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| Wednesday, June 14, 2006 |
| If Bernanke says it is so... |
Bernanke: Most households manage money well; low income families struggle
"U.S. households overall have been managing their personal finances well," Bernanke said. "On average, debt burdens appear to be at manageable levels and delinquency rates on consumer loans and home mortgages have been low," he noted. While it is true that higher gas prices and utility bills have not caused me to be late on a mortgage payment, that does not mean things are peachy-keen. Everytime I look at my 401(k) or other retirement account balances lately I am seeing less and less money (the stock market is not my friend this month). Luckily I am one of the (seemingly) few in this country who does not have credit card debt or an adjustable rate loan. However, I am hearing grumblings from others who are seeing rates rising. Co-workers are brown bagging lunch more and eating out less. More are working from home to save on gas. When talking about vacation plans more are sticking close to home this summer.
Overall this is shaping up to be one downer of a summer. Higher prices and higher interest rates combined with a bear market does not make for a happy season. The only bright spot is higher interest rates on our savings. Economists expect the Fed to bump up rates later this month by another quarter point, which would lift the Fed's rate to 5.25% and the prime rate to 8.25%. |
| posted by Boston Gal @ 8:59 AM *
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| 2 Comments: |
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I have a feeling the stock market has been a friend to no one this month. At least today was a bit of a reprieve. I hope it isn't going to be short-lived.
Since I still have a few decades to go, I'm looking at the recent down turn as an opportunity to buy in low. Dollar cost averaging is what it's all about.
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i think Bernanke's been smoking some cool stuff!
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I have a feeling the stock market has been a friend to no one this month. At least today was a bit of a reprieve. I hope it isn't going to be short-lived.
Since I still have a few decades to go, I'm looking at the recent down turn as an opportunity to buy in low. Dollar cost averaging is what it's all about.