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. 😂

  • Canopyflyer@lemmy.worldEnglish
    91·
    18 days ago

    I was in the same position as you, except in regards to buying replacement automobile. My current car will not last another 2 to 4 years, or however long it would take for automobile prices to come back down after a major spike. I am looking back over the COVID period and using that as a predictor of what could happen in the next two years.

    AND it is is not pretty. Cars are already way too expensive as it is and adding another 10% to 20% puts buying a car outside of what I am willing to do. Could I make my car last longer? Not without putting a short block in it, which is a $6000 proposition and the car might be worth $7k if it was in mint condition, which it is not. Even if I did replace the engine, it would start having the myriad of “old car problems” over the next few years and just how expensive will parts be?

    What are interest rates going to be?

    So instead of waiting another 6 months, where I would have enough to pretty much pay cash, I went ahead and bought a car this past Wednesday, but with a lot more financing than I really wanted to do. But with good credit, I got a sub 6% rate, I’ll just pay it off faster so I don’t take a bath on the interest.

    Now I have a car, 2019 Camry Hybrid, with 30,000 miles on it that I feel will easily last the next 4 years without much more than maintenance. I kept my old car, I have a teen driver that needs it, and will keep it till he goes to university next August. I’ll keep an eye on the used car market and when I can sell it for a good price, I will. Then use that money to pay off my current car, saving that interest.

    Or I might just sell everything, go buy a boat and explore the south Pacific the next 4 years… Who knows.

    • MonkeMischief@lemmy.todayOP
      4·
      18 days ago

      Hey that’s cool you were able to do that! I absolutely feel you.

      I had an '06 Honda Element I bought at 119k miles as my first vehicle way back. I taught myself how to do a lot of things with that car, and thought I’d keep it running til it rust out from under me!

      Well, replacing a failed sensor lead to me snapping a bolt in the engine block. Every conceivable method to get it out failed. Oil was even leaking through the SteelStik putty I used as a last resort to hold the sensor in. Mechanics wouldn’t touch it, machinists wouldn’t touch it. My cousin tried to help by drilling an adjacent hole (you should’ve seen the elaborate mirror setup to even see in there)… But we must’ve breached the engine because oil gore was EVERYWHERE if we tried to start it.

      Basically enough was enough. I was lucky to get one of those haul away sites to give me ~$880 for it. We were using kitty litter in a desperate attempt to clean what came out of it when it got towed. But man…I owned it outright! I got it to ~210,000 miles though…

      We just got a 2017 CR-V that was babied for like $22k with 70k miles on it. It’s lovely, but man even with excellent credit the interest sucks and I’m wondering how we’re gonna kill that debt. :(

      Gotta tell you. I hate cars anymore. I’ve become a bit radicalized at how stupid American city planning is and I found out how lovely bicycling is. Your “explore the South Pacific in a boat” idea sounds mighty tempting. :p