Financial Turmoil Abound

[Certaindeaf]

Somebody must be making bank to take on a $650 car payment.

If you're making payments, insurance is generally equal to those payments.
I pay $50/mo for super duper coverage (rental, towing, $200 deductible, non-insured collision, etc.) from State Farm for my old PU.

 

[Alexx1401]

Voters got a wake up call in 2020 when the markets crashed. Trump got booted 6 months after the markets got creamed. Biden could see the same fate, but Biden won't be in the ballot until November 2024…over 2 years from now. I think the current crash will definitely have an effect on midterm Congressional races though, which are on the ballot this year.

LOL, I don't know if this was humor, or if you really believe this. If you do? Hey you are in good company. When I talk about the voters I am talking about the elections we have every two years. While Joe has been a disaster I am pretty sure he has no clue what it really going on. He can't even speak coherent sentences any more. The fun many of us are living is FAR from just what the Feds are doing. This state has been in a race to the bottom for a good decade or so and the voters here are getting to live what they asked for. So as they feel more pain I keep hoping more of them will wake up. So far they just keep bending over and asking for another.

 

[Alexx1401]

If you're making payments, insurance is generally equal to those payments.
I pay $50/mo for super duper coverage (rental, towing, $200 deductible, non-insured collision, etc.) from State Farm for my old PU.

We pay for "extra" on vehicles that are paid for. Sadly this state is full of people with no license or insurance and they are encouraged to keep driving. Many of them drive around high and this is encouraged. So we carry coverage in case one slams us. This again is voters getting what they asked for. I hear people all the time ANGRY at what insurance costs when they have spotless records. When I ask them who they voted for they get even more angry. They really believe its not the people who run the state who do this to them, its those "evil" insurance companies are all in it to get them

 

[arakboss]

Some of the shine is rubbing off of Musk.

Elon Musk had a bad week

In what's been a particularly eventful year for Elon Musk, this was a decidedly rough week.

www.cnbc.com

 

[Alexx1401]

No doubt he will be soon living in a tent and smoking drugs.

 

[arakboss]

No doubt he will be soon living in a tent and smoking drugs.

It will probably be a nice tent though.

 

[arakboss]

Goid news, Market is up today.

Housing sales are expected to slump but that is good news for buyers.

Sales of existing homes fell in May, and more declines are expected

Sales of existing homes in May fell 3.4% to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 5.41 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors.

www.cnbc.com

 

[bkroger86]

Goid news, Market is up today.

Housing sales are expected to slump but that is good news for buyers.

Sales of existing homes fell in May, and more declines are expected

Sales of existing homes in May fell 3.4% to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 5.41 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors.

www.cnbc.com

The housing market was overdue to cool off. The value of my house went up by 15% from 2020-2021 and another 10% in 2022.

If the values didn't price people out of the market, the interest rates definitely will.

 

[loadzz]

The most interesting thing to look for in the coming months is what will happen to all the aspiring tik tok entrepreneurs who used crypto backed loans and HELOCS to acquire a housing portfolio.

 

[bolus]

Another terrible day in the markets. Revlon going bankrupt. No amount of lip stick is going to make the Crypto pig look good. An analyst on CNBC said we could see $175 a barrel oil this year.

If something positive is happening with your investments please share?

Revlon hired BCG. I've posted a few times about how BCG is hired to kill companies from the inside so that hedge funds can naked short their stock to death .

Stock market on fire

Conspiracy theory of the day. BCG, Boston Consulting Group is suing gamestop saying they were'nt paid their consulting fees. In the lawsuit they claim that leadership was required to go to meetings (mandatory) and it was also required that Gamestop reveal confidental financial information to...

www.northwestfirearms.com

 

[arakboss]

Millennial, Gen Z consumers turning to BNPL services as costs rise: survey

Millennials and Gen Z Americans are using buy now, pay later services as prices rise. They are using BNPL to pay for essential services as well as luxury purchases.

www.foxbusiness.com

 

[Mikej]

Millennial, Gen Z consumers turning to BNPL services as costs rise: survey

Millennials and Gen Z Americans are using buy now, pay later services as prices rise. They are using BNPL to pay for essential services as well as luxury purchases.

www.foxbusiness.com

Well, considering the lack of work ethic in so many of them, how ELSE would you expect them to afford the finer things in life?
I'm not even sure WHAT, they would consider a finer thing in life. Probably some APP that makes up excuses for why they can't show up for work today.

 

[bkroger86]

Well, considering the lack of work ethic in so many of them, how ELSE would you expect them to afford the finer things in life?
I'm not even sure WHAT, they would consider a finer thing in life. Probably some APP that makes up excuses for why they can't show up for work today.

Has more to do with the fact that you can't raise a family of four on a single middle class income anymore.

That's also why the birth rate is dropping.

 

[Mikej]

Has more to do with the fact that you can't raise a family of four on a single middle class income anymore.

That's also why the birth rate is dropping.

Hmm, maybe that's why my parents waited a bit longer? And had ONLY TWO CHILDREN! You did hear didn't you? They now know what causes children! Maybe those millennials and gen z's should/should have read up on that?

 

[bkroger86]

Hmm, maybe that's why my parents waited a bit longer? And had ONLY TWO CHILDREN! You did hear didn't you? They now know what causes children! Maybe those millennials and gen z's should/should have read up on that?

I understand why people aren't having as many children. My point was that as a nation, having our birth rate plummet isn't ideal. The baby boom was a period of prosperity for our country, primarily because a single middle class income could support a family of four. Life was more affordable because the gap between wages and expenses was a lot smaller; one parent could raise the kids at home full time and raise them right; and people had larger families because they didn't need to pay for child care.

If we want to return to the prosperity of the baby boom era, we need to figure out how a single good middle class job can support a family of four again. There are two major factors working against that: the cost of housing and the cost of health care. You can look at any part of the country and the cost of housing has doubled in the last 6 years and tripled in the last 12. Health care, even on an employer's insurance, for a family of four is a big chunk out of your paycheck.

We're already below the replacement birth rate. If we don't do something soon, we're going to have a geriatric work force and labor shortages in a few decades, and we'll need to import a large number of workers to keep the factories running.

 

[Hop Sing]

I understand why people aren't having as many children. My point was that as a nation, having our birth rate plummet isn't ideal. The baby boom was a period of prosperity for our country, primarily because a single middle class income could support a family of four. Life was more affordable because the gap between wages and expenses was a lot smaller; one parent could raise the kids at home full time and raise them right; and people had larger families because they didn't need to pay for child care.

If we want to return to the prosperity of the baby boom era, we need to figure out how a single good middle class job can support a family of four again. There are two major factors working against that: the cost of housing and the cost of health care. You can look at any part of the country and the cost of housing has doubled in the last 6 years and tripled in the last 12. Health care, even on an employer's insurance, for a family of four is a big chunk out of your paycheck.

We're already below the replacement birth rate. If we don't do something soon, we're going to have a geriatric work force and labor shortages in a few decades, and we'll need to import a large number of workers to keep the factories running.

Very well thought out and well written post, but I think artificial intelligence/robotics is going to come into play more and more. People are already predicting trucking will be automated, burgers are being flipped by machines, robots are building cars, and so forth.

 

[Mikej]

I understand why people aren't having as many children. My point was that as a nation, having our birth rate plummet isn't ideal. The baby boom was a period of prosperity for our country, primarily because a single middle class income could support a family of four. Life was more affordable because the gap between wages and expenses was a lot smaller; one parent could raise the kids at home full time and raise them right; and people had larger families because they didn't need to pay for child care.

If we want to return to the prosperity of the baby boom era, we need to figure out how a single good middle class job can support a family of four again. There are two major factors working against that: the cost of housing and the cost of health care. You can look at any part of the country and the cost of housing has doubled in the last 6 years and tripled in the last 12. Health care, even on an employer's insurance, for a family of four is a big chunk out of your paycheck.

We're already below the replacement birth rate. If we don't do something soon, we're going to have a geriatric work force and labor shortages in a few decades, and we'll need to import a large number of workers to keep the factories running.

They need to both work. Hard. Like my parents did. Many other families when I was growing up, both parents worked. I grew up semi rural just a few miles south of Salt Lake City. You know what that means don't you? A family of four wasn't buying a 5500Sq' home. Every family member didn't have to have a phone costing hundreds and hundred of dollars. Family values have collapsed in the last 40 years. There are tons of jobs out there. I know first hand, that the generations since late 80s have a large number of them that are plain old lazy, and lacking any kind of motivation. Probably from having a device handed to them when they were 3 YO, or not being required to do anything for the family in the way of chores. Having no responsibilities put on them when they were young.

 

[made in china]

I understand why people aren't having as many children. My point was that as a nation, having our birth rate plummet isn't ideal. The baby boom was a period of prosperity for our country, primarily because a single middle class income could support a family of four. Life was more affordable because the gap between wages and expenses was a lot smaller; one parent could raise the kids at home full time and raise them right; and people had larger families because they didn't need to pay for child care.

If we want to return to the prosperity of the baby boom era, we need to figure out how a single good middle class job can support a family of four again. There are two major factors working against that: the cost of housing and the cost of health care. You can look at any part of the country and the cost of housing has doubled in the last 6 years and tripled in the last 12. Health care, even on an employer's insurance, for a family of four is a big chunk out of your paycheck.

We're already below the replacement birth rate. If we don't do something soon, we're going to have a geriatric work force and labor shortages in a few decades, and we'll need to import a large number of workers to keep the factories running.

A big difference between now and 50-70 years ago is that almost everything was made in USA back then. Lot's of productive jobs
Now way too much stuff is made outside of our borders, leaving little room for a middle class to prosper.
Most jobs now are professional or service, there's a big gap there.
And the service jobs are trying to replace previously middle class jobs (Starbucks union for example) and become "living wage" which drives the cost of everything up (except cheap landfill fodder from China).

I'm becoming more concerned every year as more and more basics are being made elsewhere. Just last week I realized that the fried onions in our cupboard are made in Mexico, which reminded me that Oreos are also made in Mexico. Plastic utensils were made in USA until last year, now it's all China. The cling wrap we buy is being made in south Asia.

It's one thing for luxuries to be made elsewhere, but basics from a grocery store becoming more and more made in foreign lands has me very concerned. I consider domestic production just as important as competent military deterrence

I'm sure the rich people don't mind. They're probably getting even richer on all this outsourcing.

 

[bkroger86]

They need to both work. Hard. Like my parents did. Many other families when I was growing up, both parents worked. I grew up semi rural just a few miles south of Salt Lake City. You know what that means don't you? A family of four wasn't buying a 5500Sq' home. Every family member didn't have to have a phone costing hundreds and hundred of dollars. Family values have collapsed in the last 40 years. There are tons of jobs out there. I know first hand, that the generations since late 80s have a large number of them that are plain old lazy, and lacking any kind of motivation. Probably from having a device handed to them when they were 3 YO, or not being required to do anything for the family in the way of chores. Having no responsibilities put on them when they were young.

Both parents can work but then the cost of child care comes into play. Often times child support costs more than a job brings in.

My parents both worked. We were lucky and had grandparents to watch us while they worked.

Our family's first house was $70k when we bought it less than 1 generation ago. Now that house is $520k. Our second (bigger) house was $160k when we bought it a few years later; now that house is $600k. I'm pretty sure middle class jobs didn't increase in pay 5x during that same 20-30 year time period, otherwise we'd all be making six figures easy.

 

[loadzz]

Both parents can work but then the cost of child care comes into play. Often times child support costs more than a job brings in.

My parents both worked. We were lucky and had grandparents to watch us while they worked.

Our family's first house was $70k when we bought it less than 1 generation ago. Now that house is $520k. Our second (bigger) house was $160k when we bought it a few years later; now that house is $600k. I'm pretty sure middle class jobs didn't increase in pay 5x during that same 20-30 year time period, otherwise we'd all be making six figures easy.

Don't interrupt the boomer-jerk with the inconvenient fact that things have changed since the 70's and 80's.