TXTransplant said:
That's why I posted the way I did. My electricity usage was up in 2020 because we were home for several months. But since going back to work, it's gone back down to normal. But like I said, when I renewed my contract last year, base rates had doubled (or more). My expense didn't double because rate is only one part of the bill (there are transmission fees). And since I lump all utilities together and know I used more water for a couple months of last year, that skews it. But I know that rate increase is a big part of that increase
Same thing with auto/gas and insurance. I added a second driver and car, but I know a lot of the jump in 2022 was due to gas prices.
And like you pointed out with groceries, no one buys the exact same things all the time. But we've all watched the things we buy on a regular basis go up over the last few years.
So, I think what a lot of us are seeing is normal fluctuations in personal spending PLUS inflation on top of that. And some of those increases are just ugly.
And I know in my industry, raises are still the standard 2-3% annually. So there Is definitely a gap between salary growth and inflation.
I think another point that's worth discussing is controlling expenses, but also how much time and effort is involved in shopping around. You know it's a problem when there are subscription services with companies that will "shop around" almost every bill or service for you.
My cable expenses went down because I cut my ATT services back to very basic cable and internet. But to do that took OVER an hour on the phone with a service rep.
It took me a long time to even find an electricity plan that was only double my previous rate.
The last time I shopped insurance, a company would come back low on auto and high on homeowners (or vice versa), and it ended up being a wash or very minimal savings.
The last time I got a new cell phone, I spent hours on the phone with Sprint because they wouldn't honor their own promotion and for months over charged my bill.
I know I can't be the only one frustrated with how difficult it's become to get stuff done. For all the websites and online accounts (that I have to keep track of passwords and usernames for), more often than not, making a change requires a call to a customer service that is understaffed and has ridiculously long wait times. Then you get a rep on the phone and they transfer you five different times, and you pray you don't get disconnected. That exact scenario happened to me with Fidelity the other day. Transferred to 5 different people and was on the phone for 20+ min before getting disconnected. And I hadn't spoken to anyone who could do what I needed done.
God help you if you have a medical issue and need to deal with a health insurance company or billing office.
Sorry about the rant, and I've gone off topic. But I've been really feeling the squeeze not just from inflation but the value of my own time when it comes to managing this stuff. It shouldn't take a hours on the phone with all of the companies you do business with to keep your bills under control.
Hope I didn't come across as making light of your analysis because you put in a lot of work to do the comparison. My point is how difficult it is to get an actual percentage increase. The thing is though, and your numbers show it, the cost of so many things is up so much, no matter the exact percentage increase. Normally things go up, but in such small amounts they are not noticeable, but that is not the case now. Also, now it seems almost everything has had a pretty big price increase, not just one or two things.
As to your bolded part, all I can say is Amen. Last April/May I had something like 25 to 28 service calls for my RV park internet. Windstream is the only game in town and that is never good. First guy told me my wireless was being killed by a T Mobile tower across the highway. That technician is a known liar so I persisted. On five or six occasions, the technicians (wound up dealing with four different ones) said they came out to the location but they didn't. I got a text to rate his or her work after he or she "came out" to the location, but they had never showed. They insisted they did but I said they must be ghosts as they didn't show up on my security cameras.
Eventually, went to fiber. The bill included charges for both the old internet (DSL) and the new internet (fiber). Called, supposed to refund me (refund of about $200 more than it should have been) but still haven't gotten the check. Supposedly fixed the billing issue. Next bill was another duplicate billing. Then, three or four days later, they showed my amount due as zero. Then they established a second account. The billing on it was correct, but they still show me owing the duplicate billing on the first account as well as the correct amount on the new account. They always put me "on a really quick hold" while they ask someone something about my situation. Four or five times per call.
It is just frustrating as hell to try and deal with what should be a simple matter. And none of these people (so far) have been of Indian and Pakistani ancestry so at least we can understand each other, but the problem is still not resolved.
