Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The American middle class is falling deeper into debt to maintain a middle-class lifestyle
Cars, college, houses and medical care have become steadily more costly, but incomes have been largely stagnant for two decades, despite a recent uptick. Filling the gap between earning and spending is an explosion of finance into nearly every corner of the consumer economy.
Consumer debt, not counting mortgages, has climbed to $4 trillion—higher than it has ever been even after adjusting for inflation.
half the people that consider themselves middle class are not. They may have a middle income lifestyle, but by their own making they're dirt poor mired in debt. Their day of reckoning is coming soon.
I consider myself middle class. I own my own home. I paid off my mortgage in three years. Every bit of extra money I had I paid down the mortgage. We paid off our vehicles. I have zero credit card debt. I don't get a new phone every year. I probably go 4 years with the same phone. I cut the cord with my cable. I am actually 100% debt free. I have one child. He attended the Air Force Academy. I gave him a check from the money I had saved for his college. I went to community college and I never took a loan. I have a financial planner and I invest my money into my retirement. it comes down in many cases to how you want to live your life. I live within my means. If I have the money to buy something than I do. If I don't then I wait until I do. Yes I could own a Mercedes. But what the hell does that prove. So I own a a Mercedes and I have hundreds of dollars in payments monthly. Or I just own my truck that I bought two years used and enjoy driving without payments. If you have to keep up with the Jones's I feel sorry for you. Honestly you should be happy with yourself.
Hey- Air Force Academy kid.
You did something very right to raise a "smarty pants" kid who can get into the Air Force Academy. That is impressive! You must be very proud (as I would having a kid get into one of the Academies). My kids- med student, accountant, and teacher have worked hard and I am very proud of them as well.
There are not a lot of "how I got rich" stories where you hear:
" the wife and I got a tiny house and shared a 1999 Corolla while we opened up our dream business . We ate ramen, saved what we could, and paid our taxes so we could run an honest business, and I'll be damned if that sucker didn't just take off! Look at us now with our jets and our real estate fortune!"
Most people who write the rich people books say things like "debt is good. never use your own money- get credit from someone else. learn the tax loopholes" etc etc.
difference is rich people can pay off their debt, poor people can't.
Because they are stupid. Had someone on here mention they drove an 80K car/truck and they make 100K a year.
Exactly. It is about living within your means, and not trying to show you are more successful, financially than you actually are. I regularly see well over $120K in automobiles sitting in my neighbor's driveways, and that's for two vehicles. Forty year mortgages, and high credit card debt also seems to be common.
I have a sneaky feeling, what happened with houses in 2007-08 is now happening with cars (car loans) today! banks and car manufacturers are KILLING IT right now, they have made it SO easy to buy a new expensive car, one that is way more than anyone needs to spend, of course, people are going to jump at the chance, even if they cannot afford it and stop making payments 6 months later...it takes about 3-4 months for a car to repossessed, so thats alot of free drive time in a car you cannot afford.
Its crazy, the longest term for a car loan years ago was 5 years, today, they can be extended out to 8 and even 10 yrs!! WOW,that is crazy for a car.
you can do that once.....then you're buying your cars from a used car lot and bringing your payments into the dealership every week.
Actually my investments average 7% over the last 20 years while my car loan is 4%.
This is an excellent point and I'm assuming that's all net of tax.
The key is:
1) Not every financial decision is clear cut right or wrong for everyone.
2) You don't need to know that much to avoid big pitfalls and get ahead. I have a younger friend that had a bad financial decision history, they started asking my advice on some debt things, taxes and car loan etc. and I've probably saved them 10k or more over the years. They *hate* dealing with financial stuff, we hash it out while having drinks lol. In fact, I coached them on car buying tricks and frankly I think I might have them negotiate my next purchase.
P.S. If you go to buy a car, ask the sales guy what they're being measured on and have wiggle room on. I've let them slap me with a ridiculous interest rate in exchange for a much cheaper price and then paid it off in full a week later.
The American middle class is falling deeper into debt to maintain a middle-class lifestyle
Cars, college, houses and medical care have become steadily more costly, but incomes have been largely stagnant for two decades, despite a recent uptick. Filling the gap between earning and spending is an explosion of finance into nearly every corner of the consumer economy.
Consumer debt, not counting mortgages, has climbed to $4 trillion—higher than it has ever been even after adjusting for inflation.
Again you are using information posted in one of the most liberal blogs there is. DO you expect most of us find this completely accurate and 100% truthful?
If people are going into debt to keep up with the Jones then they need to get over it and live within their means. Keeping is not something new. In the 60s and 70s young families were doing the same thing: along came credit cards that didn't have to be paid off each month and into dept couples went. It has never changed.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
