By: Alex Tilton
Because it is.
Your pay hasn’t increased to match inflation. Tariffs have affected the cost of everyday consumer goods. The war with Iran has closed off the world’s most important shipping corridor and the price of fuel rose as a result, which drove up the price of literally everything else. Russia’s war in Ukraine drove up the price of grain and mangled the fuel oil distribution routes the world has depended on for decades.
Generative AI companies have acquired the available stocks of computer RAM, which raises the cost of virtually all consumer electronics. Before that it was
the cryptocurrency miners who bought up all the GPUs and made it impossible to find replacement parts for aging computers.
Streaming platforms are constantly buying each other out, reducing options and increasing prices, often without an objection from the FTC or the DOJ, both of whom are responsible for enforcing antitrust laws regarding mergers and acquisitions.
So what if anything can you do about it? In some cases, nothing. You can’t control the effects of the war that erupted in the Middle East this year but you can make some changes in your day-to-day life. I was asked to provide some advice for how to navigate this tumult,
so here it goes:
I gently advise you to embrace austerity.
It won’t be easy or fun, but it will ensure you can pay your rent, buy your groceries, and (hopefully) afford health insurance. There are no easy fixes. Online influencers who peddle ‘simple life hacks’ are lying to you, because they assume you’ll cough up some of your hard-earned money for the illusion of hope. Real hope comes from forming a realistic plan, and taking action to make it happen.
Cut back spending on streaming services, they’re rapidly declining in quality anyway and they don’t deserve your dollars. Keep one or two, and accept that you may not have every show you want to see.
Don’t eat out. Buy ingredients, learn to cook a few of your favorite meals, and save what you would’ve spent on a restaurant. This will, of course, hurt our local restaurants…but you can’t save everyone. Austerity has unavoidable consequences, and we have to accept that.
This is my own opinion, but too many tax payers’ dollars are going to support sports teams. Threatening to take the team elsewhere is something that the fans definitely do not want to happen so the allocation of funds is agreed upon by government officials and
team owners.
I suggest a good way to save your hard-earned money and support your local team is to stay home and watch the game on TV rather than pay exorbitant prices for seats and refreshments.
Cancel your gym membership and take up jogging. Mow your own lawn instead of hiring a service. Make your own coffee at home instead of going to Starbucks…the list goes on.
None of this is rocket science. You’ve heard it all before and you’re probably already done some of it. But that’s the best advice I have. When times are lean, we learn to go without.
