About three years ago, when the pandemic was in full swing, I published a post in which I tried to see in what ways the new situation would impact me and my family, which I would consider a fairly standard non-managerial knowledge-worker family. In it I listed several things that needed to keep true in order not be significantly impacted financially.
The four issues I identified were as follows:
First, that my spouse and myself stay employed without our salary changing for the worse;
Secondly, that our savings and pensions don’t lose value due to the stock market;
Thirdly, that our home (primary and only real estate) not sink in value due to fall in real estate.
And lastly, that prices of essentials such as food, fuel, electricity, etc. to not rise significantly due to inflation or scarcity.
So how are we all doing, in 2023?
Not that great, I’m afraid. Our savings and pensions have lost chunks due to the falls in the stock market. Home values have gone down a few percent, and most people are refraining from selling which is why they haven’t fallen more. Prices of most goods and services have gone up a lot, in most OECD countries. The only bright spot (in general, with some darker spots in high tech) is the employment picture, with the US consistently adding more jobs than predicted.
So, 3 out of 4 things have gotten worse, just that the effects are being felt after the pandemic rather than during it.