A headline from the New York Post:
“Inflation squeezes Americans as 61% say they live paycheck to paycheck”
To put this in perspective over six in ten Americans are struggling to survive, and if they were to miss a paycheck … an impending disaster?
Similarly from Yahoo Finance:
It’s not just low-income Americans drowning under inflation and interest rates — some higher-income folks are feeling the strain on their wallets as well.
Data from a June survey conducted by personal finance software company Quicken revealed that 32% of Americans earning at least $150,000 a year are currently living paycheck to paycheck, while 36% of folks earning $50,000 to $150,000 and 55% of households earning less than that reported the same.”
Impending disaster?
Credit card usage has been escalating amid high inflation.
In fact, according to the New York Fed, credit card balances topped $1 trillion in the second quarter of 2023.
As some Americans are waiting for their next payday to afford everyday expenses, credit cards may be the only tool left at their disposal. But relying on them too heavily comes at a cost.
The Quicken survey found that 46% of higher-income groups are more dependent on their credit cards than they’ve ever been — compared to just 40% of middle- and 39% of lower-income groups. About a third of folks earning $150,000 a year or more also admitted they won’t be able to pay off their balances before the end of the year. Truly an impending disaster!
Notice that the last “impending disaster” is with an exclamation point and not a question mark. It’s only a matter of time before the “sh*t hits the fan!” … Thank you, President Biden!
9/20/23