Guest Post by Martin Armstrong
Credit card debt in the US spiked to its highest quarterly level in Q4 2022 after increasing by $85.8 billion. The average American household has about $10,000 in credit card debt, marking an 8.9% YoY increase. Now, Americans are facing $1 trillion in credit card debt due to rising APR and inflation.
The Federal Reserve reported that credit card debt has risen by $250 billion over the past two years amid record inflation. Consumer spending declined during the pandemic, as did credit card debt. However, inflation was nowhere close to what it is today. Credit balances declined by $100 billion from Q1 of 2020 to Q2 of 2021. Consumers were paying off their debts during this time, aided by numerous stimulus packages provided by the government.
Everything changed when Biden took office, killed America’s energy independence, and inflation began to spike. The central bank raised rates right before the war in Ukraine broke out, and have continued to do so at every meeting since. Various data collectors noted that consumers are not using their credit cards for luxury goods – they’re using credit to simply get by and pay for essentials.
Bankrate reported that 46% of cardholders cannot pay off their monthly credit card payments, up 7% from last year. The average APR is around 24% as of May 2023. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics claims that the CPI rose 0.4% in April after increasing 0.1% in March. I reported how the true inflation rate is over 30%; they do not want to scare the public by posting the real data. Food, energy, shelter, and all the essentials to survival have reached historic levels. If nearly half of people cannot pay their credit card balances off each month, and interest is at a record high, consumer debt is guaranteed to rise continually. Nothing is more inflationary than war, and our war cycle is picking up going into 2024. So not only is the US government drowning in debt, but the average American is also struggling to make ends meet.
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Well, that shit won’t last long. Debtor’s prisons, anyone?
I went to discount tire yesterday to replace my two rear tires.I replaced the two front tires a year and a half ago same place cost was 359 bucks . Same tires yesterday 412.The place was a total clusterfuck yesterday . I had a decent looking white kid I assumed was a manager. He took my info told me to wait some one would check my car tell me if the tires were in stock and quote me a price . Waited 30 minutes finally I approached him he said okay I’ll do it. I told him about the locking lugs on the tires and showed him the socket to undo them .He tells me he’ll leave it on the driver’s seat.tells me it’ll be 2 hours before they get to it . I walk around the stores Meijer, Kohl’s, Target during this time looking at the cheap overpriced foreign garbage for sale . Then I walk to Burger King get An 8 dollar soggy croissanwich meal lol.I walk back the cars already in the bay after an hour and a half . I observe the clowns as the work they can’t find the socket I have them to tighten the locking lugs . I watch them hand tighten them but never crank em down . I tell the same manager kid what I saw . He goes in and says oh they found it they are tightening them now.They pull car out hand me the keys tell me I’m good to go . I say I haven’t paid for them yet lol.Fun part is now I hand the kid 4 hundreds and a twenty he looked shocked Ipaid cash took ten minutes to get change. I walk out and say to myself let’s check the locking lugs . I turn em by hand never tightened. I go get the fucking manager tell him .His faggot ass tells me sir you don’t have to yell at me the guys are new they made a mistake! I said your not new and I told you all about it.420 bucks and imbeciles and assholes .
Assuming the chain company, DT, I’ve used them since early 2000’s and not a problem other than broken wheel lugs which means they don’t replace them, one has to make arrangements with an automotive repair shop DT has contracted with to replace broken lugs. DT gives the customer a voucher for the lug replacement.
A broken wheel lug only happened once on my old pu but has happened three times now on an Outback. I’m thinking of writing the corporate peeps inquiring what’s up with this. A manager gave me the excuse Subaru uses a softer alloy in their lugs. Hum… I’ve watched the workers and while after hunkering down on the impact wrench they do use a torque wrench to check the torque. What I think happens though is the impact wrench breaks the lug. Softer alloy? If I were interested in researching I would possibly learn lugs are manufactured by the same outfit(s) and the same strength of alloy used for a Subaru, Toyota, Nisan , the Japanese models and most vehicles straight across the board as far as a typical car. I was comparing the headlight covers on the Outback with those of a Ford SUV as I was parked next to the Ford. They are exactly the same. Weaker alloy in the Subaru lug? Maybe so. Impact wrench on steroids. Maybe so.
It is what it is but I take nothing for granted when someone works on my vehicles. One might think an oil change is simple. Yes, it should be. I do the changes myself. One time I took the old pu to a quick lube place for a simple oil change. The next time the pu was due an oil change I did it myself as I normally do except I was concerned I could even get the drain pug out it was so over tightened. I guess the guys used an impact wrench when they put the plug back in. The plug was so tight I just knew the threads would be damaged on the pan once I managed to get the plug out. Geez, a simple oil change and it gets screwed up, almost. Threads were not damaged though.
Similarly driving a company provided Ford F250 diesel PU I would take it to an oil change place. The company paid for this. I had no issues with the oil change place except one time after having the service I noticed along string of oil on my street. Hum, someone must be leaking oil. Yep, guess who. Anyone knows with the vibration of a diesel engine, or at least use to be, one must tighten that oil filter more so than on a gasoline engine. I don’t know perhaps the technician that did the service the diesel was his first. Once I realized it is I leaking oil up and down the street I checked the filter and it was not even what I would call hand tightened.
Utilize the road hazard warranty.
when we retired, we decided to stop using credit cards, and we did
18 years later, widowed now, low income – but still debt free
I learned to live with less, and to be grateful for what I have
Mama’s words often echo in my head “you don’t need it….”
I use a two cards for convenience and pay the balance each month. One card is very reasonable all things considered on its interest rates but the other, those people should be hung. The rate is highway robbery. No concern though for me as I don’t carry balances forward and the use of the cards is done responsibly.
These cards have worked for me but I keep up with the charges and don’t go overboard. One gets just a small bone thrown back their way in the form of “points” for purchases. Over a year’s time the “rewards” ad up to just a tiny bone but at least something back.
I use cards that gives the most bonus points.
Good on you
What caused the spike in debt circa 2010?
Democrats led by a nigger?
I love this particular article. About two years ago, I got a Capital One Credit Card and had a $12,500 limit. Honestly, I got it primarily to buy sneaky gifts for my wife. We have money and a mutual credit card, but I needed to do certain things covertly that she couldn’t find a way to follow. However, not long after I got the card, she pissed me off, so I started shopping for me. It didn’t take too long to max it out. And as soon as this recent banking horseshit started with banks collapsing, etc, they decided that they’d use me to help keep them afloat by taking advantage of the variable interest rate. Once it hit 23%, I’d had enough as if I shouldn’t have hit that point way before. So I called the 800#, was friendly, and stated my case that I’d been with them for a good while, had good credit, and always paid on time, usually more than the minimum. Once I was done giving all this glorious detail, the guy on the other end, Chris, gave some scripted spiel and said it wasn’t their policy to change interest rates. So I told him I was sorry to hear that and very shortly, they’d have no more interest to collect from me because my bank had offered me a loan to pay the whole thing off at 13.9% which was a lie as I hadn’t talked with the bank yet. Yet being key. My rate was actually 13.7% and I paid that shit off. I’d even found an email address for an officer at Capital One and wrote her and told her what was about to happen in hopes, she’d take control and beg me to stay and reset my account and lock it in. Nope, so now they can suck on it. They assume their customers are too deep in and have no options. Fuck them. I’m out.
My financial ship would sink like the Titanic if I had any credit card debt. Old school credit management I suppose.