"The Soaring Cost Of Everything" | General financial discussion | Discussion forum

But today's people want massive gov't intervention in free market economies so look for more gov't/central bank/etc machinations in order for govt's to not be thrown out. The recent very clear broadcasting by central bank of where interest rates are going in the next while (I don't recall them usually being so definite, though I must admit I haven't really followed Bank of Canada announcements in the past), a boon to savvy gic buyers with patience and discipline, is just one example of gov't overtly signaling its intervention-ary intentions.

Thanks, smso, good to know. I never paid much attention as my equities purchases were over decades with no regard to ever selling (except for the speculative ones I bought for the purpose of hitting the pot of gold) and I rarely purchased a gic or other fixed income instrument. Now that I'm done with long-term I'll pay more attention to the central banks' outlooks, based on what you say sounds like interest rate trends are pretty easy to forecast, at least for a year or so out anyway.

People will be fine if they get back to reality… the new reality for Canadians and many more is that every family should have 3 tv’s , multiple laptops stacked like pancakes

RetirEd said
TVs are super cheap now. Unless you want the latest and greatest, you can usually get used ones from friends or Craigslist for free!

It's subscription services that are sapping people's bucks...credit card interest and fees, internet providers, streaming subscriptions, software subscriptions, and scams like that useless "balance protector" credit-card fraud. (If anyone has this on their credit card accounts, look into it and then get rid of it!)

And, of course, travel and restaurant costs are soaring.
RetirEd  

It seems to me that a lot of spending is discretionary, folks just need to figure out what their needs and wants are. I read a CBC article and one of the folks interviewed complained about having to switch from steaks to pork chops when they BBQ.

Consumer credit and lifelong debt are not an over-generalization - they ARE general. Every credit purchase is a pay cut in the future. Saving up to buy things is designed to be a loser for us in a time of high inflation and zero-to-laughable deposit interest rates. You're not earning anything on your savings while the price of what you want to buy is soaring.

I'd much rather see higher interest rates and tighter credit, particularly on "experience" expenditures like travel and entertainment.
RetirEd