Posted on 01/31/2024 10:28:07 AM PST by davikkm
In the shadows of economic prosperity, a quiet crisis brews as tens of millions of Americans succumb to “Doom Spending.” This phenomenon, where one spends beyond their means to cope with stress, is not just a financial dilemma but a reflection of broader societal shifts.
Especially pronounced among the younger generation, this trend tells a story of forsaken dreams. Young Americans, instead of investing in homes or starting families, are opting for instant gratification like cruises, signaling a departure from traditional aspirations.
(Excerpt) Read more at citizenwatchreport.com ...
FORSAKEN DREAMS
Oh my lands
Eff ‘em.
Those in their 30’s and younger have never seen financial distress.
Their parents kept them isolated from 2002 and 2008.
spends beyond their means
\/
just another
intended consequence
of the Cloward–Piven strategy .
This is nothing new. It is not called “retail therapy” for nothing.
Zoomers and Millennials bearing the brunt and keep voting for Democrats who tell them it’s just raining on them, nothing else, and were it not for racist Republicans your life would be so awesome. Just don’t have the intellectual bandwidth to figure out that ain’t really rain.
Free money from the fed and work from home bottled up a lot of cash. Now that cash has been spent and people are looking to extend the party. Boom. Bust.
Life, when you are starting out, sucks and it has since the world began.
I know what I went through was nothing compared to what my parents when through when they started out. My dad is not smiling in the early pictures because he had bad teeth from malnutrition in childhood. At least when I hit the world I had a good set of chompers to eat my raman with a scoop of peanut butter.
But the idea of budgeting, not buying things on credit and getting your entertainment for free rather then paying big bucks for it is often dismissed with scorn. They "own nothing" but they are not happy.
We have built a bad world. The world we grew up in has been Fundamentally Transformed. I feel bad for young people — the people in charge of all the institutions seem intent on crashing this society really hard.
*
Why would they look forward or invest in the future when they were taught they were doomed?
+ 1 000 000 !
There is just no accounting for stupid. Best I can do for them.
We saved enough for a down payment on a house that would cost just slightly more in payments than the apartment. We were VERY happy to get a 13.6% first time home buyer's loan in Texas. The norm was north of 16% interest.
Somehow they squeezed three bedrooms and 1 1/2 baths into that little 986 square foot one car garage house. The space was less than our bedroom wing is now.
I managed to remodel and do a lot of repairs. We made 50% on that house, moved, bought another one and did the same thing. In not too long we were out of debt and started saving for the third house, had it built and paid cash for it. That was 40 years ago. We have never had a debt since. I've managed to always have good work and we have always lived below our means but comfortably. We have far too many things now.
We have never been on a cruise. We have taken some nice trips. My work has taken me around the world and I am happy with that since I would not want to go now. My wife has not been neglected since she has no interest in such things.
I began life after school with $500 and all I owned in the front seat and tool box of my pickup. We paid for our wedding and took care of ourselves. I wild not say it has been easy or hard. It has been just life. I am sure there are millions of people who have similar stories.
I am not sure where or when this happy land where you got out of high school, (where you of course fit in perfectly) walked into a great job with total security and bought a new car and home with your first paycheck was but it was not in the late 80s when I leaped out of the nest and apparently it was not in the 70s(?) when you did it either. I know it was not in the early 60s when my parents did it.
And lets not even talk about the grandparents. At least at 18 I did not have 7 younger siblings depending on me because our parents died in the Flu epidemic of 1919.
Life is hard. It has always been hard and every generation thinks they have it the worse because they didn't live through what the ones before did. No, we arrived after. When things were tight but a little better and by the time we had solid memories things were going ok.
Media also comes in for a bit of blame as they tend to show people with low end jobs that they rarely show up for able to make it with no problem.
Media thrives on sob stories. Champions of the under dog or losers. Take your pick.
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