It may seem crazy, but here's some advice for heavily indebted Gen-Zers:
- Put down the smartphone.
- Stop spending on DoorDash and Uber Eats.
- Perhaps cancel a few streaming services.
Also, the spending party is over despite calls from the White House to cancel student debt.
The rising debt load Gen-Zers are carrying is alarming. The average credit-card balance for 22- to 24-year-olds was $2,834 in 1Q23, compared with an average inflation-adjusted balance of $2,248 in the same period in 2013, according to Wall Street Journal, citing new data from credit-reporting agency TransUnion.
The youngest generation is coming to age during a time when Bidenomics has been a complete failure, and these kids are spending themselves in financial ruin.
"This is a generation that is feeling financial stress in a more acute way than millennials did a decade ago," said Charlie Wise, head of global research at TransUnion.
On Tuesday, Billionaire investor and Duquesne Family Office Chairman & CEO Stan Druckenmiller slammed Bidenomics and warned the Federal Reserve and federal government "misdiagnosed Covid and thought it was -- we were going into a depression."
Druckenmiller has been troubled by the federal government's massive fiscal spending, which we outlined last year as a "stealth stimulus" propelling Bidenomics. Meanwhile, Fed Chair Jerome Powell has enabled the Bidenomics disaster by spending $1 trillion every 100 days. With stagflationary threats emerging, the US economic situation is quickly deteriorating.
Besides the vast majority of the working poor slammed by Bidenomics, as noted by McDonald's, Starbucks, and Tyson Foods executives in earnings calls in recent weeks, Gen-Zers have been very vocal about a shit economy they were given after taking out $100,000 in college loans. Many complained on X:
Woman defends Gen-Z not wanting to work a 9-5 for the rest of their lives
— Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) January 8, 2024
"I don't want to work my tail end off, wasting all of my life working, just to barely be able to pay my bills" pic.twitter.com/BxaTXjaxcd
A lot of people seem to think this mindset is unique to Gen Z. It’s not.
— Matthew Kobach 🍕 (@mkobach) October 20, 2023
Every generation goes through this. Watch Reality Bites, where a group of 20-somethings in the early 90s deal with the exact same struggles and emotions as described in this video.
pic.twitter.com/7h1gAN3c7R
Democrats and the Biden team have a serious problem as the latest polling data from Gallup shows the president's polling data is quickly deteriorating amongst the 18-29-year-old vote.
WSJ provided readers with several sad stories about struggling Gen-Zers fresh out of college.
The first:
Lindsay Quackenbush was recently working for a publishing company that paid her $60,000 a year. The money was just enough for the 26-year-old to cover her portion of the rent for the New York City basement apartment where she and her boyfriend live. Then she was laid off.
She is carrying a balance of about $1,700 across three credit cards and is for the first time not able to pay off her credit cards in full. She is making the minimum payment for now while she hunts for a new job.
As for thinking about milestones such as marriage and children, she and her friends have discussed putting anything like that off until they are in a more financially stable position. "Who knows when that will be?" she said.
The second:
When Adriana Cubillo, 26, moved into her one-bedroom apartment in Salt Lake City a little over a year ago, the rent was $1,000. Since then, it has gone up by $200. That puts a bigger dent in the nearly $30,000 annual salary she makes as a customer-service representative for an insurance company.
She pays for groceries, gas and dog food with her three credit cards and currently holds a balance of $1,500. She pays about $50 a month toward the cards to satisfy the minimum payments.
"When I was younger, I was so ready to be an adult and grow up and live on my own but the economy has made it difficult," Cubillo said.
What's problematic for the youth is real wages have not kept up with inflation. In 2020, the median annual wage for college grads was around $59,000, now only up $2,000 to $60,000. Hence, why the kids are racking up credit card debt to survive.
Also, the mania in opening credit cards has mostly faded among youngsters in this high-rate environment.
Credit Karma data shows that credit scores have taken a hit. The drop is more severe for millennials with credit scores between 660 and 719, whose scores fell by 26 points. As for Gen-Zers, their credit scores fell 14 points to 720.
With stagflationary risks emerging in recent weeks, US macro data shows a slowing economy with elevated inflation. New consumer credit data from the Federal Reserve shows households finally hit a brick wall.
Even Walmart understands these kids are very screwed. The mega-retailer created a private label brand for them with many items under $5.
Maybe - just maybe - the kids are coming out of college indoctrination camps and spending like there's no tomorrow because Marxist teachings have led them to believe Joe Biden and the Democrats will bail them out.
Maybe they're the most gullible generation ever.