It is not looking good for people and their personal finances. But, from the data released by the Federal Reserve, it certainly appears the pent-up demand for saving and spending has exploded following the perceived end of the coronavirus pandemic. Saving rates went way up during the pandemic. Between increased benefits and reduced expenses, people …
Is everybody having fun? According to the feds, the economy is booming: millions of new jobs and rising wages. The defense industry and its stockholders are getting rich from the Ukraine War, and college students are likely to get all their student-loan debt forgiven. Ain’t that great! In Baton Rouge, where I live, thousands of …
Today, my concern for your finances is over credit card balances and interest rates rising. People are not prepared for what is coming, and I want you to be ready. You can subscribe to my podcast on any of these sites below. The latest figures are out from …
By Rajashri Chakrabarti, Jessica Lu, Joelle Scally, and Wilbert van der Klaauw Forbearance on debt repayment was a key provision of the CARES Act, legislation intended to combat the widespread economic losses stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. This pause on required payments for federally guaranteed mortgages and student loans has provided temporary relief to those …
By William J. Arnesen, Jacob Conway, and Matthew Plosser Since the depths of the Great Recession, household debt has increased from a low of $11 trillion in 2013 to more than $14 trillion in 2020 (see the New York Fed Household Debt and Credit Report). In this post, we examine how consumers’ repayment priorities have …
The latest Household Debt and Credit report is out for 2020 Q4. Aggregate household debt balances increased by $206 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020, a 1.4% rise from 2020Q3, and now stand at $14.56 trillion. Balances are $414 billion higher than at the end of 2019. Balances Mortgage balances shown on consumer credit …
As 2020 comes to a close, you may think 2021 will be a better year. And if you are among the top 1 percent Americans in terms of wealth and income, things look pretty rosy. But if you are a middle-class person, next year will be worse for you than in 2020. First of all, …
Even when the economy is booming, individuals can feel uncertain about their finances. During recessions, those uncertainties can escalate into fears about losing one’s job, losing one’s home, losing one’s savings or investments. In early 2020, unprecedented measures to halt the Covid-19 pandemic slowed business activity worldwide. The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) announced …
When I was a kid, my family would mark the holiday season by driving to Oklahoma City to do our Christmas shopping. We always made three stops. We would drop by the Sears store, which was a treat for me because it had escalators, and popcorn was always popping on the first floor. Popcorn and …
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York just released two charts that show the trend of household debt. The most alarming trend here is the rapid growth of student loan debt since 2004. If we look at all debt and the types of loans that are 90+ days delinquent, you will see a big dip …