How's everyone hanging in there with the cost of living these days?

[NoSoyDeAqui]

When I was on the ARBA website this morning, I had the option to pay ARBA in one (annual) cuota or in five installments which will be due on about the tenth day of every other month, starting in March.

yes, precisely, those are the options. And the installments are fixed, i.e. no inflation adjustment. There is always a discount for full payment, but in previous years it was better to pay in installments as inflation would effectively diminish the cost of the fixed installments. This time around seems that it may be better to take the single annual payment.

 

[sergio]

Prices: Yesterday the Teatro Colon opened individual ticket sales for opera, orchestra, ballet. Last year I paid a little less than 100 USD for TWO tickets. This year the price was 96 pesos , or close to the same price, same location, for ONE ticket.

 

[LuckyLuke]

My yearly car tag was $165,000 last year. It is now $345,000.

This is for a beat-up 2013 Rav4. Basic version, no 4-wheel drive or anything fancy. The cheapest one.

A doubling in pesos on an annual term is not unexpected for 2024-2025. December IPC annualized was 117% for example. It was reduced to 84.5% for January. Obviously the dollarized cost to you is another more painful story.

 

[on the brink]

In Argentina, never a dull moment.....

 

[on the brink]

Just ran across my 2015 monthly budget. With the exchange rate of 13 pesos per dollar, my car insurance was 143 dollars per month. This month, with the blue rate at $1,220, it was US$123. On the other hand, my ABL climbed from 43 to 72 dollars.

Go figure.

 

[Goata]

The thing is prices we’re artificially cheap 2 years ago.

The dollar blue was worth double the official exchange rate, which regulates lots of prices in the economy. This made things very cheap for those with foreign currency. My electricity bill was less than $2 USD in the last few months of 2023.

Now the official rate has been “fixed”, and with price controls being lifted and subsidies being removed, prices are correcting themselves.

Luckily, the inflation rate is dropping and expected to be at 3% for last month. The official exchange rate is devalued by 2% per month, so we are getting close to where inflation and devaluation are the same.

In theory, this should mean we don’t feel more inflation in dollars. In theory - you never know with Argentina.

Hmm, yes, the subsidies being lifted will have raised the prices but for me that does not explain why things produced in Argentina are more expensive here as the same product produced and purchased in the US. Why does Argentine produced cheese cost more here in a grocery store or corner deli than an American cheese cost in an Acme or Trader Joes? Bug spray, cleaning products, glass cleaner, petrol, printing paper.... all are more expensive in Argentina than the US, certainly the wages for the people working to produce those products are not keeping pace with what the products are selling at. IMO

 

[Goata]

Hmm, yes, the subsidies being lifted will have raised the prices but for me that does not explain why things produced in Argentina are more expensive here as the same product produced and purchased in the US. Why does Argentine produced cheese cost more here in a grocery store or corner deli than an American cheese cost in an Acme or Trader Joes? Bug spray, cleaning products, cereal, peanuts, petrol, printing paper.... all are more expensive in Argentina than the US, certainly the wages for the people working to produce those products are not keeping pace with what the products are selling at. IMO
Secondly, why is worrying whether Argentine workers wages are keeping up with the cost of living "Commie Talk?" Empathy = Commie?

 

[Redpossum]

It's shameless price-gouging

 

[El_fuego]

Hmm, yes, the subsidies being lifted will have raised the prices but for me that does not explain why things produced in Argentina are more expensive here as the same product produced and purchased in the US. Why does Argentine produced cheese cost more here in a grocery store or corner deli than an American cheese cost in an Acme or Trader Joes? Bug spray, cleaning products, cereal, peanuts, petrol, printing paper.... all are more expensive in Argentina than the US, certainly the wages for the people working to produce those products are not keeping pace with what the products are selling at. IMO
Secondly, why is worrying whether Argentine workers wages are keeping up with the cost of living "Commie Talk?" Empathy = Commie?

it works like this; imported products are double the price. this allows the great big ugly industria argentina to sell things at a lower quality and higher price than otherwise would be able to. yay "protectionsim"! it just means, the consumer is screwed and the corporations get rich! don't you enjoy all the half green dry lemons? impossible to find a normal lemon? well thats because all the good lemons get exported! and the argentine gets to buy the crap that isn't export grade at the same price or more expensive than a grade A argentine lemon found on the shelves of a different country! yay! how do they get awaty with it? well, what are you going to do, import a lemon for twice the cost? nope! hey why hasn't melei removed the tarrifs and opened argentinas economy? well its because he's not with the people.

 

[LuckyLuke]

Hmm, yes, the subsidies being lifted will have raised the prices but for me that does not explain why things produced in Argentina are more expensive here as the same product produced and purchased in the US. Why does Argentine produced cheese cost more here in a grocery store or corner deli than an American cheese cost in an Acme or Trader Joes? Bug spray, cleaning products, cereal, peanuts, petrol, printing paper.... all are more expensive in Argentina than the US, certainly the wages for the people working to produce those products are not keeping pace with what the products are selling at. IMO
Secondly, why is worrying whether Argentine workers wages are keeping up with the cost of living "Commie Talk?" Empathy = Commie?

I recently went to an ice cream shop here and got a small fruit tart to have with Mate. It was $7,500. I was struggling to understand why it was so expensive when it dawned on me that were no less than 5 employees all chatting by the cash register machine in ice cream uniforms. This coffee shop was tiny. A typical starbucks may have 2 employees. A typical gas station in the US will have 1 employee at the cash register, perhaps 2 in the entire station. Here it's not unusual to have 7-9 employees.