The more I ask around, the more I hear people say that their take-home pay just isn't buying as much as it used to. Everything, and I mean everything is more expensive from gas to grain. People are sort of reluctant to admit that they are having trouble making ends meet so it is a delicate subject but as I have been listening to people talk over the past few years, I keep hearing from just about everyone that it is getting tougher and tougher to keep up with day-to-day expenses. Have you heard any of the same stories in your part of the country or is this just an upper Midwest phenom?
I have not asked around but for twenty years or so I found no silver in change from the stores. None at all. And I always check my change for silver, copper, etc. In the last 2 years I've found a half dozen silver dimes, 4 silver quarters and 2 Barr notes in change. One of my friends runs a local small-town store and he's been getting odd stuff, too, like a 1934 series $20 from a customer, a dozen or so Ike's from various customers, and a box of quarters from the bank that had 50 to 60 silver. I've also noticed a huge uptick in the number of bicentennial quarters I find in change. So I suspect the non-collector collectors are dipping into their save-cuz-it's-cool stashes. I know, leave it to me to talk coins in the PRWE forum.
Not a lot of it (talk of loss of buying power) from those I associate with, but am aware of people having a more difficult time buying those 'little' things they want without at least having a down payment. A great number of them seem to be of the mind that they should be able to put it on their credit card, and then worry about paying it when they get it. They are finding out that it just don't work like that now days. The lenders are tightning their belts and making some of the big spenders think twice before blowing everything they make on fun and games. I do worry about the young people who are just getting started in life. They have been so used to having it handed to them that they just don't know how to react to the situation. Form what I've seen and heard, it's going to be much more restricted in the day to come. Record number of housing forclosures every day. Going to be an interesting time in the coming days and weeks.
