Plus, American's job jitters rise despite a strong labor market, corporate America vows to make 2024 the year of cost cuts, Tinder expands its ID verification to fight AI-related dating crimes.
The ID verification for Tinder is interesting. In Canada they are supposed to be coming up with an age verification for social media to protect kids. All good but how do you get people to trust social media companies with our ID? It's a good smaller test before an entire country starts doing it.
You have raised a valid point, I guess identity verification across apps need to be thought of differently than simply scanning your physical ID proof and the app storing an encrypted copy of it. Honestly, I don't have the answer, but the last thing we need is mass ID's stolen from consumer apps from some form of a cyber crime.
Entertaining and informative. Friday 5 is the best when it comes to macroeconomics.
Online scams are the worst. With AI, it is only likely to rise. It becomes all the more necessary that we should be prudent while sharing personal or financial information online.
Thanks Sanuj, fully agree that online scams in general are getting more and more vicious. While dating scams are a subset of that (and I have never been subject to that), other forms of online scams are becoming increasingly hard to distinguish, and the truth is most of the people who are born prior to the internet are not sufficiently equipped to understand how to protect themselves.
Thank you Amrita for another well curated article on the money movers and shakers.
Most of all that chocolate 🍫 is sugar anyway, but so yummy! 😋 My favorite chocolate is the dark chocolate Sees creams, which we buy a few times a year so shouldn’t make a big dent in our chocolate budget. I’ll just have to pay more for less, but that should help the calorie count. Lol. But every evening for a special treat we have a square of the 93% dark chocolate squares from Aldi’s. The best! ♥️♥️♥️
I love Aldi's and I love salted caramel chocolate. Once I came across a particular brand of salted caramel chocolate that really hit the spot. Literally the next day, I spent 4 hours driving to all the stores in town, buying up ALL the bars of that particular chocolate that were on the shelf. True story - I cleaned out all they had to offer in 3 zipcodes. My wife thought I was nuts. I purchased 73 bars of that amazing chocolate.
It would be great if all these numbers (e.g., how much to earn for a house) were adjusted for inflation. Especially in a column complaining about inflation.
You are right, dating and chocolate often go hand in hand, but then again, in the past, if the dating scene was bad, you could still buy chocolate and eat it to make you feel better. Hard times indeed.
The numbers in the American Dream infographic look out of whack to me and aligned with a keeping up with the Jones lifestyle. Buy a new car every 3-4 years, own a boat, spending lavishly on pets, eating out often etc. Even the cost of healthcare seems excessive in the chart. On the flip side they have underestimated the cost of education and retirement. The American Dream is what we make of it and if we want it we need to work to achieve it. It does not get handed to us on a silver platter. I agree that housing has gotten out of reach of many working families. That should be addressed urgently. Cheers, Amrita.
Hey Beach, fully agree with you that the American Dream is what we make of it. As a non-American, who lived there during my college years and then between 2014 and 2019, I still believe that the growth prospects for one's career opportunities are immense (or at least within certain fields), and that is not something to be taken for granted. Plus, I never felt financially squeezed, although I don't have children (and that probably changes a lot), but given my lifestyle and things that make me happy, I felt that my wage would sufficiently suffice and allow me to grow my wealth long-term.
Hi Perry, I fully hear you. I have been living in Vancouver since 2020 and I am shocked at the speed at which food and rent prices have skyrocketed, which makes moving out to another place financially impossible. As for buying a house, the middle class is completely priced out. Yet, when I look at wages, it is not keeping pace with the rising cost of living, by any means.
Prior to moving here, I lived in San Francisco for more than 5 years, and I can't believe that I am saying this, but despite SF being known for a viciously expensive city, wages too are very robust, so it works, or at least worked out in a way that still allowed the middle/upper middle class to grow their wealth over time
The squeezing of the middle-class is being felt hard. I think people taking on credit card debt is one, like Perry mentioned, but I also believe that most people are cutting costs on all fronts.
The ID verification for Tinder is interesting. In Canada they are supposed to be coming up with an age verification for social media to protect kids. All good but how do you get people to trust social media companies with our ID? It's a good smaller test before an entire country starts doing it.
You have raised a valid point, I guess identity verification across apps need to be thought of differently than simply scanning your physical ID proof and the app storing an encrypted copy of it. Honestly, I don't have the answer, but the last thing we need is mass ID's stolen from consumer apps from some form of a cyber crime.
Entertaining and informative. Friday 5 is the best when it comes to macroeconomics.
Online scams are the worst. With AI, it is only likely to rise. It becomes all the more necessary that we should be prudent while sharing personal or financial information online.
Thanks Sanuj, fully agree that online scams in general are getting more and more vicious. While dating scams are a subset of that (and I have never been subject to that), other forms of online scams are becoming increasingly hard to distinguish, and the truth is most of the people who are born prior to the internet are not sufficiently equipped to understand how to protect themselves.
Thank you Amrita for another well curated article on the money movers and shakers.
Most of all that chocolate 🍫 is sugar anyway, but so yummy! 😋 My favorite chocolate is the dark chocolate Sees creams, which we buy a few times a year so shouldn’t make a big dent in our chocolate budget. I’ll just have to pay more for less, but that should help the calorie count. Lol. But every evening for a special treat we have a square of the 93% dark chocolate squares from Aldi’s. The best! ♥️♥️♥️
I love Aldi's and I love salted caramel chocolate. Once I came across a particular brand of salted caramel chocolate that really hit the spot. Literally the next day, I spent 4 hours driving to all the stores in town, buying up ALL the bars of that particular chocolate that were on the shelf. True story - I cleaned out all they had to offer in 3 zipcodes. My wife thought I was nuts. I purchased 73 bars of that amazing chocolate.
OMG! That is so funny! 🤣They do have the best chocolate!
Thanks for sharing the link to the Aldi's 93%. We will give it a try and let you know.
It would be great if all these numbers (e.g., how much to earn for a house) were adjusted for inflation. Especially in a column complaining about inflation.
But about that: https://jabberwocking.com/food-inflation-is-not-a-problem-anymore/
Great article as usual Amrita!
I am truly traumatized by both the chocolate and dating scene issues, so I will stay home today 😔
Thanks Tuco.
You are right, dating and chocolate often go hand in hand, but then again, in the past, if the dating scene was bad, you could still buy chocolate and eat it to make you feel better. Hard times indeed.
The numbers in the American Dream infographic look out of whack to me and aligned with a keeping up with the Jones lifestyle. Buy a new car every 3-4 years, own a boat, spending lavishly on pets, eating out often etc. Even the cost of healthcare seems excessive in the chart. On the flip side they have underestimated the cost of education and retirement. The American Dream is what we make of it and if we want it we need to work to achieve it. It does not get handed to us on a silver platter. I agree that housing has gotten out of reach of many working families. That should be addressed urgently. Cheers, Amrita.
Hey Beach, fully agree with you that the American Dream is what we make of it. As a non-American, who lived there during my college years and then between 2014 and 2019, I still believe that the growth prospects for one's career opportunities are immense (or at least within certain fields), and that is not something to be taken for granted. Plus, I never felt financially squeezed, although I don't have children (and that probably changes a lot), but given my lifestyle and things that make me happy, I felt that my wage would sufficiently suffice and allow me to grow my wealth long-term.
Hi Perry, I fully hear you. I have been living in Vancouver since 2020 and I am shocked at the speed at which food and rent prices have skyrocketed, which makes moving out to another place financially impossible. As for buying a house, the middle class is completely priced out. Yet, when I look at wages, it is not keeping pace with the rising cost of living, by any means.
Prior to moving here, I lived in San Francisco for more than 5 years, and I can't believe that I am saying this, but despite SF being known for a viciously expensive city, wages too are very robust, so it works, or at least worked out in a way that still allowed the middle/upper middle class to grow their wealth over time
Ya it’s gotten expensive over the last few years here in Toronto. I have no idea how 90% of ppl are making ends meet
The squeezing of the middle-class is being felt hard. I think people taking on credit card debt is one, like Perry mentioned, but I also believe that most people are cutting costs on all fronts.