Affordability Chart

 

Reference: Time Pricing Mark Perry’s Chart of the Century

To read the chart:

Pink lines and numbers on the left axis are the number of hours/week people work to purchase a week of groceries.

Blue lines and numbers on the right axis and the bars are Food Inflation

Green lines show the President in charge and Pre-Covid vs Post Covid time periods.

 What does all of this mean?

1)      Covid clearly caused food prices to go up.

2)      Food affordability actually improved since 2015.  4.2 hours/week in 2015—3.6 hours/week in 2024

3)      Food inflation started under Trump during Covid and is now below where he ended, and affordability is still well below the 2015-19 average.

4)      YES—food is more expensive.  BUT—we have more money to spend on it and more time to go to restaurants (my opinion based upon experience lately.)

 

What I hear on the news most days is not what these charts are saying.  Back in the 80’s when I took Dale Carnegie training, he taught a 3-step process for solving problems.  His main point was that identifying the PROBLEM is harder than you think. 

1)      Identify the problem.

2)      Possible solutions.

3)      Best possible solution.

Well, FOOD INFLATION, according to these charts, is NOT the problem.  

In my opinion, National Debt and Deficits, getting Wall Street influence out of Washington, fixing our immigration system which is essential to our success and has been a problem for 40+ years—these are the issues, that if addressed correctly, will improve our chances of continuing the America we know and love, which currently is one of the best economies in the world—and at least part of why we have an illegal immigration problem.  Have you ever heard of anyone immigrating to Russia, Hungary, China, or North Korea? ... Nor have I.

First Date Finances

 

1^ST DATE FINANCES — (a sweet story)

 

One of my favorite things about the work I do is the privilege of 

getting to hear stories like this one from a couple who I have grown 

to respect and admire over many years.  Hope you enjoy this piece 

of real life here in OKC. 

 

“Have I told you about our first date?” Mr. B. asked me (his financial advisor) 

while his wife was out of the room for a moment.  “No, I’ve not heard.”  

I replied with an eager tone. 

 

“For our first date we went to a nice Italian place, had a pleasant 

meal and conversation, and I got up to pay the bill.  While fiddling with 

my wallet, my date walked up and asked—“are you having issues with 

your credit card?”—to which I replied, NO.  I am trying to find my 2 for 1 coupon.”

 

“Her positive response is part of why we have such a happy marriage 

after decades of life together.”

 

Troy

 

Living Comfortably in Oklahoma

 

Elon Musk Wealth

 

Timeshare

     ** All written content is for information purposes only. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources. No representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness.  All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation. **

Money & Energy

  ** All written content is for information purposes only. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources. No representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness.  All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation. **     

 

Thought Experiment: Unlimited Money

What would the world look like if we had unlimited money?

 

   * Ultimately, over a long enough period of time, the world would be dominated by the physically and mentally strongest who are committed to a unified purpose or mission.

 

 * Humans would be significantly minimized. Natural law will prevail.

 

  * Other “incentives” would need to be created to encourage activities consistent with an integrally informed, sustainable economic system.

 

  *The planet (Earth) ceases to support humans.

 

YIKES – quite a bleak assessment of money. However, contrasted with Unlimited Energy, it seems clear we should focus our money on finding ways to produce unlimited, clean, inexpensive energy. This, in my humble opinion, highlights the difference between our VIRTUAL money system and the REAL world of food, clothing, and shelter.

** All written content is for information purposes only. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources. No representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness.  All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation. ** 

Who Owns Stock in the USA?

 

** All written content is for information purposes only. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources. No representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness.  All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation. ** 

IRS--Here To Help

We have all heard the old saying--"Hi I'm from the IRS and I'm here to help."  To me this represents a situation to which the response usually goes something like--"Yeah right."  Well this morning that exact scenario played out with the Social Security Administration for a widow filing for benefits.  

This family have been clients for many years and fortunately for the widow we had already run her Social Security projections.  This dedicated software program is designed to help decide which option to choose and is especially helpful in unusual situations.

Fork In The Road

At a recent conference in Nashville, Ed, a therapist, asked if i would drive him up the road to pick up some medication he needed since he left it at home.  Ed and I go a ways back and he is one of those people who is chock-full of intelligent humor and sweet and meaningful anecdotes.  Hence, the rest of the story about the Yogi Berra saying.  

SWEET Potatoes may be the death of our healthcare system

Recently my dad has been in the hospital dealing with pneumonia and other issues related to not handling anesthesia very well.  However, after he was making an impressive comeback, he woke up with pain in his abdomen.  The doctors jumped in to action and ran a cat scan and x-rays 

Lucy's Last Wishes

LUCY IS FINE AND DOING WELL for a 17+ year old dog.  However, recently she was suffering from a persistent cough and after a few trips to the vet I had a moment.  Here is how it went--

The Wealth of a Nation

Adam Smith is often referred to as the father of modern capitalist economics. He was known to have said--"the decisions of individual owners to use their capital for their own gain, and of purchasers to buy for their own interests, would somehow be guided by an "invisible hand" to produce the greatest overall prosperity of society."
That was back in the day when money represented HUMAN productivity.  Needless to say our world financial systems have diverged from such a practical  measure.  Below is a clip from a piece that struck me as interesting, challenging and on some level bothersome.

MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES

 Jim Rhone is an old school motivational speaker who talked about life in the seasons of a farmer.  In the winter you prepare for summer and in the summer you "make hay while the sun shines".  The hay is for putting back for times when the harvest is non-existent or less bountiful.  Certainly now, in Oklahoma at least,  we have bountiful supplies of water and it might be a great time to re-visit the "Comprehensive Water Plan" created a couple of years ago by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board. 
In contrast this morning at breakfast an attorney mentioned having just attended a seminar on WATER RIGHTS.  

Best Credit Score Trick For Kids

"It is this simple", says the father of 3 kids two of whom just bought their own cars with the best rate possible from the local credit union. Put the kids names on the most used household credit card that gets paid on time every month and has a decent credit limit.  Of course you DO NOT give a card to the kids nor do you even tell them that their names are on the card UNTIL you go with them to the credit union and they pull up their 765 credit score for an 18 year old.  

How To Easily Pay Down Debt

Whether in the global economy or your personal economy the picture shown here is true.  We as Certified Financial Planner Practitioners (tm) are regularly asked to make recommendations regarding college savings.  We also see student debt as liabilities for some clients years after entering the workplace.  It occurred to me how college debt could be compared to government debt as an example of how income growth makes paying down debt SO much easier.

Why Mandatory Social Security Makes Sense

NO--that is not a picture of the neighborhood in which I live.  However, a few years back I was blessed (read tormented) to serve as president of a neighborhood with 1600 or so homes that did not have a mandatory homeowner's association (HOA).  This neighborhood is very nice but only about half of the homeowners choose to pay the voluntary dues ($300/yr) that pay for common area  maintenance, security patrol and regular events.

Whose Money Is It Anyway?

In the past few years Credit Unions have offered interest rates on savings that are quite compelling.  HOWEVER,  hoops abound through which one must jump in order to achieve these higher rates.  Below is an annual notice regarding some of the hoops and "costs" of the good interest rate shell game  

Pain in the Back

The perfect follow-up to the last blog post on disability.  In the most recent Economist magazine this insert--sourced from the Lancet--shows the results from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation study on the burden of disability on countries.  The legend is as follows:

Disability "Insurance"--the REAL Thing

In the dental business--according to insurance companies--the number one cause of disability insurance claims is due to neck and back issues. Just imagine that you spend your entire day seated and leaning over a patient with at least a little tension in the room;-)  That seems like a prescription for some sort of physical therapy to counter the long-term potentially negative effects.  However, in my 33 years in business the most common solution is to buy disability insurance--which is more expensive than ever and not nearly as good as it used to be.  Recently, a dentist client asked