The Cost of Living Crisis Isn't What You Think

People saved a lot of money during Covid because they didn’t have to pay travel costs for work and couldn’t go anywhere

turn off the music PLEASSSSSSSSS

My living costs are up about 2.5 times my cost a few years ago. My other costs are pretty much up by 1.5-2 times (food, electrivity, etc). Unemployment in my country which is one of the most digital and undeveloped countries in THE world, is close to 10%. I've rented out my condo (apt) to save money and I've stopped travelling. Pretty sure we're in a crisis,

My financial situation is sort of the same. Married, with 2 primary school aged children. My wife and I have always been really good at saving which we continue to do even during this "cost of living crisis" but I guess with the increase in price for groceries, it just means we might be saving a little bit less now, but not An amount that is worth worrying about.

I wonder………is the 7% that believe themselves to be worse off retired? Like me! Obviously the retired are the most affected as the majority are fixed income. I am definitely worse off than before, but I still invest the same amount every month, but I do look at the higher prices, the impact of those, and pray that it will not exceed the amount of income I receive each month.

JOB: Just Over Broke

There will always be people who thrive and those who struggle in the current economy. The real issue is that wages have increased significantly over the last 4-5 years. It's now common to see people asking for salaries in the range of $150k to $180k (at least in my industry). People are still buying fancy cars, traveling overseas, and buying investment properties. I don't think we'll see the real impact until the unemployment rate rises and people start competing for decent-paying jobs

I'm not sure if Brandon still reads comments after thered so many but maybe he can answer me this. Why is it that in the context of market value to gdp, many are quick to point out the global nature of the mag 7 and the extent of their monopoly power worldwide etc.. but in the context of evaluating the future earnings power no one looks beyond USA data? How can the rest of the world matter and not matter at the same time? Perhaps the ROW is a lot worse relative to Americans on a post pandemic timeline? Any merit to these thoughts?

Definitely feeling the cost of living, before the crisis I had only one full time job, earnt significantly less money PA and saved significantly more.

Now I have 3 jobs, I can still save but it’s nowhere near as much as I used to, that is also with cutting back hard on luxuries too that I could afford pre 2020.

I suspect the asset owners feel they are doing well, and others are left-behind. The left-behind group includes young people who are not going to inherit their parents' assets, and the populist supporting folk who feel like immigrants are taking their jobs. All of this is a problem if the left-behind group is growing in size.

I make probably twice as much, but I work more too. I hustled and have side hustles. My wife competed Masyers degree and did the same. Our combined income went from 100k to 230k. Per year. Pretty remarkable. To top it off we purchased a house. We have definitely prospered, but ee ha e also leanred to tighten our belts. We barely spend, mainly save. Its great!

Just because your investments are doing well temporarily, before the recession destroys them, does NOT actually mean that YOU are doing well. The investments are mostly unrelated to you, because you don't actually go out there and work in your companies, most likely, so they are just doing their thing, and you could still be failing on a personal level, and depending on that AI mania dividend check to get by, which might actually be a bad thing, when its about to go bye bye, in the coming crash. My personal wages have not increased since before 2019, so I am paying the full inflationary rise. On the plus side, I have cut spending to the bone and am not paying most of these new costs, but I am certainly not better off having one $540 check from the government, and paying 22 % more for everything. My investments are up, for now, but I'm not spending any of them, and they may not be up for long, since the recession is either close, or started 6 months ago, and we won't actually know for a little while longer, until it hits full force, but so far, the actual AI gains are basically nothing, and at some point, the market is going to realize its a giant shell game, the only question is, when ?

If you wanna be successful, you most take responsibility for your emotions, not place the blame on others. In addition to make you feel more guilty about your faults, pointing the finger at others will only serve to increase your sense of personal accountability. There's always a risk in every investment, yet people still invest and succeed. You must look outward if you wanna be successful in life

The only American who won't acknowledge this Administration's failed economic policies is Joe Biden. "Shrink-flation' is the least of our worries compared to rising rents and stagnant wages, but it is an undeniable indicator of how bad our inflation has gotten. I have $100k that i like to invest in a non-retirement account, any advice on that?

We saw this during the Obama years. It's time to vote Republican. Harris isn't going to do anything different.

Trusting official data is why we can’t take this video seriously.

I have a good job. I am better off than pre-pandemic. However I feel this trend we had only made the poor poorer and the rich, richer.

Bro bases a whole video on one ft article about something somewhat related. Some basic research would show you that the cost of living is indeed up. Quality of this channel went down the drain over the last few years.

Average is an awful metric. Need to be using median. The lowest 50% of earners own 2.5% of the wealth (statista) for wealthy people with meaningful assets the last few years has been a boon. For the bottom 75% of the country it has been an uphill grind. Cost of living has absolutely gotten worse. Things people NEED have gone up higher than the “official” data shows. People are cutting back on discretionary spending and places such as Walmart and Dollar stores brands are raking in record profits as consumers cut back or pivot to cheaper alternatives. People are generally optimistic and perceive things will get better for themselves in the future for right or wrong. Using people’s “self reporting opinions” and a constant talking point in the video is weak evidence.

Lots of keynesian BS there

Oh it certainly is real. I have a family. I am saving less, investing less and spending less even though my income has increased. Most of my income goes to the basics.

Buying a home in Canada is like trying to buy a place in San Francisco or New York City.

The rich are killing us its all a lie

Didnt you say that costs rose by 22% since 2020 and wages only by 20% since 2020? You also have to account for shadow debt(BNPL) and underemployment

You are relying on dubious information. The data isn't deal. Just ask the revision loving fedups.

So, rents double in the last 4 years and wages don't and it is about the news and not reality?

I think this is a great video. I have often been asking myself- is there actually a cost of living crisis? Especially as you show, the data doesn't seem to bear it out. However, as the vast majority of comments on this video show, there is a clear perception that there one, and people aren't going to be convinced otherwise.

Inflation is 3%... They must be talking weekly and sometimes about yesterday.

Cost of everything is up. Wages haven't grown. There is no need for complex analysis to show that it hurts. It feels like there was a dam holding back the increase in costs, and that the dam finally broke.

it could not be that people aren't good at honestly self reporting, especially in a consumerist culture. It must be that they are misled by the media.

No one can be better of with food, groceries, utilities etc up 25%..
Even if we are up, we're up by far less then we should be

Gas prices have not been keeping up with cost of living increases for the last 20 years in LA (according to publicly available data). You wouldn’t know it from the news.

Hello from Melbourne 😊, I'm definitely better off, I have a better paying job with better conditions and I'm still saving and investing. However I share rent, rental in Melbourne is too expensive on my own and consider it a waste of money. Instead of paying $2000 a month, I pay $800.

This guy is paid by the US Government, I make nearly 2k a week and still cant afford all my necessary bills.

I'm about to file bankruptcy next year do to the shut downs and chip shortage where I couldn't get a new work truck and end up with a lemon that cost me the price of a new truck and still giving me issues. At the same time I was renovating my home as it's been 18 years then inflation .. If things had stayed the say economically pre-covid I would be a lot better situation.

A crisis is something that 'ends' This isnt going to end. This is just beginning.

Measured using data indexed to 2010 prices, there was a 24% stepwise increase in prices in the past 4 years. That correlates well with Shadow Stats, which reports that the actual CPI is almost 8% (using the 1990 measure). You are citing current government stats that have been massaged! These folks are, and have been, lying about the declining standard of living!

This was debunked (if I remember correctly) in Capital in the 21st Century.

If your minimum spending increases by 20% and salary increases by 20% it's a net loss. Since while you'll have the same amount left, it will be worth less

Even Seeking Alpha is gaslighting you now.
Don’t believe your lying eyes people.
Prices of most things have gone up nearly 30% since 2019. People are spending down those savings made and credit cards are signaling it. Sure your 401k has made great returns, but you can’t touch it.
Plus those employment stats are cooked by the government.

Hell no, I measure my wages in silver, before 2020 I was making $20 per hour and paid $15 per ounce for silver, now I make $30 per hour and I’m fucked,

Beware of the bots down playing the cost of living.

For a few months now I have been searching tirelessly for information on how to start investing. I even payed $400 for a course that I now regret. It appears that there is no structured guided for beginners on how to get started in this realm. I’ve came across several investors making well over $250k/annual and I would be grateful if anyone on here could provide insights on how to get started, identity potential stocks, when to make an entry, exit etc

This BS people are ACTUALLY worse off now unless you own assets or are rich already. This guy is biased because hes not feeling it but everyone who is at or below middle class is affected. Get out of your high chair mate

This BS people are ACTUALLY worse off now unless you own assets or are rich already.

My wages increased 30% but I had to leave my previous employers to get that

"Cost of Living Crisis" is just an overused term used by the media

The cost of living crisis is made up! The reason for the rise is greed. Take a look around.
1. Banks: There's less branches, less branch workers, less overheads but interest rates go up?
2. Energy: Up and down the country we see more and more wind farms, more renewable energy more competition but the prices keep going up?
3. Food: Food portions are getting smaller but more expensive look how big things were 20-30 years ago at a fraction of the price. But now we get less for a stupidly high price.
Just the 3 examples are huge because they affect every single one of us. They are squeezing everything they can out of us for one reason. GREED. Untill company's are boycotted like Cadbury, BP and shell, withdraw your money from banks. The so called cost of living crisis will continue to get worse.

It's home prices. That's the kick in the teeth.