{"id":82159,"date":"2024-02-17T01:15:51","date_gmt":"2024-02-17T09:15:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=82159"},"modified":"2024-04-22T16:48:12","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T23:48:12","slug":"black-coffee-17-feb-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id82159-black-coffee-17-feb-2024.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: The American Dream … Reimagined!"},"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

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

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? It\u2019s no secret that, after Great Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2008, many millennials abandoned the homeownership dream in favor of tiny houses and camper vans. Yet, for the newest generation even those cheaper alternatives are becoming too expensive. As such, a new trend has emerged<\/a> for Generation Z: \u201cliving” out of sedans, showering at gyms, cooking meals in parking lots – all while trying to earn a living through random gig jobs from town to town. Ironically, many people celebrate this<\/a> form of living – which used to be called \u201cbeing homeless.” As for how we got here, well …<\/p>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Unfortunately for those Gen Zers living out of their Honda Elements, the rate at which car owners are behind on their payments<\/a> hit an annualized rate of 7.7% – that’s the highest level since 2010 when the economy was still the in the throes of the GFC. Hmmm …. I wonder why.<\/p>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Needless to say, there are many people who believe the rising auto loan delinquency rate is due to an increasing number of households hitting the proverbial brick wall, financially speaking. Then again, it doesn\u2019t help if people are truly stupid enough<\/a> to buy a 2023 Sierra Denali pick-up truck with $3000 monthly payments – for 8 long years. No, really. For those without a calculator, that\u2019s $288,000 over the life of the loan – for a car that will arguably be worth less than $28,000 after the last payment is made.<\/p>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> By the way, it\u2019s not just the car market that\u2019s showing signs of stress. There is a real fear that regional banks are on the verge of another crisis<\/a> due to a plunge in commercial real estate (CRE) prices. According to the New York Times<\/em>, those falling prices are due to more people working from home, coupled with a \u201cmaturity wall\u201d of $1.5 trillion worth of loans that need to be rolled over between now and the end of next year – presumably at much higher interest rates. However, higher rates and lower CRE prices are a toxic cocktail that will tempt landlords to bail on their loans and return their keys to the banks. Oh, and speaking of toxic cocktails …<\/p>\n

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Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Despite many problems plaguing the US economy, the mood on Wall Street is – naturally – highly optimistic. So much so that, over the past 12 months, the S&P 500 is up approximately 20%; a remarkable run that has propelled the index above 5000 for the first time in history. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq is also approaching its all-time high<\/a>. On the other hand, we\u2019ve seen this game before – and with different results, depending on whether the nation involved is fortunate enough to have the world’s reserve currency. Or not …<\/p>\n

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\"\"Debit:<\/strong><\/span> At the same time, a personal finance survey released last month found that 56% of US adults say they don\u2019t have enough cash or money in their savings account to cover a $1000 emergency<\/a>. The good news is: Many big screen TVs are cheaper than that – but only if there’s a really<\/strong><\/em> good Super Bowl clearance sale out there. Am I right, San Francisco 49er fans?<\/p>\n