The Nasty Debt Comeback & How To Counter It #515

Everyone loves a good comeback story- exceeept when it’s the villain who is making the comeback! That's basically how we feel about the mullet. We can all pretty much agree that mullets are the most villainous hairstyle. It had its heyday back in the 80s and is now back in full-business-in-the-front-party-in-the-back-force. Similarly, that’s how we feel about consumer debt. Credit card debt levels drastically dropped with the onset of Covid lockdowns and for a minute we thought this might be the start of a personal finance reawakening! But unfortunately that was the exception rather than the norm. In February, American consumers increased their borrowing by a record $42 billion as credit card usage was up 20% in Q1 alone according to the major credit card companies. This is bad news of course, but there are strategic ways to use debt to your advantage. The types of debt you sign up for, what you’re spending it on, your debt to income ratio, and resisting the ‘immediacy premium’ are all elements of debt that we discuss today.

During this episode we enjoyed a Moderne Dansk by Jester King! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money!

Best friends out!

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