While COVID-19 dominated headlines for more than two years, hyper-inflation is no longer the main topic of conversation among concerned Americans. For many, the mere mention of “inflation” can cause panic, as rising prices and stagnant incomes make it difficult for them to afford the cost of living.
As millions of people in countries that have experienced hyperinflation will attest, a good hedge against it is to buy early. The reason is that if you’re planning a major purchase—like a car, for example—the vehicle is likely to be cheaper now than it would be a few months from now. And it appears to be a strategy many Oregonians are adopting, according to a survey (2,500) by CouponBirds, a provider of real-time consumer information on deals and savings, which found that more than 1 in 4 (27%) Oregonians say they buy things they don’t necessarily need now to get lower prices.
Broken down across states, this figure was highest in Arizona, where 57% of people said they are buying now, rather than later. Comparatively, this figure was just 6% in Alabama.
America’s New Gold Rush? In another study, the company also analyzed Google search data across the nation, uncovering trends in searches for ‘gold stocks’. These results were then broken down by state to find out where people are most and least worried about inflation, by looking to potentially invest in the precious metal which is widely assumed to be more inflation-proof than most assets.
Upon a closer look at the data broken down by state, the five most concerned states were
- Maine
- New Hampshire
- Delaware
- West Virginia
- Massachusetts
And the least concerned states were:
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- Idaho
- South Carolina
- 4 Missouri
The research revealed that when inflation surged to 8.5% in March this year (a jump of 0.6%), there was a simultaneous 9.9% spike in online searches for ‘gold stocks’ from worried Oregonians (compared to a national average of 29%).
