Family Vacation Poll

[BigN8]

I read your original post and haven’t read any of the responses, but all I can say is... don’t worry about the other folks and just handle your own business the best way that works for you.

 

[marcham]

Simply put, consumer spending drives about 70% of the economy. So what does government do to ensure the economy as a whole prospers? Encourage consumption by making money cheap or easy to borrow. Now during the pandemic, they did by simply giving money away.

It's working ... for now ... (US GDP pct change by quarter)



But what happens when the record deficits are no longer sustainable (can't keep up with interest payments) and the money press needs to be turned off?

A sharp downturn is inevitable. Could it be worst than 2009? Maybe. Those heavily burdened by debt will definitely feel the impact more than those who are not. There should have been a second correction in the stock market in 2020 when it was clear that the pandemic was going to last more than just a few months, but that didn't happen.

Borrow for your house, borrow for a basic vehicle to get to work, that makes sense. Borrowing for toys, vacations, etc... is just not sustainable. At some point, they will have to pay the piper.

 

[Quad]

Vacations or toys - we save for it and pay with a credit card. Pretty much everything day to day goes on that anyway and we get major points back, which is often enough to pay for us and kid to fly somewhere international once every 18 months or so. Card balance is always paid in full, never carrying a balance.
Otherwise we have a mortgage that we overpay on, boat payment that we overpay on, and one car payment... that we also overpay on.