On the subject of things that don’t seem to make sense…….
Kiplinger has an article about how consumer confidence is at a 4 year high. I confess. This just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Gas prices are at an all time high, interest rates are rising which could have multiple impacts on consumers (credit card rates increasing, adjustable mortgages going up etc), credit card balances are over $9000 on average, the nation’s savings rate is a negative number, the global economy has multiple ramifications for our nation’s workers, we have troops on the ground fighting in two conflicts, global nuclear tensions are increasing, yet apparently nobody is worried about any of these things. (okay, gross generalization).
http://www.kiplinger.com/personalfinance/apnews
Ahhhh. We are a nation of optimists. On a completely different note, I didn’t save a ton of money on my car insurance.
I think we have a generation of spenders who haven’t figured out that no amount “irrational exuberance” will keep them from someday having to pay the piper. What goes up must come down and for the very reasons you listed above it’s going to crash harder than ever.
Hey Hazzard…
I haven’t seen your blog for a while… looks pretty nice!!
I’m starting to blog a little more on my financial maturity blog and thought I should come and see what the old gang of personal finance bloggers are doing.
I like your blog.
Cheers!
I saw the same thing and could not understand it. How do these consumers do it? How do you walk around with these huge blinders on? Are they not reading the front pages of their newspapers? It really left me quite stunned, to tell the truth.