. 

[KungFuPanda]

I’m buying the same stuff at the grocery store and definitely spending more!

Also, not everyone kept their jobs during the early pandemic. These people might be clawing their way back financially and can finally afford to buy things they’ve needed for a few years. 

[Scarlett]

I have no idea really. Pre pandemic I worked part time.   All through 2020, 2021 I worked full time.  And Dh stayed slammed at work.  We are really trying to keep our expenses low…..we passed on a HI vacation next month with dh’s family……it would have cost us at minimum 7k and we just could not  justify it.  
 

Groceries are way up.  And pet food.  The pet food I buy was $21 for 16.5 pounds.  Now it is $30.  

[Arcadia]

We are spending less other than grocery and utilities being about the same. DS18 is going to college in fall so we put more “spare cash” into certificate of deposits. Last year my husband’s employer and other tech companies started retrenching in batches so we also put more into emergency savings. 

Our splurge was to stay at a Hampton Inn (under Hilton) instead of Motel 8 when we drove 7 hours south to tour a state university that DS18 was accepted to. 
 

Certificate of deposit rates went up so that is helpful to use. We went for no penalty CDs and the rate was above 4%.

[Katy]

I don’t think the idea that recession is imminent is accurate at all. That’s not what happens when millions die, millions of parents who want to work are stuck at home for lack of childcare, millions more retire, and for national security reasons we need to bring millions of manufacturing jobs back to the USA. Last month I read estimates are we’re short approximately 18 million employees now, but it might be twice that if we had more available to hire. 

Technically we already had a recession. It had to do with GDP, not layoffs. But it didn’t affect employees because of the labor shortage. It was a recession because we don’t have enough employees so we couldn’t produce as much. 

Sure, tech is laying off, but several large companies admitted (or had employees leak) that they used stimulus money to over hire when they didn’t have much work solely to keep the competition from grabbing up talent. 

The government pumped billions of cash into American citizens AND companies. That will result in permanent inflation. Permanently higher wages and housing prices even if we weren’t in a labor shortage. But the labor shortage ensures people who haven’t moved or had much higher expenses than a 25-50% higher food bill have plenty of money to upgrade a car or get restaurant food. 

[Carol in Cal.]

Everything costs more and we have not adjusted what we buy routinely very much.

We have not increased unusual spending, except that we go out to eat again which we didn’t during the pandemic.  

[Carol in Cal.]

It is clear that the total workforce has dropped, which always increases labor prices.  This was expected (baby bust kids reach working age plus baby boomers retire) but the pandemic moved that gradual demographic shift into a train wreck rush.

[Bootsie]

 I don't see it is such a puzzle that spending is high during inflation; I see that as more typical.  If prices are increasing at 6% and I can earn 2% on my savings, I am losing purchasing power on my savings.  What costs $1000 now will cost $1060 if I wait to buy it next year.  If I put the $1000 in savings and wait I will only have $1020 in a year and won't be able to purchase it.  

[Scarlett]

10 minutes ago, Bootsie said:

 I don't see it is such a puzzle that spending is high during inflation; I see that as more typical.  If prices are increasing at 6% and I can earn 2% on my savings, I am losing purchasing power on my savings.  What costs $1000 now will cost $1060 if I wait to buy it next year.  If I put the $1000 in savings and wait I will only have $1020 in a year and won't be able to purchase it.  

Great explanation. 

[Carrie12345]

We’re definitely spending more. We just got a renter in our old house and Dh got a reasonable raise. (Not as much as current inflation, but more than average annual inflation.)  

We’ve planned for gardening expenses and still have an open budget for house projects that will be going once the semester is over. And we’ve planned (car) travel.

 I’m browsing new cars, but it’s normal for me to get a new car every decade or so. Mine is over 9 now. I’m not desperate to buy, but I am concerned about future rates and I’m trying to find a comfortable spot in the whole thing.

 I’m also spending on tuition, but relatively reasonable tuition.

We’re not doing much eating out, but I’d rather buy books.

[BusyMom5]

I don't even like to think about it.  We are at the most expensive part of life- For years we knew this time period would be $$, but we never considered the inflation around food and cars.  We have saved- always- but recently I told DH enough complaints about not saving right now- that can come later.  Right now we need that money.  I mean, we still try to watch expenses,  but cars + college for 4 kids in 4.5 years- its gonna be a lot!

Groceries- I am buying more than I used to bc I have teen boys that are always hungry.   I don't mind to cut junk back, but I'm not cutting back on fruits, meat, veggies, etc.  I have tried to stretch out what I can and cut out stuff like granola bars.  I make a lot of stuff from scratch,  but they are at peak growth and I'm feeding them as well as I can.

Vehicles- A lot of the pandemic money went to vehicles, coupled with shortages has created a perfect storm at the exact time that we need to help kids buy cars.  There are still car shortages and prices will not slow down.   We ended up buying ODD a brand new car bc there wasn't much of a price difference,  and we wanted her to have something reliable bc she's far away at school (free ride, so we felt she deserved the car).  Now DD2 is heading off next fall and will need something reliable- we have to buy something this summer and are on the lookout.  Hoping to keep it at 15K!  Very much hoping she can get just one good scholarship- it would make it a lot easier for us!  She will be closer to home,  so if there are mechanical problems we can be there in an hour or two.  We don't feel a brand new car is best at this time, but who knows what we will find or if we can keep to our price range- we may need to buy new and finance if we can't find anything?  

Clothes- I have never been one to buy tons of clothes - my kids even joke about it bc I just do not like to shop!  Everything is higher $$- shoes, jeans, coats, and everyone keeps growing!  Especially the teen boys!  I'm not buying any more than j used to, with the exception of boys outgrowing stuff so quickly.   They are in men's large now, so hoping this is the last season I have to replace everything.   

Travel- we have a very cheap vacation planned, but due to other circumstances that may be canceled or moved to a local place instead. We do have several necessary travel in regards to college move-ins and move-outs planned, too.

College- so far our college costs have been less than projected, but this fall starts 2 in college.  Even with good scholarships its still a lot of money.  I have a reasonable budget for school stuff and I know she will need coats, shoes, clothes, backpack,  tech, etc

 

So, all of this is why we will not be saving much of anything the next 3-5 years.  Yes, I am spending more and saving less, even dipping into savings.  We planned for this, but the inflation is causing a bit of stress in regard to how far we can stretch that money- especially with the cars!  

There are so many circumstances that determine why people are spending and how they are making decisions.  Some of it is just the place in life you are, some of it is waiting until after things settled down. I think the shortages are still playing a large part in equipment and vehicles.  Remember equipment is used in many industries,  which affects their output, too.  Then there is the worker shortage,  and its affecting so many sectors-, teaching, healthcare, manufacturing,  construction,  transportation.  It has always been predicted that when Boomers retired there would be shortages,  and I think that shift happened a lot faster than anticipated due to Covid.  Its left a lot of companies with less-experienced management,  which leads to more people leaving.  Its all just a big mess!  I do think it will even out a bit, but it will take several years to reshuffle all the workers.  

[prairiewindmomma]

The economy isn’t a monolith. The working poor have largely been hurting with the end of expanded snap benefits and the curtailing of expanded Medicaid. But, they never had a lot of “extra” money to spend to begin with. The sharp rise in people reporting hunger or delayed medical care is not a surprise.

The wealthy are still wealthy. They are still spending, which is not a surprise.

It’s somewhat in the middle where things are a mixed picture. All of us are spending more as a result of inflation. But, on top of that, for a lot of people who feel secure in their jobs things feel normalish. 
 

We have been spending more in a few key areas—where we already anticipated large purchases and have wanted to get ahead of future inflation—and have wildly curtailed in others in case of more layoffs. We are behaving entirely rationally for our situation, but I get how it could stump an economist. 

[freesia]

We are spending about the same. We cut down on some extras to keep our food budget in line. 
I am also not concerned about the economy. It’s been two years of prophesying doom. I see new grads finding jobs, teens finding jobs, no one I know has lost their jobs. Food is more, but I have lived places where it was more of a percentage of my salary. Same with car prices. 

[HomeAgain]

We are spending more on less things, or different things.

This year we have bought 4 entire new wardrobes for ds 13.  FOUR.  At last measure, he grew 7 inches since August, most of it in his arms and legs.  Usually I would stock up on clearances or the thrift store, but he grew so fast that neither was a good option.  He's still growing, but we're almost in shorts and t-shirt weather and I might be able to breathe easier for a bit.

We bought a new washer and dryer to replace our 8 and 11yo ones.  Bought a garage fridge to supplement our wonky one in the house.

Our disposable spending: eating out, shows, holiday stuff, etc. has all been reduced.  We pack more lunches, haven't gone to festivities, made more memories on the holidays with other options than gifts and food. There are less impulse buys, but we pay more for groceries overall.  We are paying slightly less for gas, but driving a little more.  Our electric bill shot up and now has been mandated to have the rates cut. 

I honestly don't think anything is a fair comparison when we look at overall spending compared to the first years of the pandemic.  I'm not sure how much of people's new habits are delayed purchases and how much is due to inflated cost.

 

[Pawz4me]

1 minute ago, freesia said:

 
I am also not concerned about the economy. It’s been two years of prophesying doom. I see new grads finding jobs, teens finding jobs, no one I know has lost their jobs.  

Same. I know that based on historical trends we're overdue for a recession, but even several months back it seemed to me to have a bit of "the boy who cried wolf" vibe about it. We've been hearing the "it's coming" prognostications for so long that it's getting hard to take them too seriously.

We're fortunate to have enough leeway in our budget (and no teenagers or college kids here!) that inflation hasn't really impacted our buying/spending habits as far as I can tell. We're buying the same groceries, going out to eat, having maintenance and improvement projects done around the house. The only thing that's changed for us is that we made a decision after the pandemic started to skip traveling for awhile and instead spend the money we usually budget for that on house projects. So far we're still having fun with that decision, so it's not likely to change in the near future.

[Arcadia]

36 minutes ago, freesia said:

. I see new grads finding jobs, teens finding jobs, no one I know has lost their jobs. 

My husband’s ex-colleagues who were layoff in November are still job hunting. They are in their early 50s. My husband’s 25 year old niece was unemployed for a while before landing another job. A friend’s husband was an IT contractor on yearly contract for years (pre and during pandemic) until he finally landed a permanent job.

We are definitely spending on needs but  negligible spending on wants. 

[freesia]

3 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

My husband’s ex-colleagues who were layoff in November are still job hunting. They are in their early 50s. My husband’s 25 year old niece was unemployed for a while before landing another job. A friend’s husband was an IT contractor on yearly contract for years (pre and during pandemic) until he finally landed a permanent job.

We are definitely spending on needs but  negligible spending on wants. 

Is it a matter if finding a job or finding one with a certain salary? I know of universities looking to hire IT people. 

[prairiewindmomma]

Just now, freesia said:

I know of universities looking to hire IT people. 

If your IT job is designing chips for use in phones and small electronic devices, you aren’t necessarily a good fit for networking computers at a university. Likewise, a Linux engineer isn’t necessarily a great fit for cloud architecture positions. A lot of IT positions are highly specialized. It’s like asking a sonographer to start doing cardiac surgery.

[Faith-manor]

I would say our spending is different, not less or more. We are empty nested now so we actually pay less for groceries due to fewer mouths, no longer provide clothing to growing sons, etc. and we no longer have tuition payments for college. But, our utilities have gone up, and we are doing some things we had delayed due to tuition like getting new glasses and contacts, replacing a car. I do not think we will see a difference in actual dollars spent this year though we are not cutting back nor increasing the budget. For the time being, it is just getting shuffled. At some point, I suppose we will sit down and discuss a new set of spending parameters. We are very fortunate to have enough buffer to not need to sit down and make a hard and fast budget for the time being.

 

[Faith-manor]

6 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

If your IT job is designing chips for use in phones and small electronic devices, you aren’t necessarily a good fit for networking computers at a university. Likewise, a Linux engineer isn’t necessarily a great fit for cloud architecture positions. A lot of IT positions are highly specialized. It’s like asking a sonographer to start doing cardiac surgery.

Agreed. Our youngest is an electrical engineer, and his speciality is microcontrollers, robotics controls and programming. So not every posting for "electrical engineer" was a good one post college. He graduated April 30, 2022 and was employed in his first career job which fit his specialty quite well by mid-September.

Dh is a database architect which is different from a solutions architect or Java systems engineer. It is much more specialized now than way back in the mists of time when he was getting his bachelor's degree. 

[Arcadia]

26 minutes ago, freesia said:

Is it a matter if finding a job or finding one with a certain salary? I know of universities looking to hire IT people. 

Finding a job. They aren’t picky. They can’t teach as in you won’t want them teaching or tutoring anyone.
If you are talking about IT jobs in universities, community colleges or government, they did apply for those. Their mortgage is paid up or almost paid up so they aren’t willing to relocate out of state now while their kids are in (and going to be in) state universities.

[crazyforlatin]

4 hours ago, Arcadia said:

We are spending less other than grocery and utilities being about the same. DS18 is going to college in fall so we put more “spare cash” into certificate of deposits. Last year my husband’s employer and other tech companies started retrenching in batches so we also put more into emergency savings. 

Our splurge was to stay at a Hampton Inn (under Hilton) instead of Motel 8 when we drove 7 hours south to tour a state university that DS18 was accepted to. 
 

Certificate of deposit rates went up so that is helpful to use. We went for no penalty CDs and the rate was above 4%.

What’s the duration that you prefer? 3 months?

[Arcadia]

2 minutes ago, crazyforlatin said:

What’s the duration that you prefer? 3 months?

We went with whatever gives the highest interest rates for no penalty CD since we can withdraw early without a penalty. We did split into two CDs, the smaller amount CD can be used for college tuition and expenses if need be. Ours is with Citibank because the CD rates are higher.

[mommyoffive]

We are spending tons less money than before the pandemic.  The reason why?? We switched the ballet school that my kids go to.  Our monthly payment in 2020 for ballet was more than our mortgage payment.  It was about $1500 a month.  And it would have gotten higher and higher as we stayed as the kids went up levels and they always raise prices too.  Our payment is less than half of that now and our kids dance more hours and days and have way better teaching.   Other than that our spending is the same.  

Also over the summer we used to pay $$$ for summer intensives and some of my kids have gotten huge scholarships to intensives so saves money too.

I wish we would have moved closer to work and dance, but we didn't.  We refinanced our home during covid.  

Spend a lot on gas since we live far from dance and work, but we did that pre covid. 

We used to spend a ton on travel and just got back into that last year.  We did one small road trip in 2021.

We were also able to save a lot of money over covid.

We bought a new car before rates and prices went up.  It is a hybrid so we are saving money on gas.

Dh worked from home 100% during covid.  He is still able to work from home 2 days a week now, which is a savings from before covid.

Things have gone up over covid for us our older kids became adult sized, ate more, clothes and shoes are bigger and more expensive, and went on pointe.

We are still maxing retirement savings out. And dh's income has gone up over the covid times too.

 

[elegantlion]

We are spending less because we have less $. SO had to train for a new career in 2021 and is earning about 3/5ths of his previous pay. I'm getting paid almost nothing as a research assistant while I finish my PhD program. I had a few good years of TAship but I opted to not move back to that city after Covid and finish from where I live now. It would take my entire stipend to live in the city anyway, so not a good choice. After a few good years, I've switched back to frugal mode. 

We used to get Chinese takeout at least twice a month. We don't do that except every 2-3 months now. Groceries are starting to level off - Aldi has dropped a lot of prices in our area. But still I'm spending twice the amount at the grocery as I did two years ago and I'm buying mostly the same things. 

I had to buy another car last fall when my was totalled in an accident. Thankfully, insurance payout was decent enough that I bought a very used minivan from a friend. It was nice to not need to car shop while used cars were so scarce. 

Clothes - I used to get a few new things each season. Now I'm looking at thrift stores - not that I need clothes. 

Books - I used to buy about one to two a month, things I would need for my dissertation for more than just a cursory look. I buy about 1 every two months now. 

 

 

[Sneezyone]

We are spending but not, sadly, on us (DH and I). We did a getaway night with hotel and winery and felt like criminals. We are squeezed by our HS graduate and freshman music student (…don’t ask), sibling mooches, older home with past-due repairs, aging parents and…sigh. We will get no help with any of these things.

It’s us. Yes, we’re driving inflation.

DHs commute will shrink this fall so less gas there and I will get a negotiated pay boost. Both will help. We’re doing fine but not b/c all is great. It’s because we’re still hustling ourselves into an early grave.

Edited April 9, 2023 by Sneezyone

[Ausmumof3]

We’re spending more but not buying more, it’s just everything costs more.

[Shoeless]

Like others, we are spending more but not buying more. I got a Sam's club membership anticipating it would save a few hundred bucks a month. Just a few months after I joined, prices jumped up on everything. End result is no big savings. 

To be fair, DH and I have saved a lot of money over the last 3 years because we don't really go anywhere. He works from home, so no more commuting expenses. No eating out. No more junk or convenience foods, everything is made from scratch. Which is good, because our health has improved a lot! But it's tiring. 

I'd love to splash out on something frivolous for myself, but I am very aware of how expensive every dang thing is, so I keep my wallet shut. 

 

[Meriwether]

We are spending roughly the same, but we would be spending less if not for two things - an expensive vehicle repair and extra travel for a sport.

I have been more careful on weekly expenses, I'm not spending much on curriculum, and we've made some big cuts on things we've done for years.

[Ali in OR]

We're also in the boat of spending differently I think. Our grocery bill is way down since we have no kids living here anymore. But I auto-send money to each of them every month to help with food for one (in addition to a limited eating plan at school) and for food and gas for the other (grad student). So not sure if the total food bill is down at all, it just feels like it. Dh and I get one take-out meal per week for about $20. We work all the time, don't really go out and do stuff. But we did do a shopping trip in Feb to buy work clothes, and we took a spring break road trip to CA to see the girls, so it's not like we never spend anything. 

[Clarita]

I'm in the boat of I'm spending more but getting less. 

[SKL]

Definitely inflation is causing us to spend more.  Not sure if they controlled for that or not.

And yes, catching up on what we couldn't do from 2020-2021.  Travel in particular for us.  We aren't getting any younger; it's now or never for a lot of destinations.

When the kids went back to school, older, they got a new wardrobe.  Kuz I didn't buy anything while they were just sitting at home.  And being in high school, they cost more.  They need a dang calculator that costs more than $100 (per kid).  Peer-approved clothes / shoes, driving lessons, etc.  Though most of their summer camp type costs are no more, so that should even it out, right?

We've also been spending a ton on health related services, which we never did before.  In our case, I don't think it's pandemic-related, except maybe some of the mental health stuff.  However, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people's health went south due to the stress and relative inactivity caused by shutdowns and social distancing.

We got a dog in 2021.  The dog was free, but he's been surprisingly high maintenance.

We spent a bunch in 2022-23 to improve our basement so it can be used for house guests & youth entertaining.  This had nothing to do with the pandemic, just people finally getting motivated to purge their hordes and hire some workmen.  (Personally I was fine with a boring basement, but I'm only 1/5 of the household.)

But other than my kids' wardrobe, I have cut my spending on "things."  Outside of birthdays and Christmas, I only buy replacements for holey clothes and needed consumables.  Maybe the occasional used book.

Tuition costs - we're enjoying a 4-year break as my kids moved from parochial elementary to public high school.  I don't want to think about what college costs will do to us.  The sucky markets have significantly decreased our college savings.  No idea what the future holds on that.

Thinking about my extended family and friends, I don't think their behaviors or spending patterns have changed.  I just think they are paying more due to inflation.

[Melissa in Australia]

6 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

We’re spending more but not buying more, it’s just everything costs more.

Same 

[JustEm]

We are spending less on non necessities like eating out and entertainment that costs money. We are always very mindful of the budget, which has brought our grocery.bill down too. 

We are always intentionally saving more, roughly 10% more.