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The Average American's Financial Journey (Infograph)

visualeconomics.com — Lifetime of debt

Who dugg this? Made popular Jul 3, 2009

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31 Comments

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  • contemplative, on 07/02/2009, -0/+16The American dream - 40 hour work week, house, car, and a family - is out of reach for most Americans now.
  • IUseAShovel, on 07/03/2009, -0/+15http://imgur.com/pxIFE.gif
  • StBucky, on 07/02/2009, -0/+10No credit, no problem. I've known how stupid credit cards and loans are for years. Since i was in high-school, actually. And a life without credit debt is just fine with me. Unfortunately, though, as i approach 30 and my third kid, i'm going to have to get a mortgage, as a house isn't the kind of thing you can just save up for. Almost everything else is, though.
  • mk2ja, on 07/03/2009, -1/+9"Sorry, the page your requested could not be found, or no longer exists."

    Anybody else post a copy?
  • TheOneMono, on 07/03/2009, -0/+6Mirror - http://imgur.com/pxIFE.gif
    Credit to "IUseAShovel" in a reply above.
  • Flyinpiranha, on 07/03/2009, -0/+4Could not be found .... sounds about right.
  • Tanktunker, on 07/03/2009, -1/+5So the /average/ American spends at least 15,000 USD a year on interest?
    That's ***** *****, I'm calling shenanigans on this picture.

    EDIT:
    Just to clarify, that amounts to a total of 4.5 trillion spent each year (600,000 / 40 year work life times ~300 million US citizens) on interest alone, 4.5 trillion is a third of your GDP.
  • TonyTheTerrible, on 07/03/2009, -0/+4page not found, burried
  • morepowerr, on 07/03/2009, -0/+4And that is why every thing is ***** up.
  • powatom, on 07/03/2009, -0/+4One word: rent.

    Home ownership is a fast route to gigantic debt, particularly if you have a poor (or non-existant!) credit history. It's not just the cost of the home you'll have to worry about, it's repairs, maintenance, extensions, furnishings, decor etc.

    If you rent, you don't really have to worry about ANY of those things, unless YOU cause the damage or you want to change the decor. Sure, you have less rights, but if you stay on good terms with your landlord, there's really no problem.

    It might be tricky finding a home with a reasonable rent, but they are out there. Ownership is a pointless endeavour which many people strive to achieve because they've been told it's a sign of accomplishment. It's not.
  • williepepper, on 07/03/2009, -0/+2Just like how the government works.

    Now I'll just sit back and wait to collect my government check.
  • Akairenn, on 07/03/2009, -1/+3Uh, good luck with getting that mortgage with no credit history.

    No credit == no credit. You're high risk. You're going to get raped. Hell, it's going to be more than rape, it's going to be like Dick Cheney shooting you in the face.
  • inactive, on 07/03/2009, -0/+2No clue why you were dugg down. I suppose people aren't actually THINKING while they look at these figures.

    lrn2maff, diggers.
  • rsh28630, on 07/03/2009, -0/+2Prior to the 'readjustment', a home was perceived as analogous to a "savings account". The argument against rent was simple: the money invested in a home would theoretically pay off in increased value traditionally outperforming a bank account whereas the never ending dollars in rent were essentially wasted. We now know that after Goldman Sachs, AIG, etc gamed the market, home ownership became an instant ride to reality. And reality is unless the population continues to increase beyond sustainability, at some point there is a reduced need for housing. We return to reality again where counting on the value of property to go up magically without commensurate expenditure to make 'improvements' is a insane. Most homes, like other physical objects, deteriorate in value due to environmental conditions. The term 'weather-beaten' rather than 'quaint' is more frequently used to describe a house for a reason.
  • WhiteHatTrick, on 07/03/2009, -0/+2I kind of see it as you own the home after 20 years of renting as opposed to not owning a home after 20 years of renting.
  • itinerantspectr, on 07/03/2009, -1/+2Our financial system is very strange for two significant reasons, our government grants special status to banks to create money, and the government itself, instead of taking the responsibility of regulating the money supply, actually borrows money. Think about how revolutionary the first point is. When you make a cash deposit into a bank of 10 dollars, the bank can turn around and lend out around 90 dollars simply by writing a check that is recognized by itself or another bank. Can I do this? Can you do this? There is nothing backing this freshly created currency. The banks are given special status because who else can write a fabricated amount on a piece of paper and go on to exchange this paper for something tangible like a cup of coffee or a house? The government forces each party involved to accept the validity of every step in the process. A seller of a good or service must accept the newly created currency as payment from the buyer.

    Basically, the money supply can increase to the amount that we are willing to borrow. I'm not an economist, but it would seem that flooding the market with money all of the time would raise the prices on everything constantly as people need to charge more and more for their goods just to be able to pay the interest on all of the outstanding debt. Instead of money representing the goods and services of an economy, and being created only when new overall goods or services are created, money can theoretically be created ad infinitum. And to the second point, instead of our government regulating the money supply to it's own advantage to be able to provide the services we demand while also maintaining its independence from debt, it sacrifices its authority and takes the position of borrower. Who is more in control, the one who lends the money or the one who borrows it?

    Don't get me wrong, the American economy is impressive. Our standard of living is something I don't take for granted. What bothers me, though, is that there is what seems to be one gigantic leech on the system and this is the financial industry. What they do produces nothing of tangible value, but it's leaders are granted an even higher standard of living basically because they are given the special privilege of creating money and charging interest on that money, artificicially inflating the value of actual goods and services. If you believe in a free market, their job is unnecessary. Without them pumping liquidity into the system, the prices of all goods will adjust to reflect the amount of real currency in the system, and there won't be a rich monkey on everyone's back.
  • dukeeeey, on 07/03/2009, -0/+1Money is issued as debt. Without debt there would be no money.
  • maffiou, on 07/03/2009, -1/+2That's only true in the US...

    In Europe, no credit history is a good thing...
  • MartinusV, on 07/03/2009, -0/+1Very detailed graphic. I think its spot on when describing me.
  • morepowerr, on 07/03/2009, -0/+1Wow to look at this I am way ahead of the game. To bad I live like Diogenes.
  • StBucky, on 07/04/2009, -0/+1And I'm Canadian... so you're both wrong.
  • j035u5, on 07/03/2009, -0/+1but I can have my shiney things now rather than next month right?
  • Tanktunker, on 07/03/2009, -0/+1Yeah, that still doesn't cover 4.5 trillion annually.
  • powatom, on 07/03/2009, -0/+1@WhiteHatTrick

    Except in the cases where you need to re-mortgage the house, or you die before the mortgage is paid off (it happens), or any number of possible issues which you become liable for.

    Mortgaging is good IF you have a (mostly) secure future income (e.g: you earn royalties on something) or your wage is high enough that you can pay it off in a few years. If your mortgage is going to last decades, like it would for most people, I would seriously think twice about whether it's right for you. Sure, your landlord CAN kick you out if you miss rent, but generally speaking most private landlords are far more willing to see things from your point of view and give you more time or even lower the rent for a while if you are a good tenant. You also have a 'go-to' person to get things resolved if you get cracks in your walls etc. If you mortgage, the responsibility is yours to find the person to fix it - if you rent: only if you cause the damage are you responsible.
  • danielf30, on 07/03/2009, -1/+2DAVE RAMSEY RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • taikyokuken, on 07/03/2009, -2/+288 Diggs. 8 Comments. Page cannot be found. What a joke.
  • lazyslacker, on 07/03/2009, -1/+1Oh hell yeah I can't help but ejaculate uncontrollably for any infographic.
  • cowman80i9, on 07/03/2009, -3/+2I do NOT want that...

    Seems too sterilized

    Apartment/condo + small family + non-white/blue collar job + car paid in cash = Perfection
  • Tanktunker, on 07/03/2009, -2/+1Are you serious?
    I can't tell if someone would really say something this ***** stupid.
  • computershack, on 07/03/2009, -2/+1"No clue why you were dugg down."

    Because he's a ***** idiot. The mortgage interest and auto loan interest will be a big lump of that.

    Factor in a few 30% interest store cards and you're well on the way.
  • JoshChan, on 07/03/2009, -4/+1So you think people in other continents don't go to school, don't drive, and don't buy houses? and if they do, they have all the money they want so they don't need to borrow?

    y'all ignorant americans.

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