How is inflation affecting you?

[IronWing]

yeah man. I just couldn't afford things anymore. Had to sell my condo and buy a tent and use the residuals to buy food and gas and barrels of lube.

You'll still have your garage.

 

[RosalindBarton]

I'm on a volunteer board for youth sports, hiring summer coaches, gas, per diem, jerseys, hotels has been much worse the last 2 years. And doing everything we can to keep fees down for parents. Personally, we have 2 teenage sons, to honestly keep track of how much they eat would be a part time job I don't have time for. Our grocery bill has gone up, just unsure where to attribute it to.

 

[Red Squirrel]

the oompah loompah spherical coonies be f'ing wit ma kitties. That's what happens when I get up late to feed them.

About those trees though, they look like very straight poles but after seasoning them, you might want to get one of those industrial bale binders and bind 3 or 4 together for structural support. They'ree going to shrink. Just not sure which dimension will be most affected.

Yeah the twisting may be an issue, the shrinking probably won't be so bad, but twisting could put strain on the rest of the structure once it's built.

In the future (hopefully next year) when I setup my mill I want to build a kiln too, so I would throw logs in the kiln before I process them, then if needed put the milled lumber in kiln again. That will require some experimentation and it's going to be a learning process. I think the big lumber mills let the logs sit outside for like a year before they get processed but if I can speed up that process that would be nice. There is a downside to drying the wood too fast too though, so it will be something to experiment with.

 

[Charmonium]

Yup - now you know why they call it "seasoned" wood.

If you have time, it might be worth reading one or two books on building with raw wood. You might be able to get away with it but if lumber co.s do that as a matter of course, there might be good reasons besides just drying.

edit: for example, maybe de-barking is easier [de-woof]

edit2: As an old boy scout, the dangers of living off the grid aren't always obvious and I'm sure no one here wants to see you just disappear one day,.

 

[Muse]

Inflation means my equity is losing its power, its value. It's hard to find investments now that protect your equity. Even real estate is deflating lately.

 

[Muse]

The only things that have spurred me to action: bought $10k of I series savings bonds, just to take advantage of that high 6-month interest rate (at the moment, planning on treating it like a 1-year CD, subject to re-evaluation as the rate changes every 6 months). Also looking to get a new car as our 10-year old Fusion starts to develop gremlins - the short supply and shipping delays are pretty annoying, mainly because it's extremely difficult to even get a test drive.

Just found out about I-Bonds a couple days ago (a story on local TV news), went to www.treasurydirect.gov, opened an account. Went to my local bank yesterday and deposited enough cash so I could pay for a $10k bond (the yearly limit), and the buy executed today. Tomorrow (10/28) is the last day to get in on the current 9.62% interest rate. The news story didn't mention the $10k limit, a serious shortcoming. Anyway, that interest rate beats anything else I know about right now.

That lady in the video above who buys gold and silver and crypto, I think she's kind of spooky. Those are speculative, especially the crypto. Honestly, I don't know of any investment right now that's solid. The most solid thing you can have now is a ton of money and/or a great profession.

 

[Muse]

Cat food is stupid expensive now.

Someone else feeds the cat that hangs out in my yard 1/2 the time. Just who that is, I have no idea.

 

[MrSquished]

Yup - now you know why they call it "seasoned" wood.

If you have time, it might be worth reading one or two books on building with raw wood. You might be able to get away with it but if lumber co.s do that as a matter of course, there might be good reasons besides just drying.

edit: for example, maybe de-barking is easier [de-woof]

edit2: As an old boy scout, the dangers of living off the grid aren't always obvious and I'm sure no one here wants to see you just disappear one day,.

Man I hate going camping and they say the wood is seasoned and then it's not. Fucking assholes trying to prey on us city folk.

 

[Brainonska511]

Just found out about I-Bonds a couple days ago (a story on local TV news), went to www.treasurydirect.gov, opened an account. Went to my local bank yesterday and deposited enough cash so I could pay for a $10k bond (the yearly limit), and the buy executed today. Tomorrow (10/28) is the last day to get in on the current 9.62% interest rate. The news story didn't mention the $10k limit, a serious shortcoming. Anyway, that interest rate beats anything else I know about right now.

Yeah, it is pretty limited because of the limit. I just treat it like a 1-year CD. Come January, I'll reevaluate my holding; maybe hold till April/May, depending on the interest rate that will change again in May.

 

[GunsMadeAmericaFree]

>>Someone else feeds the cat that hangs out in my yard 1/2 the time. Just who >>that is, I have no idea.
Damn socialism! Actually, this is probably the ONE time that it might be beneficial to someone/something....


>>Man I hate going camping and they say the wood is seasoned and then it's >>not.
Now I'm visualizing some one toothed hick sprinkling salt or cinnamon on the wood, then saying "it's seasoned"......

 

[jpiniero]

Yeah, it is pretty limited because of the limit. I just treat it like a 1-year CD. Come January, I'll reevaluate my holding; maybe hold till April/May, depending on the interest rate that will change again in May.

There is a 3 month of interest penalty if you take it out before 5 years.

 

[Brainonska511]

There is a 3 month of interest penalty if you take it out before 5 years.

Yes, but even with the penalty, you can still come out quite ahead thanks to the high interest rate over the last year. And you can always wait the 3 months into a lower rate period to soften the blow

 

[jpiniero]

I think it's up to 50% higher on Coke cans compared to 2019. And this includes Walmart and Target... not some high priced grocery store. Target is slightly cheaper than Walmart at current prices if you can believe it.

70+% now.

Walmart btw is no longer shitty and cheap. It's shitty and expensive. Sam Walton must be rolling in his grave.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Yup - now you know why they call it "seasoned" wood.

If you have time, it might be worth reading one or two books on building with raw wood. You might be able to get away with it but if lumber co.s do that as a matter of course, there might be good reasons besides just drying.

edit: for example, maybe de-barking is easier [de-woof]

edit2: As an old boy scout, the dangers of living off the grid aren't always obvious and I'm sure no one here wants to see you just disappear one day,.

Yeah I have lots of reading to do to learn tips and tricks about this sort of thing.

Got the bark off, I was using an angle grinder wheel that had twisted wire, it was going half decently well but tried the axe and that actually was going faster, just need to keep adding more elbow grease to it.

Not the cleanest job but think if I had a sharper axe or a draw knife it would have made cleaner work. I felt that this bark would be harder to remove but it was not as dry as I thought it would be. In an ideal situation I'd let these sit for a while longer but they're going in the ground either tomorrow, or maybe I'll try to push it to next weekend. I'm going to burn the ends with the heat gun and spread olive oil on the rest of it and hope for the best. Arsenic is better but I just want to avoid chemicals. If by next year I see this solar system actually saves me money I will remove bark on the rest and finish it properly.

https://imgur.com/a/NSdKmhS

I only bothered doing the parts going into the ground, but if I decide to keep this setup I'll do the rest with better tools.

One way to look at this is "how much is my time worth?" if I was to justify paying the inflated lumber prices, but another way I like to look at it is "how much money am I willing to get paid to do this job for myself?". Saving money is like if I'm getting paid the money I save to do a bit of extra work.

 

[Captante]

70+% now.

Walmart btw is no longer shitty and cheap. It's shitty and expensive. Sam Walton must be rolling in his grave.

Seems like a lot products you buy there now are their own special slightly smaller/lighter weight, crappier (and/or expired with food/meds) versions of whatever.

I used to shop at Walmart once in awhile but I never go there anymore after several bad experiences in a row just prior to the pandemic.

 

[Red Squirrel]

The thing I hate the most about Walmart is the long lines at the only cash that is open. I don't find myself going there often but sometimes if I have a bunch of erands to do it can be a one stop shop to get them all done, and pickup some McDonald's on the way out if I didn't eat anything yet.

 

[jpiniero]

Condo association is implying that the fee is going to go up big time this year.

Seems like a lot products you buy there now are their own special slightly smaller/lighter weight, crappier (and/or expired with food/meds) versions of whatever.

That's called Shrinkflation.

 

[Captante]

That's called Shrinkflation.

I think the special "Walmart" version of this needs its own name!

 

[Red Squirrel]

Shrinkflation is the worse, because not only do you get less, but they still charge more for it. They also try to spin it as a positive thing. I had bought kitty litter and it was advertised as environmentally friendly because it uses less plastic for the packaging. Yeah, if you make the container smaller it does in fact use less plastic, but I just need to buy more now.

 

[Captante]

The worst is when they make the container smaller but try to hide it by doing stuff like building in a "handle" (NOW with new "EZ Grip" bottle!) or raising the bottom of the container so that it actually holds less like they do with ice-cream.

 

[lxskllr]

Dicking with sizes pisses me off. Don't treat me like I'm stupid. You change the size, it changes my routine. Stuff that was on a schedule, just got sand thrown in the machine. Just be honest and raise the price. Tens of cents isn't gonna affect my purchasing decision.

 

[Red Squirrel]

The worst is when they make the container smaller but try to hide it by doing stuff like building in a "handle" (NOW with new "EZ Grip" bottle!) or raising the bottom of the container so that it actually holds less like they do with ice-cream.

I hate that so much too. I see containers of nuts etc like that, they have a huge concave bottom that takes up like half the space inside but when you look at it, it looks full.

 

[pmv]

I hate that so much too. I see containers of nuts etc like that, they have a huge concave bottom that takes up like half the space inside but when you look at it, it looks full.

Number 10 on this list came to mind immediately (been tricked by that one personally), but when searching for a picture of it this list came up and the other entries are every bit as sneaky, so might as well link the entire list...

81 Incredibly Evil Packaging Designs That Will Seriously Infuriate You

Think of marketing as you would think about sex. Some brands try to establish a pleasant and long relationship with their clients and others use dirty tricks to manipulate anyone into the sack with them. So while some buyers are completely satisfied with their purchases, others feel ashamed and...

www.boredpanda.com

The one I was thinking of:

 

[Red Squirrel]

That's just evil. But yeah I've seen that too.

 

[Captante]

That's why I always try to look at the total weight and the ingredients list.