US Consumer Debt growing

Welcome to the Precious Metals Bug Forums

Welcome to the PMBug forums - a community supported watering hole for folks interested in gold, silver, precious metals, sound money, investing, market and economic news, central bank monetary policies, politics and more.

Register a free account to join the discussions. When you register an account and log in, you may enjoy additional benefits including access to market data/charts and additional members only rooms (including one for trade/barter with the community).

CNBC

More Americans are financing groceries with buy now, pay later loans — and more are paying those bills late, survey says​


  • A Lending Tree survey found 25% of buy now, pay later users are funding grocery purchases with the loans, up from 14% in 2024.
  • The survey said 41% of respondents said they made a late payment on a BNPL loan in the past year, up from 34% in the year prior.
  • The figures are the latest evidence that some consumers are having trouble affording essentials such as groceries under the pressure of high prices and interest rates.
A growing number of Americans are using buy now, pay later loans to buy groceries, and more people are paying those bills late, according to new Lending Tree data released Friday.

The figures are the latest indicator that some consumers are cracking under the pressure of an uncertain economy and are having trouble affording essentials such as groceries as they contend with persistent inflation, high interest rates and concerns around tariffs.

More:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/per...S&cvid=998d73676911491da9a1e2100c014cc1&ei=24
 
They, the Dumbo cracks, knew it would come to this.

ANOTHER way to build a voting bloc and break up society. Free money for YOU, and THOSE people can PAY.

I don't know how we undo the damages. Except maybe to make repudiation of a student loan, a CAPITAL CRIME.
 
Can people go bankrupt, can corporations go bankrupt, are we go to seize Israel when they fail to pay us back for all the money and military equipment we sent them, and finally, are we going to bring back Debtors Prisons" for those who can't pay.
Fuck foreign aid, keep that money here and use it to support real colleges and trade schools. Thank you.
 

Americans reveal how they’re falling behind on groceries, student loans and more​

May 7, 2025 #economy #studentloans #groceries
Americans across the country are facing rising costs. “CBS Evening News” reports on the struggle to make ends meet.

12:45
 
And, what's their (probably, unspoken) answer? MOAR STIMMY!!

These buffoons NEVER have seen a problem where the answer wasn't MOAR GOOBERMINT.

FWIW, had "Americans across the country" lived like their grandmothers told them to - stay out of debt, live within your means - they would be making ends meet now.

And yes, it's hard. Hard to defer gratification, and hard to accept that, thanks to currency debasement and YUUGE government fraud-and-waste (which must be paid, one way or another) our standard of living is going to FALL.

This is it. Those who have no debt just tighten the belt. Those with yuuge credit-card bills...tough toenails. Sux to be you.
 
When you owe a thousand bucks to the finance company, and default, it's your problem.

When MILLIONS of people owe BILLIONS to fin-tech, and a majority of them default...it's the banksters' problem.
 

EVEN The Rich Are Shopping in Dollar Stores Now...​

Jun 6, 2025
You know things are getting rough out there when rich people are now shopping at dollar stores trying to stretch their money further. At the same time the layoffs are picking up to where we're seeing an 80% increase in job losses from just one year ago. Hang on tight.

17:47


Articles Mentioned in the Video

- https://apple.news/AtTt9zf3xR4e6S53e3...
- https://apple.news/A3jukRUk9SZSKRENqO...
- https://apple.news/AG3jvqoZYT0SceHaws...
- https://apple.news/AZNcSKSfcQwGC1W1iP...
- https://apple.news/AKL9erDUAS_azdRWsC...
 
searcher said:
Click to expand...
I don't want to mock this guy. I feel for him; but I've seen truckers' videos online. Between all the non-American (Mexican and Canuk) and outright illegal, truckers, the road has devolved into a shark tank. Professionalism is completely gone - any driver with options is doing something else.

As well, I pushed a tractor-trailer for a short time before stumbling onto the ray-rode. Even then it wasn't the way it was supposed to have been in the 1970s (probably it was). I got out.

And right now, today, I'm reminded that every dark cloud has a silver lining. I had my reverser-handle taken away from me, almost ten years ago, December 2015. I hurt my back - a second time in two years. That was Strike Two, in a game which doesn't allow three.

Once I was again able to work, they - to make a long story short - jiggered the seniority rosters to force me to take a SWITCHMAN's job in a faraway yard. I'd never worked in that yard - wasn't part of my run or seniority district. I would have had to move; and the switchman does all the grunt work of the shift. A kid's job - not something for a guy in his late fifties with a bad back.

They wanted me out and it happened - I quit.

Railroad Retirement is not tied to any one company, so I was still vested - but had to wait until age 60 to file for Early Retirement. So there was the 30-month hustle - Uber Eats, ads on Craigslist offering handyman services; stuff like that. It helped that I had no debt - and some savings.

And I put all this newfound time to work. When I got out, I was obese, bad back, diabetic, high blood pressure.

So I walked. And rode a bicycle everywhere. And did what I could to work out.

I lost weight; up and down like a seesaw; but I'm much lower now. My back won't get better; that's arthritis, but my A1C, tested this week, has me not even in the pre-diabetes realm, not anymore. Time to celebrate!

I say that because the freeze-frame on the above vid snippet, shows a morbidly-obese guy who lives on Carl's Jr. carry-out at truck stops. He's driving - and NOT physically moving - every waking hour.

He's killing himself.

There has got to be SOMETHING he can do. If nothing else, push carts around at Walmart. Get a PHYSICAL job. At least, an active job.

But driving a truck, no longer pays the bills. Like so many other previously-good-paying jobs, it's been destroyed by Globalism, government-regulations that drive good people out; by the import of alien, low-IQ persons to work for nothing, and who are allowed to violate rules that white men cannot.

This is a storm, likely to last four years or so. Hunker down, best you can.
 

How retail credit cards could bankrupt consumers with record high interest rates​

More and more people who are filing for bankruptcy have retail credit card debt, and those bills are getting harder to pay off with record-high interest rates.

Store credit cards, which most major retailers offer, typically carry higher interest rates than traditional credit cards because the people who have them tend to have lower credit scores and banks consider them more risky.

But those rates reached an all-time high of an average of 30.45% in September, according to Bankrate. The record rates came after banks raised them in anticipation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau capping credit card late fees, which never ended up going into effect.

More:

 
Amazing. No, this is nothing new; but it just continually boggles me.

Now, what's a credit account? It's a structure of LENDING.

For this to happen, there has to be two parties: LENDER and BORROWER.

The borrower is generally making a less-beneficial choice. In a society of sound money, it's FAR better to save and purchase as you can. But of course we don't have such a world.

Second-best choice is to find something that withstands currency-debasement. That's what we're about, here.

The worst choice is, this.

NOW...back when I was the age of most Influencers, credit-card issuance was CONTROLLED. I didn't qualify for one until I was 28; and I had been turned down several times, earlier. In spite of a good job.

My credit line, circa 1989, was $600. SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS. I remember that well, because that was the fall we went to the Grand Canyon. I budgeted $2500 for the trip - we had the money, but we weren't going together. I had a month off work; my ex had two weeks. So I would drive, she would fly to Vegas alone (the age of cheap Vegas flights) and we'd drive (in my Yugo!) to the Grand Canyon.

Point of this being, the most the bank would let me get over my head, was $600.

I hated it then, but I was a fool. As all kids are...and yes, by my white-haired standards now, age 28 is a kid.

Forward to today's age. Banks are TRIPPING OVER themselves giving ungodly credit lines to kids who, while making $25 an hour, are paying $2000 a month for rent and about half that for their autos. It doesn't add up.

And the banks just see the potential for usury rates on those cards. Never THINKING what happens WHEN, not IF, the kids default.

If I owe the bank $1000, or $10,000, and I default, it's a big problem. For me.

If I owe the bank $10,000,000, and I default...it's a big problem. For the bank.

And it's a big problem for other banks - as the RINOs and Dumbos once again circle together to start **REGULATING**. Swinging the lobbyists into action with bags of cash and pre-printed regulation bills, intended to make the big boys bigger and wipe out moar smaller banks and credit-unions.

What kind of asshat stupidity LED us to this? People who RUN...BANKS...are SUPPOSED to have a MODICUM of common-sense.
 
CC debt is unsecured. Easy to walk away from. Yes it will lower your credit score for a while. Keep at least one card current. Seen it done many times. I even have a friend who has filed bankruptcy twice. They are back to lending to him in no time. Crazy as that sounds, but banks live to loan (create fiat).
 
I've also got a friend who plays the Bankruptcy Game, twice but since this was 26 years ago, he has probably did it a few more time since then. Amazing how easy to stiff the banker on CC's.
 
There is a strategy I use to keep my credit accounts current.

I rent a storage unit. You have to, if you've ever owned a home, with the accumulated detritus; and then moved to an apartment. It works well - I keep my second car there, too, and the apartment and unit are cheaper than an apartment-with-garage.

The rent is set.

The manager likes it when it's on Autopay with a credit card.

So I have one card doing that. I ALSO have my credit-union autopay to the credit-card issuer (a major bank). So, $xx charged each month, and $xx paid each month, three weeks later.

The BastardCard algos think that's nifty.

I do the same with the other credit-card, with my StoopPhone account. I get a reduced rate for auto-pay. I also buy gas on that card - easier than waiting in line, and there's another reason, long story. So the card is active. End of each month, zero-balance.

Living way below the Poverty Line, my credit score is about 800. No brag. I don't know why it matters; I don't have enough income to buy a car or house, now, but I sure have the credit for it.
 
Fatrat said:
I've also got a friend who plays the Bankruptcy Game, twice but since this was 26 years ago, he has probably did it a few more time since then. Amazing how easy to stiff the banker on CC's.
Click to expand...
I thought plastic-debt carried through personal bankruptcies.
 
Casey Jones said:
I thought plastic-debt carried through personal bankruptcies.
Click to expand...
Understanding Bankruptcy and Credit Card Debt
  • Bankruptcy can provide debt relief: Bankruptcy, specifically Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, is a legal process designed to help individuals get out from under major debt.
  • Credit card debt is typically dischargeable: In most cases, credit card debt is considered unsecured debt and can be discharged (erased) through bankruptcy. This means you are no longer legally obligated to repay it.
  • Automatic Stay: Filing for bankruptcy triggers an automatic stay, which temporarily stops most debt collection actions against you, including lawsuits, wage garnishments, and harassing calls from creditors. ""Lots of variables and I don't know them all...""
That's why students are putting student loans on the cards and going bankrupt.
 
Have a laugh. Can't be serious all the time.

I Asked People How Much Debt They Have​

 
searcher said:
Have a laugh. Can't be serious all the time.

I Asked People How Much Debt They Have​

Click to expand...
We're done.

The scary thing is, half of that is Stupid Student Loan debt. Which means, a YUUGE political push to "forgive" (dismiss) this debt (turn it into retro gifting to an entire young Elite class). That campaign won't stop. Rob from us, to pay for their long-ago years-long party; and depend on the numbers to make it happen.

Who was it, de Tocqueville, or Charles de Montesquieu?...said, democracy ends when people discover they can vote themselves largesse out of the public coffers. We're there, baby...
 

The TERRIBLE Cost of Living Crisis in 2025​

Jul 16, 2025
Real wages have not been keeping up with inflation for at least a couple of decades now, but probably longer ever since the dollar was taken off the gold standard back in 1971. Since then, Americans have had to work harder for less money in terms of real purchasing power and it's starting to show in a noticeable way in 2025 economy.

22:41

00:00 Latest Inflation Numbers and Disappointment
01:48 Impact of Tariffs on Inflation
02:21 Key Drivers of June's Inflation Increase
03:39 Shelter and Food Price Inflation Analysis
05:13 Sign Up For Delete Me
06:25 Wages Failing to Keep Pace with Inflation: A Deep Dive
09:58 Job Fields Most Affected by Wage Stagnation
11:58 The Real Impact of Inflation on Everyday Expenses
13:37 Starbucks' Return-to-Office Mandate and Its Implications
15:00 Layoffs Targeting Middle Management
17:54 The Messy Job Market and the Impact of AI
19:45 Intel Announces Additional Job Cuts
20:08 Debt Collection Industry Thriving Amidst Economic Struggles
 

I’m 72 With ONLY Social Security and $77K in Debt​

Jul 21, 2025
Being in the credit card debt cycle is not a good place to be no matter what age but particularly in retirement with only a social security check for income. Other Americans are facing issues like what age should I take social security and how will I keep up with the cost of living on my retirement income. Retiring might just be a golden in age in America that has come and went for most.

19:31

00:00 Seventy-Two and Strapped: A Retirement Credit Card Debt Crisis
02:46 Credit Card Dependency Among Retirees: A Growing Problem
04:23 Navigating Debt: Reverse Mortgages and Tough Choices
06:10 Home Ownership vs. Renting: Securing Assets for Retirement
07:30 Regrets of Delaying Social Security: A Story of Lost Time
11:38 Retirement Savings Crisis: Unprepared for the Future
14:25 Homelessness Among Seniors: A Grim Projection
15:58 The Broken Promise of Retirement: Redefining Expectations

Articles Mentioned in the Video

- https://apple.news/A99g_N4_7QNCRX44cS...
- • Seniors share how financial stress is affe...
- https://apple.news/AFiYC2ElkR9GofSp8g...
- https://apple.news/AumiKt5cYQ8ykekFBe...
 
If ya can't plan ahead - with actions, if saving money is impossible - this is what happens.

Retirement is not a human universal. Stupid people seldom retire. Low-wattage normies, retire on Socialist inSecurity. And they live like it.

Normies with families, generally get help that way. Often it's a MIL cottage or basement suite.

Those in what used to be middle-class jobs, have some pension coming in.

BUT. Borrow now, cry later. I don't care if yer flippin' HUNGRY - you do not, repeat NOT, run up the cards without first having a plan to pay it back.
 

31-Year-Old Philly Police Officer Is $451,000 in Debt and Brings Home Just $40K — Dave Ramsey Warns 'You're Heading Straight at the Wall'​

Most people think becoming a police officer comes with a steady paycheck, maybe a pension, and the kind of stability that helps build a future. But one 31-year-old cop from Philadelphia says he's barely treading water — buried under $451,000 in debt and living on just $40,000 a year after deductions.

"I bring in $70,000 a year, but after pension and everything else is taken out, it's more like $40,000," Mike told "The Ramsey Show." His debt load includes $252,000 in student loans and $185,000 from a mortgage he said he took on for emotional reasons.

"I purchased the house in September. My father passed in July," he explained. "It was across the street from his house. It was the last conversation we had — he really wanted me to get it." Since he had just purchased the home, there was no equity in it, so selling wasn't really on the table.

More:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/new...ight-at-the-wall/ar-AA1Jlqx3?ocid=socialshare
 
252k in student loans to become a cop. I had no idea you needed so much education to write speeding tickets.
 
Cigarlover said:
252k in student loans to become a cop. I had no idea you needed so much education to write speeding tickets.
Click to expand...
Seen what truck-driving schools now charge?

More of the systemic enshittification. USED to be, you got OJT. The guys who trained me in railroad work, got trained the hard way - they asked for a job, they showed up, and some brutal guys with twisted senses of humor, broke them in.

If they lived, and stayed out of trouble, they got a job.

That was true for most jobs. THEN came the feminized worship of classroom instruction - at first, companies gave it directly (it gave them a job to put wombynz and mine-ore-itties in when they got tax breaks and pressure to hire them.) I had to do six weeks of classroom instruction to be a railroad brakeman.

NOW they make the "student" PAY FOR IT. With (of course!) GUBBERMINT LONEZ!

You get a chance to become a debt-slave early...a lifetime of serfdom.
 
You can't protect people from their own stupidity.

When you lend to a man who cannot pay it back...well, he's stupid, obviously.

And so are you, stupid, obviously.

If you're running a government-protected numbers game...charging 20-percent interest, that allows half those loans to default and still your racket is profitable...well, I guess we need banking regulation.

...oh...wait...

Maybe, what we need to do is first, UNDERSTAND: Government is corrupt. Always. Regulations do not save the stupid from the sociopathic.

LET these credit-card pyramid schemes implode. Also let the stupid get out, with bankruptcy.

And let the CC syndicates fail.
 
I wonder what would happen if we limited interest rates to 6% Period....no car title or pawn shop nonsense.
 
Fatrat said:
I wonder what would happen if we limited interest rates to 6% Period....no car title or pawn shop nonsense.
Click to expand...
A lot of people would be frozen out of the credit market.

And a lot more would be doing black-market loan-sharking. Why? Because, there are times you really need money.

Ever pawn anything? I never pawned, but I sold a lot of things to pawn shops. I can sure see how you might want to keep something, but need to pay the rent on Wednesday, and payday doesn't come until Friday.

And is it anyone's BUSINESS if someone wants to borrow at a high rate, and someone else will loan at that rate? BHPH car dealers. I've bought a couple of those myself. You have to get to work, to make money, and there's no bus; and you can't get money to buy a car. But Trusty Travis, there at Airline Autos, will let you have his creampuff 1973 Pinto wagon, there, for $30 a week, until the $750 price, and the vig, are paid for.

That Pinto took me across the country; and I had it five years. Learned auto repair on it. Slept in it. I'd have never had it if Trusty Travis hadn't given me that credit.

The problem with this sort of credit, is not that it's used; it's that some people just can't handle credit.
 

Voluntary Repos EXPLODE as Americans Face HARD TIMES​

Aug 4, 2025
According to Edmunds almost 27% of Americans trading in a vehicle for a brand new had negative equity on their old vehicle and owe on average of $6754 but some even over $15,000 in unpaid debt! Some people in this situation are finding out that the best option to get out of this negative equity situation is to let their car get repossessed.

19:46

Articles Mentioned in the Video
- https://www.motor1.com/news/767318/ho...
- https://apple.news/AF4jmZ5Y1REWX8XEg1...
- https://apple.news/Ac5XJ3-N1QiivuXr4i...
 

A Layoff Story EVERYONE NEEDS TO HEAR​

Aug 8, 2025
There have been over 800,000 job losses since the beginning of 2025 and that number continues to climb and its the worst layoffs have been since we were in the middle of the pandemic. Even people that have good white collar jobs are at a bigger risk than ever of losing their income and going broke.

21:34

00:00 Visiting Lars Ulrich's Former Mansion
00:50 Layoff Story: The Harsh Reality of Job Loss
03:34 The Great Flattening: Middle Management Layoffs Surge
05:31 Accepting a Massive Pay Cut in Today's Market
07:58 Real Estate Woes Mirror Job Market Struggles
08:51 Layoffs Surge: AI's Impact and Job Market Concerns
11:56 Weak Treasury Auctions Signal Economic Trouble
15:05 Stagflation Looming: Inflation, Slow Growth, and Unemployment

Articles Mentioned in the Video
- https://apple.news/AD29Nh2h3Stu0GF-Jp...
- https://apple.news/ApWynIiS5S2OCXx3oR...
- https://apple.news/AeNP9zDAVQJ2joL1gi...
- https://apple.news/AzxZVfPp4S3-BZIjim...
- https://apple.news/A3Y58P1T3SyWxX5uuZ...
 

It's NEVER BEEN THIS BAD...HOUSEHOLD DEBT EXPLODES​

Aug 15, 2025
The average household debt in America just exploded to $152,000 which is the highest nominal value on record. The only time it was ever worse than this was in 2008 and we all know what happened back then.

21:38

00:00 US Household Debt Reaches $152,000: An Overview
04:44 The Diminishing Value of a College Degree in Today's Job Market
06:49 Exploring Universal Basic Income in the Age of AI
15:32 The Looming Threat of Deflation and Its Potential Impact
18:11 Analyzing the Impact of Tariffs on the Federal Deficit

Articles Mentioned in the Video
- https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-...
- https://apple.news/AYTkW9iEvRjanZswRO...
- https://apple.news/AfS5_OUOCQlSffABwQ...
- https://apple.news/AkZY4p6-mRT24XcyZk...
- https://apple.news/AKD-STiTmTAqpC-wOQ...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…