Worried about inflation? In Argentina, it’s a way of life.

[Findingnemo]

From this article, what particular item/s do you think you can do for yourself? One easy way for me if you have funds, is invest in real-estate even if it is not that big because thru time, it will increase its value. Or if I may add, you can also invest in precious metals or gold jewellery.

But if you ask the same question to a successful billionaire they won't prefer real estate nor gold because they are good as storage of value but they actually give less returns comparing to their investment plans so they will just use to the profits they made from other investment to invest on Gold and real estate.

[so98nn]

I am wondering how those supermarkets and credit card industries are able to engulf that kind of discounts on every weekend? I understand that super stores May hike the prices a lot than actual and then give discount on the same thus giving out an impression of discounting at high level. But that’s their loss because if they are selling at high cost then they have to pay heavy tax bounty on the same.

A bit complex financial ecosystem they have developed. I’m not sure if they have developed the inflation due to such acts or whether are they creating it so that they can default the system.

[Minecache]

That's because you store your rice wrong probably, also you should buy a rice cooker if you want to make sure you're rice is always cooked perfectly. Plus, don't just go for 20 pound bags, there's probably a 100 pound sack there that's going to be saving you more money and also buy a trash bin or something that you can put your rice in to prevent bugs. In terms of long-term storage, you might want to go for vacuum seal. Regarding the situation in Argentina, that's pretty f*cked up because I feel like they're tolerating how the government treats them.

Different countries of the world are suffering from the problem of inflation. Argentina is no exception, a recent survey found that Argentina's inflation rate is 50%, which is expected to rise further in 2022!
The prices of essential commodities are increasing day by day and it is going beyond the purchasing power. What to do in this situation? Purchase and store everything before the price goes up, Is this ever possible?

You shared how to store rice, definitely a good idea. But is food security the solution to inflation? Funny!

[laurenB7742]

That's because you store your rice wrong probably, also you should buy a rice cooker if you want to make sure you're rice is always cooked perfectly. Plus, don't just go for 20 pound bags, there's probably a 100 pound sack there that's going to be saving you more money and also buy a trash bin or something that you can put your rice in to prevent bugs. In terms of long-term storage, you might want to go for vacuum seal. Regarding the situation in Argentina, that's pretty f*cked up because I feel like they're tolerating how the government treats them.

Different countries of the world are suffering from the problem of inflation. Argentina is no exception, a recent survey found that Argentina's inflation rate is 50%, which is expected to rise further in 2022!
The prices of essential commodities are increasing day by day and it is going beyond the purchasing power. What to do in this situation? Purchase and store everything before the price goes up, Is this ever possible?

You shared how to store rice, definitely a good idea. But is food security the solution to inflation? Funny!

People will live a dehumanized life by hoarding food. On the other hand, the government would not give a fucking thought about them. Inflation will continue to rise. The government will continue to increase the price of goods and taxes due to this inflation.

And if really stockpiling food is taken as a solution, then the situation will get worse, I think. Because those who have enough money will start buying and hoarding everything, and because of this the poor people will get nothing, the market system will collapse.

[stompix]

Of course, Washingtonpost trying to avoid the issue that caused this and preparing Americans how to live like in 3rd world country..

Let's forget about the cause and let's try to deal with it, just like right now in Europe the best way to avoid getting affected by high prices is to shutdown everything in the house, not a word on how all those green, eco, cogeneration taxes and ban on every fossil fuel possible have pushed us into a corner.

But the stupidity doesn't end here, the advice is really funny, since you have inflation and a continuous rise in prices, what can be more helpful than sending everyone to buy more from their entire paycheck, driving up demand that collaborated with a low offer that is already in place because of shortages would do what? The first chapter of kindergarten economics, drive inflation even higher!
Oh, but that's not enough! You should actually take a loan and buy more stuff, so on top of that increase artificially demand even more, because that's how you solve in a socialist way problems caused by socialism, by making sure nobody gets away from this with more than one penny in their pocket.

Fernández was sworn in on 10 December 2019.
His first legislative initiative, the Social Solidarity and Productive Recovery Bill, was passed by Congress on 23 December.[24] The bill includes tax hikes on foreign currency purchases, agricultural exports, wealth, and car sales

What did you expect would happen next?

[The Sceptical Chymist]

Thanks for posting this, Hydrogen.  Since I don't follow world news, I had no idea inflation was so out of control in Argentina.  I'm not sure if what they're experiencing is considered hyperinflation or not, but I wonder if wages are at all keeping pace with inflation.  If wages aren't rising at all, there would be extreme poverty in no time--but that doesn't seem to be the case just based on what this article says.

BUENOS AIRES — Taking out small loans. Renegotiating salaries. Buying groceries in bulk.
One major tactic here is stockpiling. “To the extent that I can, I try to stash as many goods as possible,” said Ana Vienny, a 63-year-old retiree. At one point, she says, she owned 48 cans of tuna and enough vinegar bottles to cook for months. “Eventually, I had to stop buying because there was simply no more space.”

Now that's smart, and it's something that I've thought about doing for a while now.  I do have all the toothpaste and shampoo I can use for the rest of the year, and I'll have to consider what I can stockpile.  This damn supply chain problem doesn't seem to be getting any better, however.  Where I live it's incredibly hard to find pet food as well as some other items that would be easy to stock up on.

BUENOS AIRES — Taking out small loans. Renegotiating salaries. Buying groceries in bulk.
There’s a long tradition here of purchasing U.S. dollars as a hedge.

Yeah, I wonder how long that's going to last until the new hedge becomes the Canadian dollar or some other stable fiat currency.  Also: no mention of bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency here, which really doesn't surprise me.  Too bad, because if it weren't so volatile it'd be a great alternative to their fiat currency.

Of course, Washingtonpost trying to avoid the issue that caused this and preparing Americans how to live like in 3rd world country..

They've got to be the worst news outlet I know of, aside from CNN and Fox News (which aren't news media so much as political platforms anyway).  

You shared how to store rice, definitely a good idea. But is food security the solution to inflation? Funny!

It actually is sort of a solution, albeit not a perfect one.  When your money is losing value by the day, it makes complete sense to spend it as fast as you can--and buying food is the number one priority, as long as it can be stored for the medium-to-long term.  What else can regular people do in situations like this?  The problem needs to be fixed by the government, obviously, but citizens need to actively protect themselves from the effects of crazy inflation.

[RamBahadur.Gurung]

Very soon stories like this will be reported from all across the world and not just from Argentina and Venezuela. The M1 monetary supply for most of the fiat currencies have increased by manytimes during the last few years. Governments have used COVID as an excuse to print as much money as possible. What we are witnessing now is just the tip of the iceberg. Single digit inflation will soon become a thing of the past and rates of 15%-20% won't be surprising to anyone in the next few years.

[jaberwock]

People will live a dehumanized life by hoarding food. On the other hand, the government would not give a fucking thought about them. Inflation will continue to rise. The government will continue to increase the price of goods and taxes due to this inflation.

And if really stockpiling food is taken as a solution, then the situation will get worse, I think. Because those who have enough money will start buying and hoarding everything, and because of this the poor people will get nothing, the market system will collapse.

Not all governments are like that but there are governments that care and will not allow such acts because that is a clear violation. Hoarders are taking advantage of others for their own benefit. It is rampant now that we are in a pandemic situation, there are hoarder of the primary needs in this pandemic situation, items like face mask, face shield and alcohol. They sold it for a higher price.

Not all times the government is dictating the price but it was the abusive sellers are the ones that creates their own desired price for their products. Hoarding or stockpiling is not the best solution to combat inflation. The use of cryptocurrencies is said to help.

[davis196]

There was a time when the national currency of Argentina was tied to the US dollar,but the politicians in Argentina are so corrupt and stupid that they can't cut the government spending and money printing.
That's why the national currency in Argentina is so weak-big budget deficits,the central bank of Argentina not having enough reserves in gold and global currencies,out of control money supply,more government debt.
The IMF cannot help Argentina,because the IMF can't force the government of Argentina to cut the government spending and stop the money printing.
No bank/institutional investor in the world trusts the government of Argentina.
The situation in Venezuela is even worse,compared to Argentina,and AFAIK,the situation in Turkey is getting similar to the Latin American countries.
 

[stepwilli]

When your money is losing value by the day, it makes complete sense to spend it as fast as you can--and buying food is the number one priority, as long as it can be stored for the medium-to-long term.  What else can regular people do in situations like this?  The problem needs to be fixed by the government, obviously, but citizens need to actively protect themselves from the effects of crazy inflation.

I did exactly that . I can't believe that someone actually found it out. I spent 4 months worth of food money on a company, they will be sending me food daily, 2 meals, one for lunch and one for dinner (I said I could skip breakfast or have some cereal to save money) and paid it in full. It took me nearly a whole months worth of salary to be fair, but that means I will not have to pay for a meal ever again. Considering the other 3 months will be without food and rent (I own my house) that means all of that money will go to simply living.

I know 4 months is nothing in inflation for most nations, but for my nation 4 months is still a lot and I will be basically profiting from it this way. They did not have a yearly one, if they did, then I would pay right away for a yearly package so that I wouldn't have to pay for a whole year, just pay 3 months worth of salary for it, and you will be eating for free for 9 more months after that.

[fullhdpixel]

I can't believe that someone actually found it out. I spent 4 months worth of food money on a company, they will be sending me food daily, 2 meals, one for lunch and one for dinner (I said I could skip breakfast or have some cereal to save money) and paid it in full. It took me nearly a whole months worth of salary to be fair, but that means I will not have to pay for a meal ever again. Considering the other 3 months will be without food and rent (I own my house) that means all of that money will go to simply living.

Buying foodstuffs in bulk is like a normal thing that you should be doing, is always good and also saves you some money when you try to buy them in bulk and keep. But, another thing I would like to point out is you saying that when money is losing value that you should rush and buy foodstuffs and keep, if you buy foodstuffs and keep later on are you not still going to buy it at same price or a higher price?

Since the currency is losing value,  has there ever been a time that a currency has recovered after losing value due to inflation? So it's not like you are 100% safe, so the best thing is to make sure that  your money is being invested in a good business that would be able to sustain you no matter what comes in the future.

[Webetcoins]

Inflation is quite bad, and for the fact that the price and value for a lot of things will keep on increasing is what makes it quite bad. In countries where inflation is steady thing, if we check those countries it gets to a level where things kind of get really hard.

There are countries like the United states which you have mentioned, where you have the ability to buy whatever you want to buy and then start paying in instalments, but this is never the same for all the countries, because there are also places where you would buy the same thing and you wouldn’t be allowed to make payments in instalments, and your only option you would have is to make a full payment which wouldn’t be easy for you.

[magneto]

This is the thing about inflation.

You can forget about it for decades because it is low, but once it starts to ramp up and the central bank acts suboptimally, you can see the serious, dire consequences within weeks/months.

Inflation and inflationary expectations go hand in hand. A large part of why Argentina is unable to keep inflation down is simply because people have come to expect high inflation from their nation, which inevitably leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[laurenB7742]

People will live a dehumanized life by hoarding food. On the other hand, the government would not give a fucking thought about them. Inflation will continue to rise. The government will continue to increase the price of goods and taxes due to this inflation.

And if really stockpiling food is taken as a solution, then the situation will get worse, I think. Because those who have enough money will start buying and hoarding everything, and because of this the poor people will get nothing, the market system will collapse.

Not all governments are like that but there are governments that care and will not allow such acts because that is a clear violation. Hoarders are taking advantage of others for their own benefit. It is rampant now that we are in a pandemic situation, there are hoarder of the primary needs in this pandemic situation, items like face mask, face shield and alcohol. They sold it for a higher price.

Not all times the government is dictating the price but it was the abusive sellers are the ones that creates their own desired price for their products. Hoarding or stockpiling is not the best solution to combat inflation. The use of cryptocurrencies is said to help.

You have misunderstood a little. I did not say that governments are the same. If there is inflation, the country will suffer and if the country suffers, the government will fall, right?
No government will ever want to fall. But they are not taking the necessary steps to curb inflation. 

However, you made a good point that some people are taking advantage of the coronavirus. They are selling masks, sanitizers at high prices. But I would say that even here the government can take a step if it wants to. Government can fix a price for these daily necessary products and make a law like "anyone tries to sell these products beyond fix price he/she will come under the law".

[palle11]

Inflation and inflationary expectations go hand in hand. A large part of why Argentina is unable to keep inflation down is simply because people have come to expect high inflation from their nation, which inevitably leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Someone living and surviving with a disease for a long time consider it as normal because they know how to manage the disease to keep surviving. This is the situation possible in Argentina. Over a long time it has been heard how South America is having inflation. The government need to take long lasting solution to the situation. There ways to do that like reducing cash flow in the system.

[kryptqnick]

This I believe is lacking in most educational system around the world. Most degrees are not covering the basic economics or financial course that will aid in the understanding of how to handle your finances in smart way. Not many people know about inflation and how to address the reduction in the purchasing power of their money. So Argentina or any other country, it is all the same. How can we really face this type of problem?

I just did a quick search just to have an idea and this is where I got -

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/basics/10/protect-yourself-from-inflation.asp

(1) Invest in stocks
(2) Invest in a Home
(3) Invest in yourself

From this article, what particular item/s do you think you can do for yourself? One easy way for me if you have funds, is invest in real-estate even if it is not that big because thru time, it will increase its value. Or if I may add, you can also invest in precious metals or gold jewellery.

I agree that financial education should be taught properly at schools (at least some basics of managing finances, living on a budget, investments, inflation and other things like that), and it's usually not being done in useful ways. As for the investopedia advice, it's obviously an advice for the riches looking not to lose what they have, but it won't help those who suffer most during the inflation (ordinary low-income people who live from salary to salary and can now afford way less than they could before). And as for investing in a home, it's a very US-centered sort of advice (at least, the fixed-rate mortgage thing) because many countries, AFAIK, actually adjust the mortgage for inflation.