Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

Yes, I was just too inexperienced back then and wanted to do it quickly.
But by now I wouldn’t buy a trailer anymore. You need them too rarely and at least here in Berlin you can get trailers from 25 EUR daily rental, so the whole fuss isn’t worth it. If I had a fireplace now, maybe. But then I might rather get an old flatbed right away. They start at 5,000 EUR and are even more versatile. Often you simply need the loading area. For 6m beams, a 2m trailer is not enough.

Honestly? I think our trailer was one of the best purchases ever. We also need it regularly. Construction projects, gardening projects, furniture purchases. Moving friends. Taking bulky waste away. Now with a house, I couldn’t imagine it without a trailer anymore. And at a purchase price of 800 EUR, with regular use you are definitely cheaper than renting. And you don’t always have to first get a trailer and then bring it back. Taxes and insurance are also extremely cheap.

Yes, at that price and with that usage it seems sensible. For me, it's just not the case... You won't get a braked trailer here for 800 EUR. At least 2,000 EUR here. And I might have needed one two or three times for things where the trailer would have allowed me to transport something I can't manage with the estate car alone. More often, I then actually needed a proper van. That's why I said a flatbed would almost be more worthwhile. But it's also significantly more expensive to maintain.

Yes, at the time I was just too inexperienced and wanted to do it quickly. But by now I wouldn’t buy a trailer anymore. You need them too rarely, and at least here in Berlin you can get trailers from 25 EUR daily rent, so the whole hassle isn’t worth it. If I had a fireplace now, maybe. But then I might rather even get an old flatbed right away. Those are already available for 5 TEUR and are even more versatile. Often you just need the loading area. For 6m beams a 2m trailer isn’t enough either.

The trailer is then sold again and I borrow one if needed from the neighbor or, if necessary, from my father. Then I only have the running costs plus possibly 100-200€ depreciation invested. That probably doesn’t save much compared to renting, but then you don’t always have to go somewhere. A flatbed is something different, you have completely different running costs than with a trailer. Tax and insurance for a trailer are maybe 100€ a year and it can’t break down much either. And with 5000€ the flatbed would then be well beyond 400,000 km... PS: That a van is so much bigger than a trailer... here you can also rent 4x1.5m and 5x2m trailers for ~55€ a day. That is more than the loading area of a 6m Sprinter.

ah there he is again. And in good manner, he regularly contradicts himself in just a few sentences...

After my forecast last year was heavily discussed here and still came true, even though for some it was unimaginable. The have risen significantly to 4 percent within a year. And of course they will continue to rise. I expect 6-8 percent by the end of the year.

The interest rates are not above 4%, certainly not significantly. Where should another significant increase come from? The sharply rising inflation has already slowed down, both in Europe and the USA. Without corresponding key interest rate hikes there is no indicator that mortgage rates will rise that strongly again.

Just heard, the postal workers' union is demanding a 15 percent wage increase in the new collective bargaining round. Now, as expected, a wage-price spiral is starting.

For example, the income of postal employees has only increased by a total of 6 percent in the past 10 years. Not per year, mind you, but in 10 years. What is 15 percent more salary today? Basically nothing.

You have provided the reason yourself why 15% is considered appropriate there. That is not transferable to other industries. Demands are also not agreements yet.

I also don’t believe that debts will be inflated away. Incomes can only run after galloping inflation.

Belief belongs in church. Incomes lagging behind inflation is nothing new or special. Hardly anyone negotiates their salary monthly. Even if incomes don’t increase 1:1 (retroactively), this is still massively beneficial for debtors.

The costs around the house will also rise significantly. The municipalities’ assessment rates are already being massively raised.

The municipalities’ assessment rates affect all forms of housing. That has nothing to do with house construction.

And yes, 5000 euros monthly income in 2021 is simply not 5000 euros purchasing power in 2023. Because purchasing power has almost halved.

You should sniff less gas, then more of your salary remains and your posts will no longer be so confused.

Congratulations to those who have invested long-term with low interest rates.

Yep.

Regarding the pension problem, one can only say the following. If in recent years not an infinite amount of money had been misappropriated from the pension fund, then today our pensioners would be living in a well-deserved prosperity. We’re talking about 700 billion. You can also call it the great pension fraud.

Where did the money go then and why are billions in tax subsidies still flowing into pensions? I only know pensioners who are doing very well. I have family members who received >90% of their previous salary upon (early) retirement, thanks to fat company pensions and the like. You can read in the daily press how popular retirement at 63 is – despite financial disadvantages.

The further development bodes nothing good. Currently, everyone is patting themselves on the back. Finally, we are delivering more tanks to Ukraine. And there should be many more. So the conflict is further fueled.

Besides delivering war equipment, there is only the option of capitulation.

Ukraine has rejected a 3-day ceasefire for Christmas.

Which Christmas do you mean? The Christian one hardly plays a role there, the country is predominantly Orthodox, meaning December 24-26 doesn’t matter there. Now Orthodox Christmas is starting, for which Mr. Putin has ordered a 36-hour ceasefire. We will see whether his people (try to) adhere to it. That there is no particularly high trust on either side should be clear.

No one is talking about peace negotiations.

Actually, yes, Mr. Putin named conditions for that. He wants to keep the internationally illegally occupied territories that are currently occupied by Russian invaders. Additionally, he also wants parts of the partially occupied provinces that he hasn’t even occupied. Like a cherry on the cake, so to speak. That is of course completely out of the question and utterly unrealistic from the perspective of a sovereign state like Ukraine. After the Crimea was already handed over in this way in 2014, it should be clear to everyone today that ceding territory only pauses the conflict.

Let’s see when the first German soldiers intervene in the war.

Before that, they’ll come to you.

At least it’s nice and warm, heating costs are moderate. That’s already positive!

Lucky that the doomsayers were wrong this time too. Unfortunately, they regularly heat up the mood so much that we as a country waste a lot of money to contain the panic that arises.

you don’t always have to drive somewhere for that.

For me, that’s 1-10 km depending on the provider. I have a high density here. And the corresponding hardware stores and fabric dealers are also more or less on the way.

A flatbed is something different, you have completely different ongoing costs than with a trailer. Tax and insurance for a trailer might be around €100 per year and not much can break. And at €5000 the flatbed would have well over 400,000 km...

That’s true, but as I said, I could have used it much more often and renting something like that is also more expensive. If day registration wasn’t so ridiculously expensive in Berlin, you could even consider something like that. Or register a business in a village in Brandenburg, then the ongoing costs for tax at least are also lower.

PS: That a van is so much bigger than a trailer... here you can also rent 4x1.5m and 5x2m trailers for about €55 a day. That’s more than the loading area of a 6m Sprinter

But those are 3.5t trailers. However, I’m not allowed to tow those with my towing vehicle and driving license. 3.5t vehicle is allowed though.

Sure, the few cents on groceries don't matter at all. How out of touch can one be.

This opinion is surely also held by the single mother who has to prepare quite a few packed lunches for her 3 children every day.
Especially because the price of bread, butter, and cold cuts has doubled. Basic staples should be excluded from price increases. At least the essentials like milk, butter, bread, or pasta.

As I said, my net income is only 1500 euros and I already feel like my salary has practically halved.
Electricity, heating oil, groceries.

And sure, the citizen’s allowance recipient won't be able to bake their own bread daily either because then they wouldn't be able to pay their electricity bill.