How worried should US people be about "tariffs"? Should I invest in upgrading my equipment ASAP? (lemmy.today)

submitted 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) by MonkeMischief@lemmy.today to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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Basically title. I'm a digital artist in the USA and not rich by any stretch. In fact, somewhat in debt. (Aren't we all.)

I also try really hard to not be a mindless consumer. I use old equipment as long as I can, repair, refurbish, etc...

All this talk of upcoming tariffs has me worried that, rather than being able to get a day-job at newly opened US manufacturing for electronics or something, I'll instead be paying +60% more on like everything.

I know tech is a depreciating asset, but should I try to upgrade now to hold out for the next ~5 years or so?

I was considering hunting down a motherboard/cpu/RAM combo for instance.

Are worries about tariffs overblown? Trying to figure out how to prepare as best I can with my meager resources before everything just...keeps getting worse.

I am getting paid for my digital art, it's not living money though. My spouse has a more stable income that enables me to keep trying.

Thanks in advance. <3

EDIT: Thanks a ton for all the helpful replies! I'm glad I'm not being overly paranoid.

Some of you have asked for system specs so here they are for the curious:

System Specs:

OS: OpenSUSE Tumbleweed
Mobo: Z590 Aorus Elite AX
CPU: i7-10700k @ 5.1 Ghz
GPU: Nvidia RTX 3090
Mem: 32GB DDR4 (forget the speed...3000?)

I want to be clear: I don't mean to sound too panicked and I'm more than happy to be content with what I have and see my blessings for what they are.

However, as I'm trying to break into being a 3D Blender artist and gamedev professionally, I'm trying to strategize whether standards will significantly increase and leave me behind in the next 5 years or so. (Game industry, not trying to do Hollywood VFX models on my home rig or anything lol)

I don't game so much these days unfortunately. And if I do, like 5% of my library is particularly demanding. 😂

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[-] wirelesswire@lemmy.zip 2 points 6 months ago

Regardless of whether or not the tariff increases happen, Black Friday sales are going on right now, and depending on what stores are near you (namely Micro Center), you could find some good deals. Just make sure you check price history on anything you're looking at (if you're able) to ensure it's actually a deal.

[-] Brkdncr@lemmy.world 1 points 6 months ago

In addition to electronics going up, there’s also the looming End of Life for a lot of older computers because of Windows 10 going end of life/support, and windows 11 having some strict security hardware requirements.

This is going to impact businesses. They are going to gobble up the market. The threat of tariffs has already started some panic buying.

We’re going to see computer prices go up in 2025-2026.

[-] Rekorse@sh.itjust.works 1 points 6 months ago

If you buy used stuff already, you won't run into tarriffed goods for a while after they are implemented. Not sure what thats worth though.

[-] HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 1 points 6 months ago

Yeah, but the new market's process could be warped so much from tariffs that it affects the used market.

[-] Cheems@lemmy.world 1 points 6 months ago

I determined that it would be an issue and upgraded. I've needed to anyway

[-] rtxn@lemmy.world 0 points 6 months ago

The tariffs will have to be paid by someone, and distributors will not take a hit on account of the idiot pumpkin, so it will be shifted to the end user.

Right now is a pretty good time to upgrade. Both Intel and AMD have shown their hands in the CPU market and I can personally attest to the performance of AMD's X3D CPUs. Older models with the AM4 socket will become cheaper, and AM4 motherboards are plentiful.

[-] MrEff@lemmy.world 0 points 6 months ago

For as much as everyone is saying to buy now out of economic fear, I wouldn't say they are wrong, but there are several steps that will have to happen first. Tarrifs must be congressional approved first. That means the bill must be presented, debated on, voted on, then signed. I would start to worry a little when we see the bill presented, but even then if he presents some insane ranting that everyone knows will kneecap the economy for the rich, then it won't go through and I wouldn't worry. But if he lets his economic hit men write it and it is airtight, targeted, and specifically- then I would be buying my computer parts before the effective date hits for the reasons people are saying.

[-] empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Tarrifs must be congressional approved first.

Well it's a good thing that Trump bootlickers control both houses of congress as well as the courts they might be challenged in.

[-] slumlordthanatos@lemmy.world 1 points 6 months ago

Their majority in the House is historically slim: they can afford to lose only a single vote. Something that is this obviously terrible for the economy will have some trouble there.

[-] empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 6 months ago

I tend to agree with that, but the messaging has also been sent out by the loudmouths that if you don't toe Trump's party line, they are going to sick the MAGA gun nuts on ya. And we also know Democrats are not overly safe on critical votes, Ala Manchin.

[-] Free_Opinions@feddit.uk 0 points 6 months ago

In life it's generally safe assumption that the vast majority of things we worry about never happen or if they do it won't be as bad as we thought.

[-] lectricleopard@lemmy.world 0 points 6 months ago

Tell that to the women in texas.

[-] Free_Opinions@feddit.uk 0 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

So, because you can point to one example where the worst-case scenario happened, we should live our lives constantly fearing the worst? Is that really what you’re arguing for here?

[-] FabledAepitaph@lemmy.world -1 points 6 months ago

The people that have been put in charge have literally said that things are going to get worse and more expensive. Why not believe them?

[-] MonkeMischief@lemmy.today 0 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

I do see where you're coming from and appreciate your optimism. I have ADHD and I'm prone to catastrophism haha.

But I feel like there's actually substance and credibility to how much the very near future is gonna suck. :( I'm trying to stay optimistic though!

[-] Rekorse@sh.itjust.works 0 points 6 months ago

If it makes you feel any better, the times you were hopeful about the future were as much a matter of perspective as it is now. Pick any time you think things were going well and I can tell you how many numerous awful things happened at the same time.

I'd recommend placing a lot less weight on national politics in general. Your state government and local governments affect your life far more day to day. Your immediate family and friends also do in a different way.

Basically if you think on a large enough scale you can always find bad and good, there really is no "trend". Youll find meaningful trends on a much more micro level in my opinion.

this post was submitted on 29 Nov 2024

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