Surviving Inflation

Life has taught me the value of patience. Not that I have adapted to patience well, but that patience has golden moments.

Such as: “Don’t like the weather? Wait a minute.” This adage is common throughout the United States.  I first encountered it in New England, western Massachusetts specifically. There the hills and valleys located between the mountains of upstate New York and the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Boston, trapped moving air and caused weather front disruptions. Often we had days of beautiful sunshine one moment, and a scattered shower the next. Or a warm day today, and snow and chill tomorrow. Just what we displaced southern Californians needed, right?

Later, the weather patience advice popped up in Ohio, New York, Illinois and just about any other state I visited or lived in. This is not a unique statement to any region I learned.

Today, we have another lesson in patience. Inflation and economic turbulence.

When the nation shut down normal routines due to the COVID pandemic, we expected economic repercussions. They arrived almost immediately. Many effects were expected, but most did not appear as we had thought. Housing sales still took place. Work continued from home. Working from home caused economic pain for downtown work areas where bars, restaurants and commuter services thrived in normal times. Now they were dead. Silent. Other segments of the economy were affected as well.

Some affects were good. Family time improved. Meal preparations and grocery sales spiked. Household expenses dropped (laundry, dry cleaning, clothing purchases and tailoring and shoe repair services, etc.) Gasoline costs dropped as did all other commuting costs (public transit, commuter train tickets, etc.). The new car remained new much longer. The old car seemed to work just fine.

Painting and redecorating rose as families lived more intensively in their homes. Businesses related to home improvements and furniture welcomed the increase in business.

Now as the pandemic eases enough for the economy to begin its return to an unfolding normal, supplies and services are suddenly in demand again. Dislocations in supply chains for goods, and staffing changes have caused a slow return to full operations for many businesses. Shortages appear and prices rise. This is true in restaurant services, home prices, used and new car pricing, and a host of other supply and demand situations.

How do we cope with all this? With patience. You knew I would say that!

And patience is the perfect answer. You don’t need a new home immediately. You can wait for a better selection of available properties. You can wait and build your dream home or search a favorite area of old and watch home listings in future months for opportunities. Filling the home purchase need immediately is nonsense unless you are homeless. That is another matter. If a working spouse has transferred to another city or state, he or she can move there for the new job while living in temporary, short-term housing. The family remains behind with the family home and arranges a timely sale, then a move to the new location. Immediate relocation of the family simply doesn’t have to happen. Many generations of Americans survived such changes in the past. Your situation is not unique.

Same with the car. The old car can last another 10,000 miles. A new car to replace the old is not necessary if a late model used car is readily available. No emergency drives you to purchase the new(er) car right this minute. If such a need exists, pricing can be lessened in a number of ways (lease, older vehicle, etc.).

As a senior citizen living on a fixed income, we avoid buying items with inflated prices. We go without or find a substitute. We are adaptable. We will wait for better pricing and availability. Or continue to go without.

Americans are used to immediate satisfaction. That is an unrealistic expectation. The pandemic helped us break a lot of expectations. Let this be another one of those.

August 20, 2021