MAKING EASY MONEY THE HARD WAY
Cost of living pressures are out of control, with every day literally becoming more expensive. And it’s not just consumers but Coast companies who will pay the price
WANT to know the foolproof* way to make money?
Buy a boat.
Or a Tesla.
Or a tin of baked beans. It’s so easy! All you have to do is have money, spend it … and you’ll make a fortune.
In yet more proof the world has gone crazy (see: pandemic, floods, threat of nuclear war), the cost of living is now officially bonkers.
Coffee, petrol, meat, vegetables, you name it … you’re paying more for it.
Woolworths Group CEO Brad Banducci warned last month that the price of products on supermarket shelves could increase by up to 3 per cent over the next year.
Meanwhile, the Cafe Owners and Baristas Association Of Australia has warned the average cost of a cup of coffee is set to soar from $4 to $7, while Bega Cheese boss Barry Irvin says dairy prices are also mooving up
Even food producer SPC says price hikes are coming for canned goods because production expenses have risen significantly.
Higher prices for iron ore and wheat means more expensive tinned goods. What a world.
I’m now considering buying my baked beans in bulk to resell on Amazon … I’ll be a bean-llionaire. Maybe I’ll hoard some toilet paper while I’m at it, the two do go handin-hand after all.
Talk about golden nuggets.
Signing a contract at today’s price spells big trouble when you have to supply at tomorrow’s … because every day is literally becoming more expensive
Basically, anything you buy now will be worth even more tomorrow.
Even the Gold Coast’s own Lloyds Auctions is now selling second-hand Teslas for higher prices than their retail value.
“Right now, we have a 2022 Tesla Model 3 on offer with the current bid sitting at $71,000 where they actually retail for around $68,000 and the bidding is still set to close in a few days time,” said Lloyds Auctions chief operations officer Lee Hames.
While I’m still content driving around in my beat-up Mitsubishi, the fact that the value of my monthly petrol bill is equivalent to the car’s original value does pique my interest in electric vehicles.
Truly, nothing makes me feel older than remembering that when I first started driving, petrol was 50c a litre. I even wrote a front page in the 90s with the awesome prediction that petrol would one day break the $1 barrier.
But then I see that $70k electric vehicle price tag and I’m happy to simply stay home more often.
While this situation is rotten for consumers, the larger ramifications are only just beginning. Look at Condev Constructions.
Signing a contract at today’s price spells big trouble when you have to supply at tomorrow’s … because every day is literally becoming
more expensive. It’s the reason that a number of Gold Coast developments now stand on shaky ground.
Indeed, KM Sales and Marketing’s Jayde Pezet, who has sold units in some of the biggest tower projects of the past decade, has warned rising construction costs could cancel already announced and approved projects.
The cost of supplies – and the broken links in the supply chain – could soon have the same effect on car and boat manufacturers especially. Even if the contract signed today seems expensive, it could prove a steal by the time the product is supplied.
And that means the manufacturer is paying the difference … which could spell big trouble for the economy.
Now we’re on the almosteve of the federal budget, and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is promising to ease these cost of living pressures.
He says the budget will include “targeted, proportionate and temporary” relief, including the possibility of cash payments for low and middle-income earners.
While that sounds like welcome news, it’s a Band-aid solution for a far greater problem.
Although we can’t solve the international supply chain issues, we need to do all we can to ensure that wages begin to rise alongside inflation. People have jobs, and that’s great. But they’re not paying enough.
Perhaps the government can sponsor a workplace incentive – a can of tinned goods to see employees through these difficult times.
Call it the Baked Beans Bonus.