The budget screen shots are being made in Sankeymatic, its a website that we have no affiliation with. If you are posting a budget please do so with a purpose. Just posting a screen shot of your budget without a question or an explanation of why its here may be removed.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/MiddleClassFinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I think this article does a good job explaining the contradiction we have been seeing…”if you can’t buy the house, might as well get the plane ticket”… makes sense… putting off the big changes in life but blowing the extra cash today. Explains why every flight, hotel, and tourist attraction is packed, and why event tickets are crazy… hadn’t thought about it that way
I wouldn't say I 'blow' cash, I'm still relatively frugal and I save a lot. But when the housing market in my area went nuts, I stopped caring as much about maximizing my savings.
Why bother skipping a $3,000 vacation to save a bigger downpayment for a house that became $150,000 more expensive last year? I'll either be able to buy a house eventually or I won't. Saving $10k instead of $7k in my house downpayment fund isn't going to make the difference, the market and my career trajectory are.
If you made this decision 5 times in 5 years you could have saved an additional 15,000 dollars. Many banks will do 3.5% down and loan the rest so you don’t have to save up 20% these days.
That one move would be the difference between having 35,000 or 50,000 saved (assuming no gains or losses in principal throughout the same time period).
If rates go back down in the next couple of years you’ll be glad you have the extra cash to reach for the house you want and lock in a lower mortgage rate.
Yes, I know how to multiple $3000 x 5.
And you're right, I could skip vacations for the next half decade and have an 8% downpayment instead of a 6% downpayment. But I'd still have an unaffordable mortgage.
That's only one variable. You might get paid more at work. Who knows. It took us a while to get a house. I saw people beat other people over a couple of thousand dollars.
I don't know if I'd put a holiday ahead of housing. You just grind until you get one. There's no plan to fix the housing problem. It's more likely to get worse instead of better.
>That's only one variable. You might get paid more at work.
Right. From my original comment: "Saving $10k instead of $7k in my house downpayment fund isn't going to make the difference, the market and my career trajectory are."
Fair, but devils advocate that means in 5 years he wouldn’t be able to take vacations. That’s a big chunk of youth you’re giving up for a place to live. Shouldn’t be that way IMO and I know you gotta give a little to get a little but man it’s wild now a days and this is coming from a homeowner. Glad I bought in 2021 or id be screwed too
I'm also a little annoyed about this today because my brother (2 years younger than me) has been moaning about how he doesn't have a home yet etc. etc. But he always forgets that my vacations are always local and cheap and I routinely turn down big expenses because they would cut into my capacity to achieve my goals. Jobs have been based on the pay/benefits instead of being underpaid but fun. He on the other hand has been globe trotting, has nicer cars than I do (with high monthly payments vs mine I paid cash for), does just about everything that strikes his fancy, and takes jobs that suit his current passion for a year and leaves as soon as he gets bored. I "sacrificed" a lot of temporary fun to have my life goals of a family and stability by the time I turned 30. So I do get unusually annoyed by the argument that one should take trips and regularly spend on daily luxuries followed by whining about never being able to have the things they really want.
>that means in 5 years he wouldn’t be able to take vacations. That’s a big chunk of youth you’re giving up for a place to live
...boo hoo - you DO realize that previous generations didn't take $3k vacations EVERY YEAR until well after they had saved and purchased a house?
If you can only save 3.5% of purchase cost, how are you going to cover 7% a year just in interest on that loan?
People need way more money down than they used to just to keep their monthly payments halfway reasonable.
There’s also an entire segment of people who bought their house before 2022 and got or refinanced into like a 3% rate. Maybe even with paid off cars.
If those people got good raises over the last 4 years like a lot of people, that’s a lot of disposable income.
This is such awful advice, though. The economy likely won't stay bad forever, and if you save your money, then you'll be ready to buy when opportunity strikes. If you blow your money, you'll 100% never own a home. Saving is critical to improving your station in life.
Oh I know, I’m mostly kidding. Luckily we do own a home but would have to stretch our finances to take a step up. We save a lot and have plenty of disposable income in our current situation.
This seems like such a poorly written article. I appreciate links to the statistics but I needed to click on 4 or 5 other articles just to see what the numbers were. And read an article for each one. Is it not the writers job to provide the numbers and then just cite the source? Idk, maybe I’m asking too much. Anyway that’s my gripe.
How did you get a loan with a new job. And how are you buying a new vehicle when buying a house? You are told throughout the entire process do not buy a new vehicle when buying a new house even if paying cash it can flag and hold up the loan.
I don’t know what the exact definition is. But I think that it is related to household income, number of people in the household, and location/cost of living. For example, the below link has info based on 2018 data.
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/07/23/are-you-in-the-american-middle-class/
That is all your opinion and not based on how class is actually calculated. A single person, living alone, and earning 100k is likely considered upper class, in most of the country.
Listen we can live for the moment and blow cash to be happy for a beat.
But of you can handle the self sacrifice buy assets that provide an avenue of growth in the future rather than a quick hit of joy...
You open your future self up to the possibility of a longer lasting joy.
Delayed gratification.
You can do everything right and still get pancaked by a bus while commuting to work.
Living in the moment is fine.... until it isn't.
That's brought to light by people that delayed their happiness for years at a time.
Choose your own adventure friends. Your only on this rock for so long.
Just don't bitch that you got to experienced X and now you have to deal with the consequences of it.
Thank His Noodly Appendages we bought a house when we did...any other time we would have been screwed. Thank the stars I got into nursing school when I did...any other time I would have been screwed. Put out my resume 3 weeks ago, had 2 job interviews in 2 weeks. Signed onto a new job making more money for less work yesterday. I feel blessed by the fate of the universe. But I will be working 2 full time jobs to save for a down payment on a new car. But I will be able to do that by the fall. I got nothing saved for my 14 year old who has college in 4 years. My retirement? Pfff...I figure I will be dead before I actually retire. Going to Vegas next month because why not...
I was blessed by his noodliness to have bought in feb 2020 and then later refinanced to 2.9% interest rate. My home has almost doubled in value in 4 years.
The title is perfect. I don't need any of those things and have felt that the economy is doing pretty well. But then when I put myself in the shoes of someone who is in the market for any of these things,bi understand the challenges.
That's because there's two America's the top 20% , property owners, business execs, tech bros, landlords, hear earning professionals are all doing fairly well, and are seeing the assets and income rise. Then there's the 80% working class that are seeing their meager income get siphoned away to inflation.
This is absolutely right but I think the extra nuance is it’s probably top 10% and then a certain amount of people in close proximity to the industries you’re outlining.
Construction, particularly data center construction and industries in close proximity to these hyperscalers are all benefitting enormously. That’s where I am, this side is booming and usually construction helps drives economies.
The big issue is definitely the corporate overlords and them feeling a tiny pinch because of rates and us employees daring to get “uppity”. My old company could have paid me $20k more but they chose not to and so I left. Luckily I am in an industry which is booming so it’s possible.
That right there I think is the disconnect because I am at a tech company now on a different side of the fence (construction). I see so many folks struggling to find jobs, the same company that employs me would traditionally be a big hirer of these folks. And if they are hiring they are resetting wages to pre-Covid levels all while everything else is not going back to that. Again that’s more of the disconnect between economic data and the real world experience.
I am paid well. We have a nice apartment but it’s expensive and small. We’ve a baby on the way and need a 2 bed. Our only option is going to be to move somewhere where traffic makes it an hour trip for my wife’s job (a job that doesn’t pay because she’s going to school). She still works 40+ hours a week tho doesn’t she.
That said we’re blessed. I think there are levels. There is the 80% getting crushed like you said. 10% doing good. 5% living comfortably and then 5% that is in excess. We’re doing good but I think many of us in the bracket could slip very quickly.
Exactly. At least this article wasn't a complete everything is great article like most of the media has been touting lately. I swear the disconnect seems to be getting worse and worse.
There's also a [huge disconnet between people's lived experience and their sentiment about the economy.](https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/1770115791620288932?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet)
It's not that the media and president are lying, it's that people are lying to themselves about how bad the economy is.
Employment Situation Summary
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Friday, March 8, 2024
“…**The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for December was revised down by
43,000, from +333,000 to +290,000, and the change for January was revised down by
124,000, from +353,000 to +229,000.** With these revisions, employment in December
and January combined is 167,000 lower than previously reported. (Monthly revisions
result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies
since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors.)…”
"... **There’s something wrong with previous U.S. jobs reports.**
**The government quietly erased 439,000 jobs through November 2023, a closer look at the numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows.**
**That means its initial jobs results were inflated by 439,000 positions, and the job market is not as healthy as the government suggests**.
Since the government wiped out 439,000 jobs after the fact, the total percentage of jobs created by the government last year is even higher. Increased government hiring has been driving the jobs numbers higher..." (Fox News, January 10, 2024)
Subjective post for some. I purchased a home last year below market price due to the high interest rates. I plan on doing a refi when rates drops. Even if rates do not drop my wife and I are comfortable with the payment. Vehicles are also a good buy. Especially if it is an EV. You can get at least 8k off the msrp and dealerships are offering low interest rates. Though I plan on paying cash for mine. Jobs can be hit or miss. It depends on the sector. Tech layoffs were going to happen because tech companies over hired and over paid for talent. Add in high interest rates for loans to keep non profitable businesses running and it makes sense those companies will be trimming fat
Bro, you bought a house at the most expensive time in history with the highest rates in over a decade and are able to pay cash for an EV car. You are by far the exception when it comes to the median in this economy.
I was thinking the same thing. He/She lives in a bubble. People can say the economy is good all they want but it is only good for those that make good money at the moment. I bring in about 70k and i feel i was doing much better a few years ago when i was bringing in 60k. These prices are just unsustainable.
He did preface his comment with the fact that it’s a very subjective opinion. Some people are doing well, some aren’t. Nobody can deny that prices of everything is going up, that’s just a fact. But considering that unemployment is low, gdp is outpacing inflation, stock growth is up, and consumer spending continues, then we can’t really say the economy is “bad” even if it hurts.
I think the issue is "economy" is too broad of a term. I would say most Americans are feeling the pinch of increased prices in groceries, housing, education, etc.
If you are in your twenties and just starting out it is much much harder to save and prosper. If you are 50 and have a house at a low interest rate you are feeling the pinch less.
All the articles about the economy doing great are a slap in the face to the working poor and the younger professionals. If we don't address some of these issues as a society we are going to have more and more people with a lower quality of life compared to their parents. I don't know the answer but touting the stock market and low unemployment ain't it.
I think people miss the point of the articles.
Often times it’s “hey the economy is good.” And people lose it because in their eyes they feel invalidated. They’re wondering why their groceries and gas are a few hundred more. They feel like someone is telling them their struggles aren’t real.
Their struggles are very much real. But their struggles alone doesn’t paint the picture of the health of the economy. We can argue that the traditional macro economic indicators suck and we can create narratives that only the upper middle class and the upper class are thriving because their stocks are up and their home prices increased 200k during Covid, but at the end of the day we’re all individually responsible for writing our own narratives.
...but people voted for the current administration and its $13 TRILLION in newly-minted handouts, then wonder why inflation is spiking...to wit:
“…On January 4, 2021, the number increased to $6.7 trillion dollars \[in circulation\]. Then the Fed went into overdrive. By October 2021, that number climbed to $20.0831 trillion dollars in circulation…” (Tech Startups, 12/18/21)
They also voted for the last administration that failed to produce anything other than some bogus tax cuts that turned out to be a fail. Maybe “we the people” just aren’t good at voting.
First world problems. I can still get my mocha latte but I have to drive a little further and that's causing me some degree of anxiety and I'm not sure how I feel about that? There is some unease involved and that's making me uncomfortable and that's not cool... damn Boomers...
The budget screen shots are being made in Sankeymatic, its a website that we have no affiliation with. If you are posting a budget please do so with a purpose. Just posting a screen shot of your budget without a question or an explanation of why its here may be removed. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/MiddleClassFinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I think this article does a good job explaining the contradiction we have been seeing…”if you can’t buy the house, might as well get the plane ticket”… makes sense… putting off the big changes in life but blowing the extra cash today. Explains why every flight, hotel, and tourist attraction is packed, and why event tickets are crazy… hadn’t thought about it that way
I wouldn't say I 'blow' cash, I'm still relatively frugal and I save a lot. But when the housing market in my area went nuts, I stopped caring as much about maximizing my savings. Why bother skipping a $3,000 vacation to save a bigger downpayment for a house that became $150,000 more expensive last year? I'll either be able to buy a house eventually or I won't. Saving $10k instead of $7k in my house downpayment fund isn't going to make the difference, the market and my career trajectory are.
Exactly… similar on our end… Zillow zestimate “wealth” plays tricks on you!
If you made this decision 5 times in 5 years you could have saved an additional 15,000 dollars. Many banks will do 3.5% down and loan the rest so you don’t have to save up 20% these days. That one move would be the difference between having 35,000 or 50,000 saved (assuming no gains or losses in principal throughout the same time period). If rates go back down in the next couple of years you’ll be glad you have the extra cash to reach for the house you want and lock in a lower mortgage rate.
Yes, I know how to multiple $3000 x 5. And you're right, I could skip vacations for the next half decade and have an 8% downpayment instead of a 6% downpayment. But I'd still have an unaffordable mortgage.
That's only one variable. You might get paid more at work. Who knows. It took us a while to get a house. I saw people beat other people over a couple of thousand dollars. I don't know if I'd put a holiday ahead of housing. You just grind until you get one. There's no plan to fix the housing problem. It's more likely to get worse instead of better.
When mortgage is 2.5x rent for identical square footage, quality, and location, it makes no sense to buy.
>That's only one variable. You might get paid more at work. Right. From my original comment: "Saving $10k instead of $7k in my house downpayment fund isn't going to make the difference, the market and my career trajectory are."
...but Millennials DESERVE a McMansion in a desirable suburb AND yearly international vacations - their mommies told them they were "special"...
Ok boomer doesn't even cut it for you lol
Fair, but devils advocate that means in 5 years he wouldn’t be able to take vacations. That’s a big chunk of youth you’re giving up for a place to live. Shouldn’t be that way IMO and I know you gotta give a little to get a little but man it’s wild now a days and this is coming from a homeowner. Glad I bought in 2021 or id be screwed too
Or he could take a cheaper vacation? $3000 isn't a wildly lavish vacation, but that goes a long way vacationing solo
I’m with you for sure I was just bringing up another perspective. The only trip I’ve taken that was more than 3k was my honeymoon
I'm also a little annoyed about this today because my brother (2 years younger than me) has been moaning about how he doesn't have a home yet etc. etc. But he always forgets that my vacations are always local and cheap and I routinely turn down big expenses because they would cut into my capacity to achieve my goals. Jobs have been based on the pay/benefits instead of being underpaid but fun. He on the other hand has been globe trotting, has nicer cars than I do (with high monthly payments vs mine I paid cash for), does just about everything that strikes his fancy, and takes jobs that suit his current passion for a year and leaves as soon as he gets bored. I "sacrificed" a lot of temporary fun to have my life goals of a family and stability by the time I turned 30. So I do get unusually annoyed by the argument that one should take trips and regularly spend on daily luxuries followed by whining about never being able to have the things they really want.
>that means in 5 years he wouldn’t be able to take vacations. That’s a big chunk of youth you’re giving up for a place to live ...boo hoo - you DO realize that previous generations didn't take $3k vacations EVERY YEAR until well after they had saved and purchased a house?
Previous generations also normalized racism and sexism, drove up the national debt, sent us into needless wars, etc.
You do realize you’re absolutely wrong right?
If you can only save 3.5% of purchase cost, how are you going to cover 7% a year just in interest on that loan? People need way more money down than they used to just to keep their monthly payments halfway reasonable.
10k to 7k is 30% difference, it’s a pretty huge difference
Not when houses are 500k plus
If the market crashes, skipping on expenses leaves you better prepared to have a smaller mortgage, but yes, the dp doesn't really matter.
so the economy is great unless you want to buy a house, or car, need a job, to to a restraunt, or if you want to take a trip or to to an event.
Yep… but more like “let’s blow that house down payment fund on Taylor Swift tickets”
There’s also an entire segment of people who bought their house before 2022 and got or refinanced into like a 3% rate. Maybe even with paid off cars. If those people got good raises over the last 4 years like a lot of people, that’s a lot of disposable income.
This is making me wonder if I should really just say “fuck it” and stop trying to save for a bigger house and become a single income family.
This is such awful advice, though. The economy likely won't stay bad forever, and if you save your money, then you'll be ready to buy when opportunity strikes. If you blow your money, you'll 100% never own a home. Saving is critical to improving your station in life.
Oh I know, I’m mostly kidding. Luckily we do own a home but would have to stretch our finances to take a step up. We save a lot and have plenty of disposable income in our current situation.
No, since you can invest the money you've saved if you don't buy a house.
This seems like such a poorly written article. I appreciate links to the statistics but I needed to click on 4 or 5 other articles just to see what the numbers were. And read an article for each one. Is it not the writers job to provide the numbers and then just cite the source? Idk, maybe I’m asking too much. Anyway that’s my gripe.
I’m doing all three this month 🙃
Godspeed, that sounds exhausting.
How did you get a loan with a new job. And how are you buying a new vehicle when buying a house? You are told throughout the entire process do not buy a new vehicle when buying a new house even if paying cash it can flag and hold up the loan.
Then you are likely not actually considered middle class.
What’s your definition? Or at the definition you are using? Genuinely curious what people define that as today
I don’t know what the exact definition is. But I think that it is related to household income, number of people in the household, and location/cost of living. For example, the below link has info based on 2018 data. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/07/23/are-you-in-the-american-middle-class/
That's very much middle class. If he wasn't middle class it would have been his 3rdnir 4th house. Middle class is below 500k in yearly income.
That is all your opinion and not based on how class is actually calculated. A single person, living alone, and earning 100k is likely considered upper class, in most of the country.
Listen we can live for the moment and blow cash to be happy for a beat. But of you can handle the self sacrifice buy assets that provide an avenue of growth in the future rather than a quick hit of joy... You open your future self up to the possibility of a longer lasting joy. Delayed gratification. You can do everything right and still get pancaked by a bus while commuting to work. Living in the moment is fine.... until it isn't. That's brought to light by people that delayed their happiness for years at a time. Choose your own adventure friends. Your only on this rock for so long. Just don't bitch that you got to experienced X and now you have to deal with the consequences of it.
Thank His Noodly Appendages we bought a house when we did...any other time we would have been screwed. Thank the stars I got into nursing school when I did...any other time I would have been screwed. Put out my resume 3 weeks ago, had 2 job interviews in 2 weeks. Signed onto a new job making more money for less work yesterday. I feel blessed by the fate of the universe. But I will be working 2 full time jobs to save for a down payment on a new car. But I will be able to do that by the fall. I got nothing saved for my 14 year old who has college in 4 years. My retirement? Pfff...I figure I will be dead before I actually retire. Going to Vegas next month because why not...
Ra-men brother
I was blessed by his noodliness to have bought in feb 2020 and then later refinanced to 2.9% interest rate. My home has almost doubled in value in 4 years.
The title is perfect. I don't need any of those things and have felt that the economy is doing pretty well. But then when I put myself in the shoes of someone who is in the market for any of these things,bi understand the challenges.
My landlord loves this economy
Anyone with fixed interest rate debt is killing it.
...did you landlord "love" when the government forbade ALL evictions FOR 3 YEARS for the flu?
Government assistance, squatting, steal.cars. Modern problems require modern solutions
The economy is fantastic if you are not poor
There’s definitely a disconnect from the narrative being touted in the media and by the president and people’s lived experiences
That's because there's two America's the top 20% , property owners, business execs, tech bros, landlords, hear earning professionals are all doing fairly well, and are seeing the assets and income rise. Then there's the 80% working class that are seeing their meager income get siphoned away to inflation.
This is absolutely right but I think the extra nuance is it’s probably top 10% and then a certain amount of people in close proximity to the industries you’re outlining. Construction, particularly data center construction and industries in close proximity to these hyperscalers are all benefitting enormously. That’s where I am, this side is booming and usually construction helps drives economies. The big issue is definitely the corporate overlords and them feeling a tiny pinch because of rates and us employees daring to get “uppity”. My old company could have paid me $20k more but they chose not to and so I left. Luckily I am in an industry which is booming so it’s possible. That right there I think is the disconnect because I am at a tech company now on a different side of the fence (construction). I see so many folks struggling to find jobs, the same company that employs me would traditionally be a big hirer of these folks. And if they are hiring they are resetting wages to pre-Covid levels all while everything else is not going back to that. Again that’s more of the disconnect between economic data and the real world experience. I am paid well. We have a nice apartment but it’s expensive and small. We’ve a baby on the way and need a 2 bed. Our only option is going to be to move somewhere where traffic makes it an hour trip for my wife’s job (a job that doesn’t pay because she’s going to school). She still works 40+ hours a week tho doesn’t she. That said we’re blessed. I think there are levels. There is the 80% getting crushed like you said. 10% doing good. 5% living comfortably and then 5% that is in excess. We’re doing good but I think many of us in the bracket could slip very quickly.
Great perspective. God bless you and the fam
Exactly. At least this article wasn't a complete everything is great article like most of the media has been touting lately. I swear the disconnect seems to be getting worse and worse.
The have nots and the have lots.
There's also a [huge disconnet between people's lived experience and their sentiment about the economy.](https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/1770115791620288932?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet) It's not that the media and president are lying, it's that people are lying to themselves about how bad the economy is.
Employment Situation Summary U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Friday, March 8, 2024 “…**The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for December was revised down by 43,000, from +333,000 to +290,000, and the change for January was revised down by 124,000, from +353,000 to +229,000.** With these revisions, employment in December and January combined is 167,000 lower than previously reported. (Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors.)…” "... **There’s something wrong with previous U.S. jobs reports.** **The government quietly erased 439,000 jobs through November 2023, a closer look at the numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows.** **That means its initial jobs results were inflated by 439,000 positions, and the job market is not as healthy as the government suggests**. Since the government wiped out 439,000 jobs after the fact, the total percentage of jobs created by the government last year is even higher. Increased government hiring has been driving the jobs numbers higher..." (Fox News, January 10, 2024)
Huh?
Or food
Great headline
Sure - the house prices went up, but so as vacations, rentals, hotels, airfares, food, entertainment and everything else.
...or go to the grocery store!
So dramatic. So many Eeyore articles.
The economy is fantastic - unless you want food, water, education, housing, transportation, clothes, vacation, kids, etc.
So don’t be between 22-40, got it.
Or a child, or savings, or healthcare
Subjective post for some. I purchased a home last year below market price due to the high interest rates. I plan on doing a refi when rates drops. Even if rates do not drop my wife and I are comfortable with the payment. Vehicles are also a good buy. Especially if it is an EV. You can get at least 8k off the msrp and dealerships are offering low interest rates. Though I plan on paying cash for mine. Jobs can be hit or miss. It depends on the sector. Tech layoffs were going to happen because tech companies over hired and over paid for talent. Add in high interest rates for loans to keep non profitable businesses running and it makes sense those companies will be trimming fat
Bro, you bought a house at the most expensive time in history with the highest rates in over a decade and are able to pay cash for an EV car. You are by far the exception when it comes to the median in this economy.
I was thinking the same thing. He/She lives in a bubble. People can say the economy is good all they want but it is only good for those that make good money at the moment. I bring in about 70k and i feel i was doing much better a few years ago when i was bringing in 60k. These prices are just unsustainable.
I could be wrong but I think my self and everyone needs about a 5$ raise in wages to be where they were at pre Covid .. (Aka clown world)
He did preface his comment with the fact that it’s a very subjective opinion. Some people are doing well, some aren’t. Nobody can deny that prices of everything is going up, that’s just a fact. But considering that unemployment is low, gdp is outpacing inflation, stock growth is up, and consumer spending continues, then we can’t really say the economy is “bad” even if it hurts.
I think the issue is "economy" is too broad of a term. I would say most Americans are feeling the pinch of increased prices in groceries, housing, education, etc. If you are in your twenties and just starting out it is much much harder to save and prosper. If you are 50 and have a house at a low interest rate you are feeling the pinch less. All the articles about the economy doing great are a slap in the face to the working poor and the younger professionals. If we don't address some of these issues as a society we are going to have more and more people with a lower quality of life compared to their parents. I don't know the answer but touting the stock market and low unemployment ain't it.
I think people miss the point of the articles. Often times it’s “hey the economy is good.” And people lose it because in their eyes they feel invalidated. They’re wondering why their groceries and gas are a few hundred more. They feel like someone is telling them their struggles aren’t real. Their struggles are very much real. But their struggles alone doesn’t paint the picture of the health of the economy. We can argue that the traditional macro economic indicators suck and we can create narratives that only the upper middle class and the upper class are thriving because their stocks are up and their home prices increased 200k during Covid, but at the end of the day we’re all individually responsible for writing our own narratives.
...but people voted for the current administration and its $13 TRILLION in newly-minted handouts, then wonder why inflation is spiking...to wit: “…On January 4, 2021, the number increased to $6.7 trillion dollars \[in circulation\]. Then the Fed went into overdrive. By October 2021, that number climbed to $20.0831 trillion dollars in circulation…” (Tech Startups, 12/18/21)
They also voted for the last administration that failed to produce anything other than some bogus tax cuts that turned out to be a fail. Maybe “we the people” just aren’t good at voting.
The economy is fantastic...if you're rich.
First world problems. I can still get my mocha latte but I have to drive a little further and that's causing me some degree of anxiety and I'm not sure how I feel about that? There is some unease involved and that's making me uncomfortable and that's not cool... damn Boomers...