Inflation Robs Us All
 

Inflation is rough on retired seniors on fix income everywhere.
Coping with the high cost of gas, cars, food, and many
other products, what's your plan on fighting inflation?

Do you drive less?
Do you eat out less?
Do you socialize more with friends at home?
Did you cancel travel plans this year?

Just curious on how you're dealing with 2022 so far.

Cheers !

Really haven't changed anything. The big cost saver for us we do not travel any more.
I don't like to cook any more so we are still eating out frequently.

We have been eating out more often but not traveling so saving lots on driving and travel.

The people hurt most by inflation and low interest rates are those with substantial savings and invested assets. Not only is your purchasing power affected, but your entire portfolio loses value. At least in the 1970's and 1980's, you got a decent return on fixed income investments, like money market accounts and CDs. I hope that interest rates will soon increase to correct this situation. Currently, savers are being severely punished.

Anyone check out the interest in I-bonds?
Interest is paid by inflation rates and is now at 7.12%.

The problem is that you can only invest $10K per year in I-Bonds.

If you have a $100K treasury bond earning 2 percent and the inflation rate is 8 percent, you are losing $6K per year without spending any money eating out or travelling.

Qyld. Pays 1 percent a month. Writes covered calls on Microsoft, Apple etc. even if you lost 10 percent on principle you still earned 2 percent for the year

OP asked "what's your plan?"
I plan to vote!

40 percent of my portfolio is in stocks, 60 percent in bonds and cash. Are you suggesting that retirees should put all of their retirement funds in stocks to keep up with inflation?

A absurd inference. It’s part of a portfolio, bonds are a loser going forward. Anything that lets you sleep at night works

I agree that bonds are a loser without higher interest rates. But, I wouldn't feel comfortable with a higher percentage in stocks. That is the point. Where do you put the non-stock portion of your portfolio to minimize the impact of inflation? Inflation is the topic of this thread.

It’s a yield alternative greater than rate of inflation with principle appreciation if the market goes up. The call premium reduces risk in the event of a decline. You have to decide the portion. There are other etf like it. Doesn’t have a lot of volatility. I see it as a bond substitute with better upside

Still plenty of disposable income we’ll be fine. Yes, we’ve experienced increase in prices, not catastrophic to our living standards.

Very well said

You cannot fight inflation any more than you can fight gravity. Seniors on a fixed income. That is true of most of us. We all received a raise in social security some with pensions will receive or may received a cost of living increase.

REALITY, the CPI consumer price index is now roughly 10%. You pay that with after tax money. To be even, I need to make roughly 15% on investments. I've done pretty well for the year it is less than half what I need to be EVEN.

Most posts are complaints. We do not drive anywhere near what I used to do when I was working. We do have a mortgage and I could pay it off but the rate is below current market and I am still getting more on borrowed money than my cost to borrow it.

Imagine a family of four. living pay check to pay check. Driving to work on gasoline now over $4.00 a gallon with a mortgage. The average American has, I read somewhere $10,000 in savings.

Lucky? It seems good luck come to those who WORK HARD and SAVE HARD.

We've been told to eat lentils. Background they are the beans highest in protein. Hum, we just went on our grocery run. A pound of lentils was a dollar. It is now a dollar and eighty-nine cents. I make a great lentil soup. Sadly true. There is or used to be a website with recipes from the 1930 depression.