That’s a really good point that makes this so much worse.

It’s not just that I may not be able to continue some projects, but that I may not be able to continue pushing the boundaries of my knowledge and experience as I learn more.

Thinking about this in terms of younger aspiring builders, this will stagnate the technical growth of a generation.

This getting-ahead-of-the-tax-hikes/inflation thing was probably why the segment of households with meaningful disposable income (top quintile or so) increased spending in Q1 even as everyone else was pulling back.

We did it with air conditioner upgrades, among other things. Now? Five figures of previously-probable, but optional, spending for the rest of the year is on hold indefinitely. Prices on lots of things (construction materials, holy shit) are already way up, so we'll be sitting on as much cash as we can until that eases up. We don't need that much, really....

I've been "stockpiling" car parts for years for various maintenance I need to do... I guess I should get to doing that actual maintenance but those strut springs still scare me.

When covid hit, I def sold a lot of junk that I had sitting around for years