George Kamel - 5 Reasons Americans Feel Broke

Episode Date: August 23, 2023

If you’re feeling broke and stressed about money lately, you’re not alone. About a third of Americans said they’re either struggling or in crisis with their finances. So in today’s video we��ll go over 5 reasons why Americans feel so broke and what you can do about it.  EveryDollar Budget Deal: I love a good deal, when you sign up using this link, I’ll hook you up with a 14-day free trial and $15 off your first year of the premium version of EveryDollar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My fellow Americans, the state of our union, is broke. That's right, broke like your caseless iPhone 8, like the McDonald's ice cream machine, like bed, bath, and beyond. What, too soon? Guess my 20% off coupon is now beyond expired. But seriously, if you're feeling broke and stressed about money lately, you are not alone. About a third of Americans said they're either struggling or in crisis with their finances. And according to the Census Bureau, about 36% of consumers say it has been

somewhat too very difficult for them to pay their usual bills in the last seven days. Now, it can be tempting to blame all this on inflation, especially when you look at your receipt and realize you just paid $6.41 for a box of cap and crunch oops all berries. And yes, inflation is part of it, but there are some other things at play here. So in today's video, we're going to go over five reasons why Americans feel so broke, and more importantly, what you can do about it. But first, you know what's not broke?

Those like and subscribe buttons. And the share button. None of those are broke. They're all working just fine. Go ahead, try them out. Click them for yourself. Make sure they work. Do it for your country.

And for the algorithm. Mostly for the algorithm. All right, let's get to it. The first reason Americans feel so broke right now is Inflation. In case you've been living under Iraq, things are expensive. So expensive that a rock may actually be all the house you can afford. Oh, sorry.

Wrong rock. Last year in 2022, the annual inflation rate in the U.S. 8% higher than the previous year, which is the biggest jump in decades. And according to a recent study from Edelman Financial Engines, 80% of Americans say they are making sacrifices because of inflation. And before you jump in the comments and say, Um, actually I heard on the news that inflation is actually down. True.

Good. I'm glad you're keeping up. But guess what? That doesn't mean that prices are down. You see, inflation is technically defined as the rate of increase of prices over a given period of time, at least according to our pals over at the International Monetary Fund, Or as I like to call it, mf. Hmmf.

Hmmf. So while inflation may actually be down year over year, meaning the rate has slowed, the actual prices haven't. Still sky high. But I don't have to tell you that. You can feel it in your wallet just by walking by the eggs in the grocery store. They're not cheap.

See what I did there. Cheap? Cheap. Baby chicks. No? Okay. How does anyone find that funny? All right, the second thing making Americans feel broke is,

Cost of living. Cost of living refers to the money it takes to afford the goods and services to maintain a certain lifestyle. And this is usually measured using the Consumer Price Index or CPI, which basically just tracks the prices of a collection of certain basic goods and services over time. And it's been going up like lighters at a Boys to Men concert. Or for the modern man, the smartphone flashlight at a Taylor Swift concert. I'm old school. I got sold.

I got soul, but I'm not. Classic Boys to Men song. And that's the end of the road with that joke. Now, cost of living varies depending on where you live, but generally speaking, in the U.S., it's higher than it's ever been. And the CPI for all urban consumers in the U.S. has grown almost every year for the last three decades, especially between 2020 and 2022.

And there's something that makes this high cost of living even more difficult, and that is number three on our list. Stagnating wages. Boo! We don't want them. What's the opposite of stagnant? Increasing? Why is stagnating such a big word?

I don't know. I don't know. I just got here. Between March 2021 and March 23, the monthly inflation rate in the U.S. consistently surpassed the country's wage growth. To put it simply, wages haven't kept up with inflation, so it's harder to pay for the stuff you're used to buying.

Example. If your standard breakfast has a red bowl and a bowl of cap and crunch oops all berries, it now likely takes a higher percentage of your income to pay for those two delicious yet problematic choices. And if you're making minimum wage, you're feeling the crunch, more. But I hope you're making way more than that with how hot the job market is right now.

All right. The fourth thing making us feel broke is lifestyle. You knew it was going to be there. Don't act surprised. We're spending too much money on unnecessary things. When you sit down and you really take a good, hard look at where your money's going, you'll see what I'm talking about. We love to eat out at restaurants. We need to drive a brand new beautiful car. We must have a bigger house than our parents had when they were our age. And the inside has to look like it was furnished entirely with heirloom pieces from Joanna Gaines' warehouse. And social media has just made things worse, with everyone posting their highlight reel, like it's their job to convince you that they have a great life. So, we see Becky's Instagram posts from the beach,

with their feet in the sand and the drink in her hand, and next thing you know, we're buying plane tickets to Miami with a credit card because we deserve it. As the old saying goes, we buy things we don't need, with money we don't have to impress people we don't even like. Was that an Einstein quote, or was that Bieber? Could have been Kanye. I don't know. All of them feel problematic at this point. You're Albert Einstein. Okay. And speaking of money we don't have, the fifth reason Americans feel so broke is debt payments. We live in a culture that is obsessed with debt, and we've been sold on a whole bunch of

lies created by a financial system that is designed to take our money from us. Lies like, you need a credit card to build your credit score, and car payments are just a way of life, and you can't go to college without a student loan. And before you know it, we're up to our eyeballs in debt, and there's barely anything left of our paycheck after we've made our minimum payments. And sadly, this is pretty normal in America. According to a Ramsey research study, 25% of Americans said they're relying on credit cards to make ends meet. 82% said they're somewhat worried or extremely worried about their student loan payments restarting,

and 40% said they cried or had a panic attack over their money in the last few months. Y'all, this is not okay. Something's got to change. When you have to send huge chunks of your income out the door every month to make debt payments, it's going to be pretty hard to make progress with your money. That's a no-brainer. And yeah, you're going to feel broke if that's you. I want to.

All right, so we've covered five things that are making Americans feel broke, but what do we do about it? You know, most YouTubers, they'd probably just end the video here and go, wow, wow, we wa, but I'm here to give you some hope, okay, to give you some next steps. And it's not going to be easy, but there are things you can do to take control and build that financial future. So let's look back at our list. Inflation?

I don't know about you, but personally, I can't control that. But I can control how I spend and what I consume. I can switch from name brands over to generic brands. I can change where I. grocery shop. I can eat out less. I can have friends over instead of going out. I can cut all those subscriptions that I never even use. And I can quit buying every item from the most recent BuzzFeed article called 20 Things You Can't Live Without. I will live without it and you're going to like it, BuzzFeed. You don't get to tell me nothing. Who's writing these articles? It's either AI or like a 17-year-old.

And either way, I'm not buying it. It's just honesty. Sorry. All right. Cost of living. This is a tough one. Rent and housing prices have gone crazy, but you still get a choice in where you live, how much house you buy, and having roommates to help cover the costs. Is any of that fun? Not really, but I'm trying to help you avoid being broke. So you've got to make some sacrifices. And that might mean moving further out of the city or finding a trustworthy roommate that can help you split the bills. All of that is going to help you keep your cost of living down and help you hit your financial goals. Stagnating wages. Listen, I can't control federal. minimum wage, but I can control what job I have, the career I choose, and how many side gigs I take on

to help make ends meet. I know it's not fun, but we're not saying this is forever. I'm just saying right now, while you're trying to build a solid financial foundation and get out of debt and get an emergency fund, it is totally worth it. And those are things I actually did when I was trying to get out of debt. I was working two or three side jobs. I was living on less than I made. I wasn't eating out, and it was worth the 18 months of sacrifice to get to where I am today. All right, these last two on the list, lifestyle and debt, those are completely in your control. And if you can get these under control, the other three become way less of a big deal. So ask yourself, what could I change about my lifestyle that would help my financial situation?

How can I make more? How can I spend less? Maybe it's choosing one streaming service instead of six. Maybe it's selling the fancy new car with a giant payment and getting a used car with cash instead. Maybe it's getting a side hustle or working a second job for a while. Maybe it's skipping the Mexican restaurant with friends and eating at the newest. culinary experience in town, Micasa. So we want an order of the case of Dillis.

Okay. That's right. It's right there in your own kitchen. You get to make your own dang tacos. How beautiful. And by the way, you can get like 80 corn tortillas for five bucks, okay? Don't tell me it's expensive, but don't eat them all in one sitting. Now, those might feel like pretty big lifestyle changes,

but they can make a huge difference in your financial situation. All right, another lifestyle change that makes a huge difference, doing a budget every month. If you're feeling stressed about money, don't complain. until you've done a budget. Okay, do this ASAP. It puts you in control. It gives you permission to spend your money your way. All right, budgeting is how you make your money goals happen. Make it part of your lifestyle if you want to win with money. It's an intentional spending plan and you've got to get on one. The other thing on this list we can control, debt payments. So many people

think debt is just a way of life. That car payment, credit cards, student loans will always just be a part of your life. Get rid of it. You don't need it. Don't be one of those people. Pay off your debt. Now, just imagine for a second what life would be like if you didn't have to send so much of your paycheck every month to people you owe money to. So bottom line, don't spend your time worrying about inflation and cost of living, stagnating wages. Instead, focus on the things you can actually do something about. Get on a budget. Spend less. Make more. Pay off your debt using the debt snowball. Make the necessary lifestyle changes that will help you get some financial margin in your life. All right. I hope this video was helpful. If you've been feeling broke and stressed

out about money, you gotta check out every dollar. This is my favorite budgeting app that actually gives me some peace and control when it comes to my money. You assign every dollar a job using a zero-based budget and it will help you hit your money goals because when you pay attention to something and you put some focus on it, it tends to work for you. So I'll put a link in the description to that budgeting app and I've got a killer deal for you guys you don't want to miss. So go start your budget and see if you don't feel a little bit better when you're done looking in that financial mirror. As always, make sure to subscribe to this channel, like this video, and share it with everyone

in your life who is spending way too much of their hard-earned money on Cap and Crunch Oops All-Berrys. Seriously, I could buy actual berries for less than that. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time. All berries slaps, I don't care who you are.