Producer prices at 16-year-high

[miffy]

As long as they don't ask for fruity nut cake.

Space Cake.

[Dalek Supreme]

Space Cake.

Space Dust.

[tim123]

Scarily true. Bought a £2.5k LCD TV a couple of years ago. Same model is half the price now. I only bought it coz I thought I'd have the biggest one on the street, but now any old chav can afford them.

But that's not the problem though, is it?

The problem is that there does seem to be a trend in replacing them every two years. Consequently, they only make them to last that long.

Personally, I expect something that I have paid a couple of grand for to last a lot longer. My first telly, that I paid circa 300 quid for in 1982 (so that's probaly around 2 grand in today's money) lasted 17 years before I had to throw it in a skip. I'd expect a new plasma/LCD to do likewise, but I bet it won't.

tim

[expat]

But that's not the problem though, is it?

The problem is that there does seem to be a trend in replacing them every two years. Consequently, they only make them to last that long.

Agreed. Same with mobile phones: made to last as long as the contract, if you're lucky. I have one that's failed after 15 months: 12-month guarantee, 18-month contract. Great.

Not only are things now made only to last until "it's time to buy a new one", there are more things to buy every couple of years.

Bear both of those points in mind when projecting your retirement:
1. you can't just buy all the toys while still working, then use them for decades. They won't last that long, so you'll need to budget for replacing them.
2. you could just live as you do now, on today's level of money; but more things will come along that you, like everybody else, will want to have: you might feel unhappy if you couldn't live in (e.g.) 2030's style in 2030, so you will need a 2030-level income.

[larry]

Makes Sense

As long as we demand cheaper stuff from China and given the increase in 'product recalls' last year, retailers will continue to do well.