Economics and Personal Finance Lecture Notes

Key Topics Covered

1. Employment and Government Reporting
2. Saving and Spending Habits of Americans
3. Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) Impact
4. Consequences of Poor Financial Management
5. Real Estate and Mortgage Issues
6. Personal Financial Responsibility

Employment and Government Reporting

• Initial report: 353,000 jobs in April
  • Government corrections: Numbers were inflated
• Phantom debt and multiple job holders becoming more common

Saving and Spending Habits of Americans

• During COVID-19:
  • Americans had $2.1 trillion in savings
  • Paid off debt: Government aided savings
• Since August 2021:
  • Savings depleted at a rate of $70 billion/month
  • Credit card debt rose to $1.1 trillion
  • Savings rates declined to 3.2%

Key Insights

• High spending post-COVID due to