{"id":79457,"date":"2023-07-15T01:15:50","date_gmt":"2023-07-15T08:15:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=79457"},"modified":"2025-02-15T09:32:06","modified_gmt":"2025-02-15T17:32:06","slug":"black-coffee-15-july-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id79457-black-coffee-15-july-2023.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: The Price of Financial Security"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"It’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe<\/em> …<\/p>\n

Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what’s been going on in the world of money and personal finance.<\/p>\n

Well … another busy week is behind us. So with that in mind, let’s get this party started …<\/p>\n

Inflation is as violent as a mugger, as frightening as an armed robber and as deadly as a hit man.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

– Ronald Reagan<\/strong><\/p>\n

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If money is your hope for independence you’ll never have it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

– Henry Ford<\/strong><\/p>\n

Credits and Debits<\/strong><\/p>\n

Credit: <\/strong><\/span>Did you see this? Consumer prices rose at the slowest pace<\/a> since March 2021 as inflation continued its long cooling trend in June. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.2% over last month and 3% over the prior year in June. That’s a slight acceleration from May’s 0.1% month-over-month increase – but it’s a slowdown compared to the month’s 4% annual gain. Even so, inflation is still officially running at an unacceptable pace, as Americans are now apparently skimping on hygiene products to help make ends meet. No, really.<\/p>\n

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Debit: <\/strong><\/span>On a related note, a new survey has found that 72% of Americans<\/a> say they aren’t<\/strong><\/em> financially secure – compared to only 28% who say they are. So what would it take to change that? Well \u2026 those same Americans say they would need to earn, on average, $233,000 a year to feel financially secure and $483,000 annually to feel rich – which leads me to believe that most of those people live in California. For your consideration, here is Exhibit A:
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How to handle a slob roommate.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Debit: <\/strong><\/span>As one might expect, both amounts that the survey respondents said they’d need to feel financially secure and wealthy are significantly higher than the average earnings of a full-time, year-round worker in 2021, which the US Census Bureau says was about $75,000<\/a>. Ironically, the survey responses also revealed that the more money Americans make a year, the more they said they need to feel both comfortable and rich – more proof that lifestyle creep is a very very<\/strong><\/em> real phenomenon.<\/p>\n