Let me tell you the shortest three-part story ever.
Part 1, December 2023:
Part 2, August 2024:
Part 3, December 2024:
Poor Dave Ramsey must be having a heart attack right now.
From NBC News:
The National Retail Federation reported last week that spending between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31 is 'clearly on track' to reach a record, between $979.5 billion and $989 billion.
'Job and wage gains, modest inflation and a heathy balance sheet have led to solid holiday spending,' the NRF's chief economist, Jack Kleinhenz, said in a statement.
But other reports show that many shoppers are increasingly leaning on credit cards to manage their holiday purchases.
To that point, 36% of consumers have taken on debt this season, a recent report by LendingTree found. And those who dipped into the red racked up an average of $1,181, up from $1,028 in 2023, according to the survey of more than 2,000 adults.
I have to give the leftist activists over at NBC News a modicum of credit. They actually pushed back on the "higher spending is a good thing" message that the media has been peddling for four years to prop up the economic decisions of this guy:
Of course the National Retail Federation is going to be excited and optimistic about making more money!
But if more Americans are becoming slaves to debt, that spending is a symptom of a disease, not prosperity.
Heading into the peak holiday shopping season, credit card balances were already 8.1% higher than a year ago, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's report on household debt.
Further, 28% of credit card users had not paid off the gifts they bought last year, according to another holiday spending report by NerdWallet, which polled more than 1,700 adults in September.
How could this be in the Best Economy Ever™?
'No one should be surprised that so many Americans took on debt this holiday season. Prices are still really high and that means that lots of Americans simply didn't have any choice,' said Matt Schulz, LendingTree's chief credit analyst.
'Inflation is still a big deal in this country, and it's having a huge impact on people's finances, including their holiday spending,' he said.
But the president's press secretaries have ASSURED me that everything is fine!
According to ABC News' story on Mastercard's SpendingPulse report, retail sales were up 3.8% from November 1 to December 24 compared to the same period in 2023. Jewelry sales saw the largest boost at 4% and online sales jumped 6.7%.
Human nature is a tricky business. Not everyone is racking up more debt out of necessity. There are a lot of people out there who 1) don't care or are not intelligent enough to understand debt or 2) want to get while the gettin's good.
We should probably also talk about the spending/debt habits of Venezuelan border hoppers and the Indians being imported to replace Americans at their jobs (but we're not supposed to talk about that).
Of those with debt, 21% expect it'll take five months or longer to pay it off, LendingTree also found. At that rate, sky-high interest charges will exact a heavy toll, according to Schulz.
Since I credited NBC News with drawing a distinction between spending and financial health, I'll leave you with ABC News' propaganda that didn't draw that distinction in an effort to protect guys like ... Jerome Powell. 👇
Just remember: What goes up ... must come down!
P.S. Now check out our latest video 👇
