Yeah I too have read that boomers are a significant part of the spending that hasn't slowed, though I do not buy all the talk of the other gens slowing. I do not care about any inheritance, but I can imagine some looking at their parents blowing so much cash thinking nothing is going to be left LMAO. The older part of Gen X likely have reduced spending a lot for those that hoped to retire early or are close to retirement, but I don't think those in 40s has changed much . Millennial spending has slowed because they or friends have been impacted in tech layoffs so might be cautious. Gen Z (post 1998) well almost all of them are still living at home so... lol
Way back when I had student loans, some were fixed and some were variable, and perhaps some didn't get a rate until graduation, hard to remember. Very quickly I consolidated everything, but if there are variable loans out there, how likely did those consolidate them during covid to lock in the low rates. But with rates up, the cost of college for new loans just got much more expensive.
Anytime there's a hand out or anything you think people would save but it rarely happens. I remember of hearing many people 1 or 2 degrees of connections, that stopped paying their mortgage and were living it up during the big RE bust. I doubt the majority of those who accepted the SL payment pause saved anything.
Yeah a lot of unknowns and risk yet to come, the latest doom prophecy is commercial real estate, and in a few months starts the total sh!t show for the 24 election. At least there's no more debt ceiling fights until after that lol. Oh and used car prices are going down..... but that will bring a new problem to anyone who bought used past 18 months and is massively underwater.
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Originally Posted by Chick Webb
I've already been reading about the bifurcation, by generation, of spending. Gens X, Z, and even to a degree millenials are all pulling back as they run out of funds for $8 mocha frappes and $15 designer cocktails. They are still spending, of course, because they have jobs and access to credit, but they're definitely feeling the pinch. Boomers, on the other hand, continue to party like it's 1999, apparently. Between staring death in the face during Covid and the fact that many of them used the 0% interest-rate market to create substantial nest eggs, they appear to be willing to splurge still.
The slow-motion trainwreck that is the US economy lumbers on, propelled by trillions in "Inflation Reduction Act" dollars, while pieces of the engine fly off in all directions. Will the resumption of student loan payments - which generally have pre-Covid fixed interest rates, BTW - be the cow that throws it off the tracks, or will that too get flung off into the weeds like the energy price spike of '22 or the more recent banking tumult? I don't think that'll do it, though it may be the catalyst that creates the unemployment we need to finally derail this thing and get inflation back down below 5%.
We're definitely not out of the woods yet, IMHO. And, more importantly, in the minds of the Fed Govs, it seems after today's presser. Keep some powder dry, pop some corn, and grab a seat. Cuz, who doesn't love a trainwreck?! C'mon, you know you do! Admit it! 
WaPo Article - There’s a widening spending gap between retirees and younger adults |