For over a decade, I've been witnessing a phenomenon that has left me scratching my head. A commenter will say how the economy is suffering and people are experiencing financial hardship. Then, when I ask them about their personal hardships, they say they're doing great.
This disconnect has been repeated over and over until I realized that the gloom some people feel or claim to notice is simply not real. Yes, of course some people are experiencing economic hardship. I don't want to minimize their difficulties. I'm just not sure it's as prevalent as people say or think it is.
The very people who say others are suffering but are doing great themselves are the other people! Given that most of the people who comment negatively are actually doing great, it stands to reason that most people are doing great.
I haven't been able to back up this observation with data until now.
The Financial Doom And Gloom You See Is Probably Not Real
The 2024 Federal Reserve Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking came out with fascinating data that sheds light on how American households are doing.
Near the end of 2023, 72 percent of adults reported being at least okay financially, meaning they reported either “doing okay” financially (39 percent) or “living comfortably” (33 percent). The rest reported either “just getting by” (19 percent) or “finding it difficult to get by” (9 percent).
To no surprise, inflation was the most common challenge, with more than one-third of respondents identifying it as such, followed by basic living expenses and housing. Meanwhile, thirty-one percent said they did not have any financial challenges or concerns.
Here's the survey result asking how American households were doing, broken down by education level. Among respondents with a Bachelor's degree or higher—which includes most readers of Financial Samurai—87 percent reported being “okay financially” or “living comfortably.” These were the top two choices in the survey.
If the survey broke down the responses by homeowner and renter, we'd likely see more optimism from homeowners given the rise in home prices. The unemployment rate has also been under 4% since the end of 2021 while median wages are up 18% as well.
Inconsistency Of Financial Reality And Thought
Now, here's the real gem I've been waiting over a decade for. This chart highlights the assessment of one's own financial well-being versus their assessment of the local and national economy. Notice the massive 50% gap (72% and 22%) between one's own financial well-being and one's view of the national economy!
For some reason, despite most people doing okay themselves, the majority also believe the local and national economy are struggling. It's these well-off individuals who I think are the most unhappy because their thoughts are inconsistent with reality.
Incongruence Makes People Unhappy
One of the most important concepts on Financial Samurai is the importance of congruence. If your thoughts and actions align, you'll build more wealth and live a more purposeful and happier life. Here are some examples:
Instead of complaining at the water cooler about your micromanaging boss, you transfer departments or find a new job. If you're wise, you'll negotiate a severance package, alleviating the immediate pressure to jump back into a similar situation.
Instead of criticizing the writing on a free personal finance site, you start your own personal finance blog and write what you want to read. Only then will you appreciate how challenging it is to produce useful or entertaining content regularly. Your complaints will diminish as you gain appreciation.
Instead of envying those in better shape, you cut sugar from your diet and walk 15,000+ steps a day for a year. If you maintain this habit, you might wonder how you ever lived differently.
You get the idea. With congruence, you're no longer a passive audience member throwing peanuts at a suboptimal performance. Instead, you take action to improve your life.
If you find yourself debasing the national economy but are doing well yourself, cut it out if you want to feel better. Stop watching so much doom and gloom news. Reduce your time spent on social media, which has algorithms that push negativity. Now review all the things you have, including your net worth, and be grateful!
Loading ...We Trick Our Minds To Make Ourselves Feel Better (Or Worse)
My theory about the large disconnect in the Federal Reserve survey results is that it stems from the mind games we play on ourselves.
Would you rather earn $100,000 a year while others make $50,000, or $200,000 a year while others make $300,000?
Behavioral economics studies show most people choose the first option, preferring to make relatively more than others even if it means earning less overall. It sounds irrational, but it's entirely rational.
When it comes to money, everything is relative. If everyone makes $1 million a year, earning $1 million isn't considered rich but middle class. To get ahead, we feel we must make more than our peers. Not only must we make more, we must have more and do more!
People feel better about their own finances when they believe the economy or others' finances are worse. Simultaneously, it makes us feel better about ourselves when we portray our finances as better than they are.
Of course, the $500 dinner was amazing! Even if it lasted two hours too long and you're still hungry afterward, you need to signal to the world that it was fantastic, complete with Instagram pictures of every dish. Otherwise, you might feel foolish for spending so much.
For a carnivore, can anything really beat the value of a $3.95 In-N-Out Double-Double cheeseburger? Probably not.
Be Careful Being Too Optimistic in Public
We've learned that believing everyone else is doing worse than us may be a coping mechanism for our own financial insecurities. We've also learned that being congruent with our thoughts and actions is essential for living happier lives.
The final lesson is to be cautious about being overly positive when talking to friends or acquaintances. As the saying goes, “misery loves company.” To be better liked, it's smarter to share your struggles rather than your wins, a Stealth Wealth strategy. The more struggles you share, the better others will feel.
“Hey! Maybe my thoughtless husband who never cleans the kitchen and goes golfing every weekend isn't so bad!” After you hear your friend complain about how her husband goes on “business trips” to New York City every month for a week. When in reality, he's just trying to get away from the kids and hang out with his buddies.
“I guess living in our paid-off 1,200-square-foot, two-bedroom home is pretty good! Jim told me he's stressed because his wife wants to go on an expensive family vacation with a couple of other families, but he's struggling to pay the $15,000 a month mortgage on his 3,800-square-foot home.“
The last thing someone wants to hear is how awesome someone else's life is. If you must shout from the rooftops about your fabulous life, balance it out with some negatives. You might even do some faux virtue signaling by leaving a comment about how others are suffering while you're doing great.
If you do, just be aware of it. Because if you unknowingly practice incongruency, you might be masking deeper financial problems.
Have you noticed people saying how bad the economy is, yet claiming they are doing great themselves? Why do you think there's such a big disconnect? Do you think most of us who have this disconnect are aware of it?
Suggestions
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“If you find yourself debasing the national economy but are doing well yourself, cut it out if you want to feel better. Stop watching so much doom and gloom news. Reduce your time spent on social media, which has algorithms that push negativity. Now review all the things you have, including your net worth, and be grateful!”
AMEN!
inflation. i can feel very good about my current financial situation but fret about how my money will hold up in 5,10,20 years. that’s all the average joe really connects the word “economy “ to. they don’t think about all the other facets like job security and growth, GDP, national debt. if they pay any attention to news all that is talked about is inflation. and over the last 3 years has been the first in many we had to deal with it above “normal” 2-3 percent. so i’m happy about my current financial situation but very concerned about the “economy “.
True, although, so long as you have most of your net worth invested and risk assets, and hard assets, historically, you will significantly outperform inflation.
Hence, maybe this whole scenario will encourage more people to save and invest more aggressively for their future.
Working in the ER is my barometer of how the bottom economic rung of people are really doing. When they go broke there seems to be more suicide attempts, depression, overdoses, careless injuries, unable to manage a prescriptions, homelessness, family alienation, etc. I am seeing these health problems increase despite large investments in social programs.
Also, where I volunteer I see the subsidy reimbursement cheques for preschool programs, and the subsidies are tied to income levels. Way more families received subsidies this year than last.
This information is anecdotal and Canadian, but I am grateful for these inputs because it can be a reality check on what would otherwise be a limited information bubble.
I trust your comment more than the study. Thumbs up!
I see this same thing all the time within my friend group, everyone is doing fine but there is a weird underlaying guilt they seem to have about being conscious of “how tough the economy is for people”.
They talk about fancy studies/tedtalks for “change/redistribution” from liberal professors at Ivy League colleges.
We are all in our mid 30s, my wife and I aren’t rich by any means, we work basic trade jobs, but we are resourceful, and the older we get the more I just feel like people can get ahead if they want and put in the effort!- we were remodeling a rental (our first rental property) and we paid a guy $400 to haul the junk away after demo, he showed up with his girlfriend and 4 year old daughter and did it in an hour. There is money out there for people that want it.
Wow I sound like a conservative Wtf.
Negativity sells because people love looking down to feel up :).
As for this survey, I think the results provide interesting talking points, but the survey methodology makes me highly skeptical that the results accurately represent the views of the U.S. population. They convinced 11,400 people to spend an average of ~20 minutes to complete the survey (once they’d taken the time to sign up, get access to the survey etc. which would have taken much longer than 20 minutes). They tried to get poor, less educated, non-white people to do the survey by paying them 3x the amount paid to white, wealthier or more educated people, but even 3x the amount was only $15. About 1/3 of the participants in the 2023 survey also responded to the 2022 survey, so their responses were “weighted” along with other pretty typical survey result manipulations to extrapolate results from a small survey group a few hundred million people.
I can’t think of anyone I know, rich or poor, who would deal with the hassle of a survey like this in exchange for $5 or $15 which makes me wonder who is responding to those surveys (maybe the same kind of people who leave long comments on blogs :)).
Regardless, I agree there is a disconnect between official published economic numbers and broadly negative perceptions of the economy. However, as I travel around the country and consider the limits of surveys and government data, I increasingly wonder what – and who – is not counted. I see relative wealth and opportunity in coastal cities and relative poverty, concern, and resentment in hundreds (thousands?) of small towns far from coastal techno-global money flows.
How great can an economy be when I have to pretend to be poor in most of the country to avoid being robbed? That ain’t science, but it sure affects my perception of how I’m doing vs. how “the economy” is doing.
“ They tried to get poor, less educated, non-white people to do the survey by paying them 3x the amount paid to white, wealthier or more educated people, but even 3x the amount was only $15.”
Where did you get this info? Is it right in the report I linked to? Lol I would feel this incentive would skew the results.
Given you think the survey skewed towards poor people, the actual real positivity toward the economy is even greater because more wealthy people were excluded?
Yes, page 72 of the report.
And that was my first thought too – a higher percentage of poorer people seeming positive toward the economy *should* indicate broad, deep economic security, but that’s when I questioned who these recruited “poorer” people are and how their responses were extrapolated to represent all of the U.S.
Again, I think there is value in exploring and questioning perception vs reality, especially because they are often difficult to differentiate.
Damn, you got to page 72 of the report. I’m impressed! :)
So I take it you feel pretty good about your finances and the economy too?
My finances? Yes, good, but don’t tell anyone.
The economy? I think my investment mix is good for the economy to improve or explode. I think the U.S. is just getting started with the inflation fight. In addition, toxic U.S. politics, increasing social angst fueled by increasingly sophisticated disinformation, the new cold war, and the massive disruption coming with AI advancements all make me cautious.
Thank you for taking time to explain to us how the negativity perception overshadows how great the country is doing because the majority of struggling Americans can’t grasp that. As a matter of fact I will be glad to fill this survey for free and even pay few dollars to voice my opinion. In this economy losers are plenty and winners are few despite efforts of corrupt media and some well-heeled elitists to tell us otherwise. I have lived long enough to see America on a steady decline to the point that no Trump rhetoric about “making America great again” – even if partially successful – can reverse that. Somebody here made an earlier comment that in terms of growth and inflation we are still better off economically than other western nations as if this was a reason to celebrate. Perhaps the Roman Empire AD 475 (i.e., one year before its final demise) felt the same in comparison to its less civilized neighbors. It is true no president is responsible for the price of gas but unfortunately his policies are. The fact the economy is somehow chugging along is not because of but despite of Biden. Anyway, anybody who escaped from the clutches of Marxism is frightened to see this cancer spreading here like a wildfire and devouring our institutions. I’d like to finish on a more positive personal note though. I was born when Stalin was still alive so I might still manage to die in a warm “capitalist hell” than freeze to death in a socialist paradise, which btw I don’t wish to anyone.
The USA has not, is not becoming, nor will be Marxist. This whole commie garbage is ridiculous. It is also not a fascist state. Everything going to be okay.
I wish it is all OK but it is not. Unlike you I lived under Marxism for over 30 years and know what it looks like and can tell you we are heading there on a downward spiral. As a former educator I could see what brain damage has been done to younger generations by Marxist professors populating the academia. It is only a matter of time when those seeds start bearing fruit.
I’m in the opposite camp. I believe that the economy overall is doing okay, but personally are worse off because of inflation.
Yes, the stock market is up significantly, but that’s approximately 30-35% of our net worth, with the rest in real estate. A good chunk of that is investment property in San Francisco (multi-family, single family), and with median rents still down from 2020 and skyrocketing costs for repairs, maintenance and improvements mean returns are down significantly. I dread opening emails from the property management company because it would be a huge hit of costly repairs.
At our beach house in NY, the pool liner finally gave out 3 weeks ago. We had considered changing in Aug 2022 and repair the coping/masonry and were quoted $15K. The same job is now $25K, and other quotes came in even higher. Obviously houses always need work, but even our apartments in Manhattan have increasing maintenance (assessments) because of constant overzealous city requirements to upgrade.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-10-19/nyc-real-estate-condo-co-op-expenses-rise-more-than-inflation
I don’t think I’m the exception because a lot of people I know with real estate have similiar stories. As an early retired couple, we are looking to divest (once interest rates come down a little and unfreeze the market) in directly owned/managed (including property managed properties) because it seems there are less and less people going into “the trades” and costs will continue to climb faster than rents in places like SF or NY.
We are grateful for what we have and recognize we have first world problems, but it’s not been fun reading articles about how everyone is doing so well and spending like there’s no tomorrow, often on credit or buy now pay later plans.
I would take a step back and reread your comment. You have 35% of your net worth on the stock market, which is at an all-time high. You have rental properties in San Francisco AND Manhattan, two of the most expensive cities in America in the world.
You also have a beach house in New York. And you retired early. Sounds pretty rich to me!
If you are feeling worse off, then how is the average person ever going to feel better off? Do you think you are better off when you are poorer? Because based on your brief description, it sounds like you have at least $10 million in investable assets. And those assets have gone up in value since 2020.
Perhaps my comment was misleading or not clear. We are incredibly grateful for what we have…we have family that are on minimum wage and struggling..Maybe we should have practiced “stealth wealth” and abstained from commenting given our resources. Good job on the article for getting so many people to reach and comment!
My point was that our personal circumstances are “worse off,” despite the fact we are very fortunate. Metrics like CPI by definition don’t capture the subjective price increases people experience.
Services inflation (and certain construction materials) is still with us, and I was merely giving an example of how these circumstances affect us disproportionately given our heavy real estate allocation.We have older properties where key improvements are keep cropping up (roof replacement, siding replacement, etc.)
You mention our likely net worth..but I think you’ve always said for retired folks, cash flow is king. Even if our asset values (multifamily in SF is down since 2020) have gone up, OUR cash flow is definitely down and spending is up due to inflation. Our total net worth is an abstraction as we’re not selling any real estate, rents are down, and I’m trying to avoid liquidating investments when we potentially have 30+ years of retirement ahead.
The ideal for us is less inflation/stable prices with a trade off of lower interest rates (yes, 5%+ cash yields sound great, but they go towards paying for the higher prices, but with a higher tax bill). At present, we feel pressured to chase higher returns to generate cash flow and also keep up with inflation. This is why I love reading FS, to get ideas or be inspired to take on more risk or consider alternatives. In the end, we’ll likely be fine one way or another, but for a lifelong frugal couple we’re still getting used to spending more so we just cut out other spending to reflect reduced cash flow.
These wealthy, but concerned people, could be worrying about the wealth gap. Rich people didn’t do so well during the French Revolution, Bolshevik Revolution, etc. Figure 2 shows a downward trend since 2017 for people who didn’t go to college.
This ^^^. Those with college degrees who have done well are concerned about the non college degree holders who have done poorly in the economy.
Here’s my problem with this. I’ve kept track of my finances for years at this point. Before 2022, I was feeding my family for less than $1200/mo. Now, it’s closer to $1800. I could put 20% down on a 4 bed/2 bath for $80K in my area in 2020. Now I would need $110K. And wages have not even come close to those increases. To say that I’m just misunderstanding my finances is missing the mark. I’m glad unemployment is low. I’m glad the big companies are flush with cash. But Joe Dirt is taking the hit, and you better believe that he understands the situation.
Thanks for the color. I hear you and I understand what you were saying. If 72% of people say they are doing OK or comfortable, that means the 28% are not doing well.
Nobody likes increase in cost of food, shelter, medicine, tuition, etc. Thankfully, the rate of inflation has slowed from 2022.
I’m more focused on the phenomenon other people say the economy is doing poorly, but when you ask them how they are doing, they always say they are doing great.
Even more importantly interest rates have skyrocketed. So while your down payment has gone up, your monthly payments will have gone up as a percentage much more. I know many people who would not qualify to purchase their own home today at current interest rates even if its price had remained the same as 2022.
“A commenter will say how the economy is suffering and people are experiencing financial hardship. Then, when I ask them about their personal hardships, they say they’re doing great.”
Well, you’re the only one I know who has experienced this (which is why I think you’re making it up). Everyone I know, when I ask about their personal hardships, they go on and on about how food, gas, insurance, utilities, restaurant prices, and dry good prices have doubled since Biden took office. I know no one was is doing “great,” and haven’t for the last four years at least. I would like to move to your planet, if it really exists.
Yes, this is the beauty of everything. Even though the data says 72% of respondents say they are comfortable or doing OK, some people like yourself think the economy is terrible.
And giving you mention President Biden, I’m assuming you’re not a fan. The polls based off of party affiliation also show a huge difference between the view on the economy. Republicans give economy much worse than Democrats.
To insinuate the POTUS is responsible for the global inflation we’ve witnessed since the pandemic is ridiculous. It shows a child-like naïveté on how the world operates.
The general public feels the current US economy is doing horribly despite economic metrics which suggests otherwise. As long as one is invested in the stock market and/or realestate, their net worth should be outpacing inflation.
When one compares how the US economy is fairing versus its G-7 peers, it is abundantly clear that we have the most robust economy in the world currently.
Public polls are only good at elucidating the significant ignorance of the common citizen.
The great George Carlin once said, “ Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.” These are the people filling out the polls referenced.
My tech stocks are up 50% since the beginning of 2023, and I just got a raise of 15% and a promotion. I would say I’m doing great.
So I guess now you’ve met someone who is.
I think the disconnect is that both things are true. For those in the market/ investing and homeowners, the economy is good. For those who are renting, not really investing or just starting out- inflation for food-rent-basics makes it hard to survive and the economy is bad. Basics are really expensive, and even little luxuries like eating out now and then are now out of reach. Hard to be optimistic if you can’t afford a happy meal.
True, you may enjoy this post:
How homeowners and renters see the economy differently
I also wonder how people cannot see the tremendous amount of traffic and think the economy is bad.
Good advice. But actually taking positive action is so much harder than being gloomy!
You could be right!
But not for me. I hate feeling gloomy and always feel better after doing something about it.
Those who are well off and say they’re doing well have also changed their financial spending. They have taken to shopping at Aldi and The Dollar Store. With inflation, I’d say that I’m doing better than most but hardly gangbusters. There are those in my church that are doing very poorly. Some lost businesses during covid and are struggling to regroup. For others who are retirees, some have been summarily dropped from their Medicare Advantage plans and others have seen upwards of a 51% increase in their Medicare Part D (drug care) premiums. I don’t believe the economy is doing well at all. Not for the vast majority of Americans.
Hello Randy,
While I agree that politics definitely influences the messaging sent out by interested parties, I would not limit it “far right ” but rather whatever party (or other entity) that is promulgating a change. It is just a part of the game. All parties play it.
I believe neither the right nor the left paint a factually accurate as doing so would not help their agendas. The unfortunate factor is that too many people fall for the propaganda.
In all honesty, there has never been a better time to be a human being and especially for those of us blessed to be living here. Nobody is singing that tune though are they?
When someone says they’re living “comfortably,” I’m not sure what that means. The middle class are “comfortable” but are they doing well? No – they are on the hamster wheel of consumer debt and getting by. It’s all perspective I suppose. And ignorance can be bliss.
Right. What does comfortable mean? I mean I have a nice house and it keeps me cool and warm and dry. I can pay my bills. I save, but less than I’d prefer. My kids go to camps and play travel sports. There’s not a lot left after. My definition of comfort is indexed to how much is left after ideally saving enough (which I know I’m not), so by definition I’m uncomfortable with how much we are saving based on our income. Another person’s definition of comfort could be very different—like just paying all the bills, no savings. Another person’s definition is doing everything I am plus having an extra $50-100k a year to just have fun with—like take trips or give to charity, or do renovations or upgrade their vehicle.
So would you say you are comfortable or doing OK, if you were to fill out the survey? Those were the top two choices.
I’m sure many people have thought about this question as well before answering, but with enough respondents, the data becomes significant.
Respondents who answered “doing okay” financially (39 percent), “living comfortably” (33 percent), “just getting by” (19 percent) and “finding it difficult to get by” (9 percent).
Yes. I get that we have a 4 point Likert scale with this data set, and “comfortable” was the descriptor used for the top of the scale. I’m not saying that the data aren’t revealing, and you are making interesting if not provocative points. Ones I frankly agree with, but I still think that there should be another choice above comfortable for the data collection and spread that would reveal more about the psychology of the respondents. On the four point scale I would be forced to respond comfortable. Whereas with a 5 point scale I figure we’d get a bit more granularity about the psyche of respondents. Maybe it wouldn’t change the results much, but we’d know more. Maybe next time, lol.
Good post Sam.
Good column, Sam. It is interesting that people complain about the economy when unemployment is at 50 year low; inflation has generally been contained from its previous high level; and the market has hit a record high earlier this year (source WSJ). Personally we have benefited from these positive trends. However it is a presidential election year and perhaps the negative viewpoints are generated by the rhetoric from
far right that who personally want to see an Administration change so a dark picture is painted that is not factually accurate. I remain positive in the short term and for the next two years.
People reading financial blogs are not the best sample pool for scales of economic success or hardship votes.
That’s the thing. It is people reading Financial Samurai who say the economy stinks, yet say their financial situation is great. It’s always other people are doing poorly, but themselves. But they are the other people.
Right. I am blessed to have more than I need and I view being able to invest as a luxury. It’s easy to forget a time when it wasn’t possible or that there are many more Americans out there for which it isn’t a reality.
“72 percent of adults reported being at least okay financially” How does one define this statement? I’ve read studies recently where over 50% of people can’t deal with a $1000 emergency without resorting to debt. I don’t think you or I would define not being able to cover a $1000 emergency as being okay financially. But MOST people are not financially literate from almost every other survey I’ve read. So are they really capable of judging how they’re doing honestly?
It also depends on who you’re asking. Most people reading financial blogs probably understand needing to have emergency savings, retirement savings, and not taking on too much debt. So in their eyes, they’re doing okay/great…stock markets are up so their net worth is up. But 40% of people don’t have money in the markets, and wages have not outpaced inflation, and interest rates are making those wanting to buy a house have a much harder time. So the economy doesn’t sound so rosy to people like that.
Would you rather earn $100,000 a year while others make $200,000, or $200,000 a year while others make $300,000?
I am not sure this question above was posted correctly
You’re correct! Thanks.
This is the correct phrase: Would you rather earn $100,000 a year while others make $50,000, or $200,000 a year while others make $300,000?
I’d rather earn the twice as much 200K choice and not worry about what others are making…
A rational person! Well done.
New post: You Will Likely Never Run Out Of Money Because You’re Rational
I am doing fine for now but inflation does concern me. It is great to have a govt pension but prices have gone up much faster than the annual increases, especially with respect to discretionary spending especially dining and travel.
I reside in Mexico and the dollar has fallen from 22 in 2022 to 17 today, peso prices have more than doubled in the past three years which compounds the pain.
I believe many younger people have not really experienced inflation and do not truly understand its compounding affect over time.
At least you are getting annual adjustments, and have a lifetime pension. That’s huge! It’s like winning the lottery.
I’m on “team transitory” with regard to inflation. We will have seen a 2-3 year blip due to a once in a lifetime event (pandemic), and will revert back to a low inflation environment.
Let’s see this time next year!
some buddies and I were group texting this AM based on this very thing spurred by this article:
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2024-06-03/us-inflation-feels-bad-to-consumers-no-matter-how-you-define-it
It is a very weird psychological glitch in the matrix going on!
While I am doing ok financially, I have a hard time believing 80% are doing ok when 50% don’t have $400 for an emergency.
That’s the thing. I doubt 50% don’t have $400 for an emergency. The negativity the media likes to report is not as dire as it seems.
Look at what people do with their money (consumer spending, cars, credit card spending, etc) instead of what they say.
All due respect I think the affluent environment you’re in has crippled your ability to see just how bad things are. Sure companies are flush with cash and the top 20% is building wealth, but the other 80% are a few steps from Weimer levels of desperation. The only thing keeping most afloat was the cash saved during COVID, and that’s more or less gone. Plus the “strong” economy is assuming the money train the fed is leading on to maintain the debt of the nation will keep chugging. When that stops, prepare for 1929 2.0.
You’re probably right. What are some of the things you’re struggling with and how has life become more difficult for you since the pandemic began? What are some of the things you are doing to improve the situation? Thanks for sharing your story.
By the way, I am a perennial optimist. So I wonder if that clouds my judgment as well because even during the darkest time I see hope for a brighter future.
But I’ve also learned to be careful with my optimism in public. It is better to be pessimistic to get along with more people.
You presented a whole lot of data showing that most people self-assess that they are doing OK, though the least educated are around 50/50 on that. Then all these people post here that it must be wrong. If I was them, I would be asking why I am seeing it a lot different than the survey found…
Main thing people are complaining about in Australia is high rent and house prices. Those who are homeowners who bought a while ago are probably happy even though interest rates have gone up (variable rate mortgages in Australia). But a minority of houses have a mortgage on them… Majority of houses are owner-occupied.
Yes, perhaps the $400 question is overstated.
https://www.minneapolisfed.org/article/2021/what-a-400-dollar-emergency-expense-tells-us-about-the-economy
It appears people say they would have a problem doing so rather than saying they can’t. A subtle difference. In any event, the rapidly increasing credit debt may indicate the problem may be worse than it initially appears to be.
Mmm this was good. Congruency is quite the magic word for this post and for greater happiness, wealth, and balance. I can totally agree with that. I also completely believe what you mentioned about how people can be incongruent to their own detriment. I’d say we’ve all done that at least to some degree in our lives. I know I have, although I try much harder not to now.
It’s definitely easy to get stuck in the churn or in whatever doom loop of life/family/work and only complain about it without doing anything. Our brains procrastinate and avoid change because it’s easier to do nothing. However, those who can’t stand churn, discord, or unfinished tasks tend to be the most productive, successful, and happy. They are internally compelled to take action to bring about positive change.
And how fascinating on that second chart showing the huge gap between people’s perceptions of the economy versus their own finances. Great highlight!
Say no to the personal doom loop! The first step is to be aware of our incongruency.