Consumer Debt Sets Another Record !!

Today an estimated 59% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, according to a recent Charles Schwab survey. But maintaining that lifestyle is an excellent way to increase your chances of racking up debt. Unfortunately, for many Americans, the paycheck-to-paycheck existence isn't a choice. Instead, it's the result of mounting living costs and stagnant wages. But no matter why you're trapped in that cycle, it's imperative that you try to bust out of it. If you don't, and you continue to leave yourself zero financial wiggle room, you'll most likely be forced to whip out a credit card the next time an unplanned bill hits you. And if you fail to pay off that credit card balance by the time it comes due, you'll start accruing interest, throwing your money away on payments, and hurting yourself even more. The simple story is this. The economy is damned. Nobody's paying attention to fundamental anymore. That's a proven fact. The Fed, Central Banksters, even the White House is all in on this scam. Only the one percent are benefiting right now. How long this charade continues is anyone's guess. This is the elite's last best attempt to wrestle away whatever is left from the middle class and bottom 90%. The "system" is gamed, the 1% are raping everyone as fast as possible. That said, people do not have to keep "buying things they don't need, with money they do not have". Starve the beast! Of course, that will never happen. Born and raised to consume. “Things are going to get worse before they get a lot worse.” Welcome to The Atlantis Report. Consumer debt set another record in September, but the pace of borrowing appears to be slowing. This could signal trouble for an economy built on American consumers spending money they don’t have. Total consumer debt grew by $9.5 billion in September, according to the most recent data released by the Federal Reserve. That represented an annualized increase of 2.8% and pushed total consumer indebtedness to a new record of $4.15 trillion (seasonally adjusted). The Fed consumer debt figures include credit card debt, student loans, and auto loans, but do not factor in mortgage debt. Although American indebtedness continued to push higher, borrowing grew at the lowest rate in 15 months and was much lower than analysts expected. Revolving debt – primarily made up of credit card balances – fell for the second month in a row. It was the first back-to-back months of declining credit card debt since 2012. Even with the $1.1 billion declines, Americans still owe $1.08 trillion on credit card balances. Non-revolving debt, which includes student loans and auto loans, increased by $10.6 billion, a 4.2% increase. That represented the slowest growth rate in four months. The slowdown in borrowing has generated some concern in the mainstream. According to MarketWatch, “With business investment sagging, all eyes are on the consumer to keep the expansion on track. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell told reporters last week that the Fed hasn’t seen the weakness from business spending ‘getting into the consumer side of the economy.'” But a slowdown in borrowing could indicate consumers are tightening their belts and weakness is seeping into the consumer side of the economy. You can look at the drop in credit card balances and a slowdown in borrowing in two ways. A falling debt-burden could undoubtedly be viewed as a positive. The decrease in revolving credit could mean consumers are paying down credit card balances and getting their financial houses in order. Or it could only mean that consumers have maxed out the plastic, and they simply can’t run their balances any higher. The mainstream view is that consumers charge up their credit cards when they are confident about their economic prospects. If you accept this line of thinking, the drop in borrowing is terrible news and signals declining consumer confidence. But it could just as well mean they are tapped out and charging everyday purchases on plastic. In fact, the growth in consumer debt could signal Americans are struggling to make ends meet. After all, a lot of people use their credit cards as an emergency fund. The bottom line is that whether it’s driven by confidence or desperation, debt-funded spending can’t go on forever. Building an economy on debt is a house of cards. Credit cards have this inconvenient thing called a limit. And they have to be paid off at some point. At best, “confident” American consumers are borrowing money from their future. At some point, the house of cards topples. The truth is American consumers have been driving the US economy with money they don’t have. Whether they are reining in spending due to lack of confidence in the future, or if they are getting close to maxing out the credit cards, it doesn’t bode well for future economic growth. If that moment isn’t upon us yet, it will be at some point in the not-to-distant future. As Peter Schiff noted in a podcast after the Q2 GDP number came out, this notion that the US economy is strong is “fake news.” Consumer spending increased by 4.3% and contributed nearly all of the GDP growth. Many of the headlines credited the American consumer with “rescuing the economy.” The problem is if the consumer rescued the economy, who is going to save the consumer? Because if you look at where the consumer is getting that money, it’s from credit. Year-over-year, consumer debt has increased by 5%. So, what is driving consumer spending is debt.” Unfortunately, Federal, State, County, and Local governments are racking up debt and unfunded future obligations at breakneck speed. Eventually, this will require more taxes for no more services in one form or another. ( if they issue federal debt and then monetize the debt, we will pay the tax of inflation ) You ( and I ) have been sold into this slavery by unscrupulous politicians for the benefit of industry and finance. Too bad, the people will never hear it from the media. The middle class is drowning in debt because once you are in debt, you actually have to spend much, much less, to get out of debt. Americans simply refuse to do that. They want the latest electronic toys. They want shiny new cars. They want it all, but they simply pretend that it's all free. Americans have no idea how to be frugal. Even in the 1980s, I loaned a friend $200. He claimed he didn't have enough to pay me back when I asked for it, yet he could buy breakfast at the company cafeteria, buy a newspaper, every single workday. I ate my breakfast at home, didn't buy a newspaper, and didn't have any problem with money. I don't feel very sorry for most when their day of reckoning arrives. They had to know, in their heart of hearts, that the show can't go on forever. Either you deal with it, or you bury your head in the sand. Most Americans are completely ignorant about the one subject that everyone should study: money. They have no real assets, boatloads of liabilities, and even most of the middle class buy liabilities that they think are assets. It doesn’t have to be this way, but it takes a little effort to educate yourself. And as long as the government taxes productive people like me to pay for unproductive people, then I will feel no sympathy for them. Prepare now or suffer the consequences. Simple as that. Even the most unsophisticated consumer can see how shaky the dollar and the economy have become and people are charging up their credit cards the same way Trump is maxing out the National Debt, and for the same reason, because Bankruptcy is inevitable and so is poverty for people without hard assets. The solution is to cash out what you can (take the loss) and stop paying the credit cards bills and anything else you can avoid, and then invest that cash in Gold or Silver and wait for the rainy days that are coming. A few thousand dollars of Silver will go a long way in the crash. As many as 44.7 million Americans have student loan debt, according to the latest data by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. According to the Federal Reserve, it is the second-highest consumer debt category, second only behind mortgages. The total amount of student loan debt is $1.53 trillion, making it the second-highest consumer debt category, second only behind mortgages. This is the product of what corporate-sponsored consumerism created. Young ones are indoctrinated from childhood that the credit game is the only game in town. Borrow money for college so you can borrow money later on for a new car, a new house, a wedding, and college funds. Debts pile up, and the only way out is refinancing, bankruptcy, or foreclosure. The moneylenders knew this from the start. The cycle never ends, and never works out for the average American. It was designed to conquer all and to fail in the end. The only difference is the consumer dies in debt, but that debt is credit/assets for the top of the pyramid lurkers. The elitists/corporatists/capitalists/bankers have been a predatory force in the bankruptcy of America. Time to get out of the game and live your life instead of being a slave to it. The biggest problem is people setting their "lifestyle" based on what they want, not their budget. Warren Buffett said, "Be scared when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are scared," Right now, many are greedy. Soon the market will change, prices will drop below an object's value. Objects like houses, cars, real estate, etc. will fall again below the cost of production. Be greedy then. Until then - get out of debt. Head for the exit before it becomes blocked and impassible. History repeats itself. Between the New Age gurus and Fundamentalist Christian preachers, we flyover folk are getting “woke” and discovering we don’t need to buy all the trendy shite that keeps our economy churning along. True love and homegrown tomatoes are revealed as the real source of joy and don’t cost much at all in dollars. I’m speaking as a recovering shopaholic and debtor who just traded a modest home in Denver for a cute old split-level on an acre in WV with all bills except my 3-figure monthly mortgage PAID OFF and permanently GONE. Trips to the mall now turn my stomach, and I’m not alone by a long shot. It took me 70+ years, but I’ve finally grown up, and lots of other former Yuppies and even their kids will most likely join me in a quest for stability, solidity, and reality. Whatever the USA expects to sustain it when the consumer goes, bring it on! Consumption is losing its luster and ceasing to be a “thing.”












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