LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — President Donald Trump pushed back against recession fears Monday.
"We're doing tremendously well. Our consumers are rich. I gave a tremendous tax cut. And they're loaded up with money."
The president’s response coming after 74% of economists told the National Association for Business Economics said they see a recession coming by the end of 2021. In July, 13 Action News told you about asurvey of more than 100 real estate economists in which more than half also predicted a recession by the end of 2020.
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"This is been a long stretch in our history of not going into a recessionary period. At this point it’s inevitable."
Christina Lorusso is another person with financial expertise who believes we need to prepare for an economic downturn just as new numbers show Americans are dealing with crippling amounts of debt. Lorusso is the owner of Lorusso Forensics, LLC.
More than 2,000 adults responded to the Northwestern Mutual Planning and Progress Survey in 2018. It found that average personal debt is up to $38,000 and 25% of all debt was tied to credit cards. Two in 10 Americans are spending at least half of their monthly income to pay off debt.
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"With so much internet spending I can kind of see why it has gotten to that point,” said Lorusso. “Even though the numbers are very astounding to me."
So what expenses are contributing to all this debt?
While cars and mortgages were high on the list, for millennials between 18 and 24, student loans were close behind.
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But credit cards tied mortgages as the leading source of debt for many Americans with money spent mostly on eating out, new clothing or other personal care items and hobbies.
“So, there's a lot of things that we really do not need that have become so common place to have that we kind of explain away in our budget,” Lorusso said.
But she said now is the time to get your financial house in order. She recommends old fashioned budgeting and starting an emergency savings fund.
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"Start looking at what can be cut back on, paying down that debt and saving much more and really sticking to the plan” said Lorusso. "Because it’s inevitable that it is coming whether it’s today, tomorrow or a year from now."
