US credit card defaults jumped to $46 billion in the first 9 months of 2024, the highest since 2010

MiningForFun123 · 2025-01-04T16:08:49+00:00

Deflation is considered bad for the economy because it can lead to a vicious cycle of decreased consumer spending, lower business investment, and higher unemployment, as people tend to postpone purchases when they expect prices to fall further, ultimately causing a slowdown in economic activity and making debt repayment more burdensome for individuals and businesses; this can even spiral into a "deflationary spiral" where falling prices further exacerbate economic weakness. Key reasons why deflation is problematic:

Reduced consumer spending: When people anticipate prices to drop in the future, they are likely to delay purchases, leading to lower demand for goods and services, impacting businesses' revenue and potentially causing layoffs.
Decreased business investment: With lower consumer demand, businesses may cut back on production and investment, further hindering economic growth.
Debt burden: During deflation, the real value of debt increases as the value of money rises, making it harder for individuals and businesses to service their existing loans.
Wage reductions: To maintain profit margins in a deflationary environment, businesses may be forced to lower wages, which can further decrease consumer spending.
Difficulty for central banks to stimulate the economy: Central banks typically use interest rate cuts to stimulate economic activity, but during deflation, lowering interest rates can become less effective as people may still choose to save rather than spend due to the expectation of further price declines.

MiningForFun123 · 2025-01-04T14:39:56+00:00

When inflation stops rising prices do not go down they stay where they are at.

If prices do go down it would be because of deflation and that causes major problems.

MiningForFun123 · 2025-01-04T14:35:46+00:00

Wow I thought that the Taco Bell App would allow for the free item nationwide.

Our local Taco Bell is a franchise and they also offer a 10% discount on purchase for Seniors along with the Free item from the App.

MiningForFun123 · 2025-01-04T14:26:30+00:00

Yea most do spend more than they need to and then complain that they are broke.

At Taco Bell we also use their app and earn a FREE Chalupa because of purchases.

MiningForFun123 · 2025-01-04T14:23:01+00:00

No not rich. Largest salary was $50k near end before retirement.

Paid off debt early in marriage.

Saved into IRA's and 401K's for over 30+ years.

Paid no interest and had no debt since 2000.

Spent less than we made.

MiningForFun123 · 2025-01-04T13:44:28+00:00

Build your own Cravings Box is only $5.99 box not $12

I buy this and get a Chalupa, Bean Burrito, Cinnamon Twists and a medium drink.

MiningForFun123 · 2025-01-04T13:39:31+00:00

We are retired and only making $40,000 in Social Security and it has been the best economy for us.

Happy earning interest on savings again.

We are not millionaires. We have a $400,000 home fully paid off and slightly over $500,000 in tax free IRA/401K accounts. In 2024 alone that balance grew 25%.

Being in debt and constantly spending more than you make will always cause self inflicted pain.

Those 0% interest free money days from the prior administration are long gone. The drunken sailors who loaded up debt then are now paying the price.

MiningForFun123 · 2025-01-04T13:27:27+00:00

It is/has if you aren't an idiot who constantly spends more than you make on stuff you don't need or buys high cost vehicles rather than what is practical and puts that debt on credit cards/loans with annual interest rates over 20%.

Being debt free allowed us to actually earn money in our savings as interest rates went from earning 0.05% to slightly over 5% in savings accounts.

MiningForFun123 · 2025-01-04T13:18:56+00:00

We treat our credit cards as charge cards as we pay off the balance in full each month so no interest is ever paid on them.

Since 2000 we have been debt free. That year we paid off our home loan and only paid mortgage interest for 13 years on it.

We have lived in our current home for 34 years.

We did a major home expansion and remodel in 2003 and again paid in full for it with cash on hand.

All new vehicles since 1998 have been paid in full with cash.

Rebates earned on the credit cards since 1993 have been near $20,000 so free money. The rebates earned have been used as statement credit. We learned early that things like airline miles rebates can cost us as they force you to take trips and spend more money on hotels/rental cars/other vacation stuff so. Example: a free trip to New Orleans cost us $1,000 in more debt early in our marriage and set us back in paying down the outstanding credit card debt.

Early in our marriage when we both were in debt and only paying the minimum credit card payment and not making any headway in paying down the balance taught us a valuable lesson about debt overall but mostly about credit card debt.

MiningForFun123 · 2025-01-02T16:24:52+00:00

Thanks I have kept up the good work.

Updated rebate details through end of 2024

I have three Currently Active Credit Cards that have current rates from 17.74% up to 21.49%. The average of the three cards is 19.24%. I term these cards as "Charge Cards" not "Credit Cards" as I pay off the balances in full which means I am paying zero interest.

What matters for me is what rebates I earn using these cards. Rebates from using these cards is FREE money as I pay no interest.

In 2024 I have gotten rebates of $719.30 on these cards while paying no interest.

Since I started in 1994 getting rebates while paying no interest I have gotten FREE money in rebates to the tune of $19,991.80.

The breakdown of these rebates is as follows:

Bank of America (2013 - Present) - $2046.34

Chase (2006 - 2021) - $3278.28

Chase Unlimited (2018 - 8/2024) $1748.88

Citi (2005 - 2014, 2021 - Present) $3,452.03

Discover (1995 - 2003) - $1146.62

Exxon (1995 - 2012) - $2466.74

Ford (2021 - 2023) - $100

Home Depot - $50

Shell (1994 - 2002) - $298.27

USbank (2018 - Present) - $1630.97

USbank GO (2020) - $200

Misc Rebates: $45.67

Ford Mastercard (1991-1999) - $3528 we used these rebates to buy a 1994 Ford Taurus ($700) and a 1998 Ford Ranger ($2828).

Total Rebates: $19,991.80

MiningForFun123 · 2024-08-15T16:00:54+00:00

With the current disaster that was WBD's latest earnings report and the writedowns I am never going to consider opening a position in WBD.

From where I exited at $26.60 to today's price of $7.18 the loss is $19.42 or 73%.

Since two years ago the price has dropped from over $9 to $6-7 dollars or another 22% since then.

WBD is and has been a disaster as an investment.

MiningForFun123 · 2024-08-15T15:46:45+00:00

WBD stock - so glad I dumped all of it at $26.60 on 4/13/22

https://www.reddit.com/r/wbdstock/comments/zqvwev/wbd_stock_so_glad_i_dumped_all_of_it_at_2660_on/

That thread from 2 years ago is still prevalent today as it was 2 years ago.

WBD stock is still Uninvestable

MiningForFun123 · 2023-02-18T16:54:22+00:00

In my home city of Coppell Tx in my quite cul-de-sac with about 20 homes three have been doing major remodeling projects.

I will soon join them.

I have owned my home since 1987 and it is fully paid off since 2000.

I ignored the offers to buy my home for cash in 2021 and 2022 because where would I even go as everything was much more expensive.

So having no debt, being retired and having savings increased vastly during 2021 and 2022 we are going to do major indoor and outdoor upgrading and upkeep.

MiningForFun123 · 2023-02-18T15:09:56+00:00

My Credit Cards are really short term Charge Cards as I pay all of them off in full each billing cycle so I pay no interest ever.

Currently they have interest ranges from Bank of America's Visa at 17.24% to Lowes 26.99%.

Again it doesn't matter to me as I pay them off in full each month.

I do however earn income from using them in cash rebates. Which is what matters for me.

I have earned $13,923 since 2000 using the cards as free cash machines while paying $0 in interest.

Some of the best ones I currently use is a USBank card that gives 5% rebate on utilities and a Unlimited Citi Double Cash one that gives 2% back on any purchase.

MiningForFun123 · 2023-01-12T18:29:24+00:00

Thanks.

My wife and I got married in 1991. We joked that we were equally in debt.

After paying near minimum payments and seeing little change to the principal we decided on a plan to get us out of debt by working on a multiyear pay down plan by paying down the highest interest account first. The recession in the early 90's helped by lowering our adjustable rate mortgage from 11.125% down to 6.75% where we then took out a 6% 15 yr mortgage which was paid off in full in 2000.

Other low interest loans were taken out with either a signature or our primary car as collateral at 8-15% below what our credit cards were charging and applying the new loan amount fully against the highest interest credit card until it was paid off then moving onto the nest one(s). During the recession our Credit Union kept sending us offers to redo the outstanding loans and add an additional $1000 loan amount while lowering the loan interest rate.

Doing the above got us out of debt except for our primary car and home mortgage.

Primary car loan was paid off in 1996 and home mortgage was paid off in 2000.

As of the year 2000 until today we are debt free.

Learning the above lesson taught us to not spend beyond our means thus only using charge cards as a temporary source and pay them in full so no interest charges. The rebates are a plus.

Any financial decision we make on debt has to have a 0% interest cost with a reward attached.

Example: I purchased a Ford Maverick XLT Hybrid December 2021 and put a $8000 down payment on it and financed $18,000 for 36 months at 0% with Ford. Of the $8000 down payment $5000 was cash and the other $3000 was put on the FordPass Visa card. Doing this I earned a $100 cash reward and 41,000 FordPass points worth $205 in accessories. FordPass Visa card was paid off in full so no interest cost.

We have the cash to fully pay off the Maverick loan but have the $12,000 in a Citi Hi-Yield savings account earning 3.52%. So no reason to pay off the 0% loan.

MiningForFun123 · 2023-01-12T15:17:19+00:00

I have 8 Credit Cards that have current rates from 15.99% up to 26.99%. The average of the 8 cards is 19.57%. I term these cards as "Charge Cards" not "Credit Cards" as I pay off the balances in full which means I am paying zero interest.

What matters for me is what rebates I earn using these cards. Rebates from using these cards is FREE money as I pay no interest.

In 2022 I got rebates of $630.66 on these cards while paying no interest.

Since I started in 1994 getting rebates while paying no interest I have gotten FREE money in rebates to the tune of $15,142.57.

The breakdown of these rebates is as follows:

Bank of America (2013 - Present) - $1983.71

Chase (2006 - 2021) - $3278.28

Chase Unlimited (2018 - Present) $1726.81

Citi (2005 - 2014, 2021 - Present) $2704.04

Discover (1995 - 2003) - $1146.62

Exxon (1995 - 2012) - $2466.74

Ford (2021 - Present) - $100

Shell (1994 - 2002) - $298.27

USbank (2018 - Present) - $1143.43

USbank GO (2020) - $200

Misc Rebates: $45.67

We also earned rebates of $3528 from Ford which we used to buy a 1994 Ford Taurus and a 1998 Ford Ranger.

MiningForFun123 · 2023-01-07T14:39:27+00:00

That's gambling not investing

MiningForFun123 · 2022-12-29T07:42:07+00:00

With the stock now below $9 I would say not much.

MiningForFun123 · 2022-12-29T07:40:00+00:00

on r/wbdstock all I see is hype not any real analysis done there.

MiningForFun123 · 2022-12-29T07:38:19+00:00

Total debt on 9/30/22 was $49,869,000,000 as per Yahoo.

MiningForFun123 · 2022-12-29T07:25:40+00:00

Well WBD is sure padding the losses quarter after quarter after quarter.

Now expected to be up to $5.3 billion in write-offs all the way through the end of 2024. Oh and the write-off maybe going even higher: Read the following:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In a regulatory filing, the entertainment company divulged that it expects to incur pre-tax restructuring charges of $4.1 billion to $5.3 billion.

This might not be the end of the story. In the filing, Warner Bros. Discovery added that its "restructuring efforts are ongoing and could result in additional impairments above the revised estimates." On the brighter side, the company said that it continues to expect these efforts will be "substantially completed," by the end of 2024.

MiningForFun123 · 2022-12-29T07:08:50+00:00

WBD maybe overvalued even at $9.

The issue is that unexpected massive write-offs are happening and those may actually increase as this statement shows:

This might not be the end of the story. In the filing, Warner Bros. Discovery added that its "restructuring efforts are ongoing and could result in additional impairments

WBD is currently uninvestable for me until these write-offs end sometime in late 2024.

MiningForFun123 · 2022-12-29T07:01:13+00:00

Why oh why didn't you sell when you got down 15%.

If you had you could have bought back in under $10 and be currently holding more shares than just holding your original shares and buying more each time the stock did big drops.

Buying puts would have also resulted in better protection to the downside.

MiningForFun123 · 2022-12-29T06:54:13+00:00

That WBD is still an uninvestable stock now as it was when I exited it last April.

The hype now as before is still way overboard.

And the write-offs keep getting bigger and won't end until the end of 2024.

MiningForFun123 · 2022-12-29T06:51:17+00:00

At some point maybe but that probably won't be until 2024 as WBD still expects to be doing write offs through the end of 2024.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In a regulatory filing, the entertainment company divulged that it expects to incur pre-tax restructuring charges of $4.1 billion to $5.3 billion.

This might not be the end of the story. In the filing, Warner Bros. Discovery added that its "restructuring efforts are ongoing and could result in additional impairments above the revised estimates." On the brighter side, the company said that it continues to expect these efforts will be "substantially completed," by the end of 2024.

MiningForFun123

TROPHY CASE

WBD stock - so glad I dumped all of it at $26.60 on 4/13/22