I've been back home for a couple of days and resting from the transit. A few things really popped out during my time in the US. First was the prices. They have been going up each year since we have been doing this but those were small and limited. This year everything was up and sharply so. It was the number one topic at our get togethers with family and friends. Second, at every get together, the subject of refinancing into shorter mortgages came up. A lot of homeowners seem to be going to 15 or 20 year loans if they can. The rates are low at the moment. I heard of 3.375% loans at one party. It was common to have someone pop out a iPad and use a bank calculator online to come up with a possible payment. Now, these are middle aged friends. A secondary motive was to have the house paid off at retirement. Some of these friends have steady jobs, some with newer jobs and higher pay. I found it very interesting that this subject kept coming up. Last year there was no mention of any of this.
I'm not sure if this applies elsewhere but municipal fees were up sharply as well. In the city of Tacoma, water is very expensive. This is a city with huge watersheds and plenty of water supply. I was scratching my head on this. Brown lawns are the norm as people try to save money. One should understand too that the old model of a water meter up front is not the story of today. In Tacoma, and I suspect most other places, you pay for the water several times. Once coming in, once on the way out, and for any water that falls on your property. This rates are all figured by computer. As more city water is used, your sewer fee also goes up. Tampabay will have to be careful here. He could pay for that Bud Light twice too.
Gasoline prices were low thanks to low oil prices. I paid $2.53 a gallon for the two times I had to put gas into the new Altima we drove. Nice car by the way. Limited rear view for me. I would get the camera and warning system for the rear.
That's all for this year. Sorry for the long post.
Comments
Hope you had a good trip, thanks for the post.
(News blurb) "The acquisition cost of generics has become so low that pharmacies can essentially afford to give them away, and the Wegmans supermarket pharmacy is doing that, says Adam J. Fein, PhD, head of Pembroke Consulting and of the pharma blog Drug Channels.": http://www.healthnewsreview.org/2013/04/drug-store-gives-out-free-statins/
Here's a link to the Meyers Store chain in Michigan. I can testify from experience that they really do give away free Atorvastatin (generic Lipitor) in the prescribed dose and require you to buy nothing else. Even refill it automatically and call you when it's ready. http://www.meijer.com/content/content.jsp?pageName=free-prescriptions-at-meijer
Also check-out the "Good RX" site on the Internet. We needed one from Walgreens sooner than our "cheepo" insurance would allow. The $120 medication at Walgreens was only $27 there with the Good RX coupon.
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JohnC - Good eye on prices. Agree that most consumer products are rising faster than the official inflation rate. Retailers for years blamed that on the increasing shipping costs due to high fuel prices. But, I haven't noticed the reverse effect now that fuel prices have fallen.
It does pay to shop around if you have to pay for medicines.
Glad you had a nice trip & arrived home safely.
Derf
Thanks for telling us your observations of your recent trip.
In Charlotte, NC where my principal residence is located we pay fees on water we take from the municipal water system, then again for use of the sewer system and then for rain fall through storm water runoff management fees.
I have several water storage tanks (rain barrels) that are fed from rainfall from the roof of my home and another building which I use to water plants, my garden and at times a small grass area; but not the whole yard. In addition, the air conditioning water condensation is directed to a barrel. All the barrels are connected through plumbing to a pump so the water can be delivered under pressure through a garden hose to a nozzle or sprinkler head.
This simple little system has cut my municipal water consumption to where they have now replaced my water meter twice during the past year, or so, due to my lower than normal water consumption. Also, I can water during times of water restrictions as I am not pulling from the municipal water source as long as I have water in the barrels. The home air conditioning system, at times, generates about twenty five gallons of water a day.
In addition, and this is real nice, I have another pump with bladder tank that is plumbed to where it raises the water pressure within my home when necessary. So during times of low water pressure, through high demand, in the municipal system I have good water pressure within my home.
It is for sure water consumption and its management is a coming thing.
Old_Skeet
Hi John, and glad that you had a safe trip. Yes, every single thing that you've noted with respect to prices is a source of constant concern here also. We have the same multiple charges for water. Prescription costs are horrendous, even with some help from our health plan.
Hi John,
Welcome home!
88% lean (12% fat) ground beef at Costco was $3.11 per pound in July 2014. Today it is $3.69 per pound. What is that an 18.6% increase in less than 1 year. And there is no inflation?!?!
Talking about Costco, next time you are in the states, price them out for your prescriptions. I have found there prices to be the lowest by far and if you do not have Rx insurance, you will get a discount on their already low prices.
Mona
@derf, My insurance is my wallet in the back pocket.
@Old_Skeet, Yep same as Tacoma. I don't know if Tacoma is unique but the sewer fee is based on the water usage. There is some formula involved. Electricity is pretty cheap for now and upon discussion I heard one person mention that he pays $60 a month for electricity and $75 a month for water. I mentioned rain harvesting to him and he has been contemplating a large barrel system.
That perspective was challenged, which I didn't think worth any more time as it is self-evident, as in this perfect example: If a mutual fund management were to challenge the management of Pfizer, should it be to attempt to convince Pfizer to reduce their prices for the benefit of sick and needy consumers, or to increase their profits at the expense of those same consumers? At least some of those consumers may very well also be customers of the mutual fund company.
My position is that mutual fund companies obviously cannot attempt to represent consumer's or investor's best personal interests, and so should just mind their own mutual fund business.