Retire Ready with Nicholas Wealth 09-19-26

We're going to talk a little bit about debt.

I don't think we've talked much about debt, have we? No.

Not from what I can remember, but it's certainly a topic that I think many people are feeling nowadays with interest rates up and debt being a lot more expensive than it's been in recent history.

Yeah, and certainly we're going to get into the country debt of over $40 trillion as well.

But here's a shocking fact for you.

The typical American worker has just, on average, $955 saved for retirement.

Not $955,000, $955.

So when researchers ask people what's standing in the way, it wasn't the market, it wasn't health care costs, it wasn't inflation, it was debt.

So this is a big number, Aaron.

77% of Americans say debt is preventing them from saving for retirement.

What does that tell you?

You know, there's a lot of things that go into how much people can save, how much people have saved.

And I would say debt being a big one.

There are just so many different ways that institution will lend money nowadays.

You know, obviously, you have your bigger debts out there.

You know, most people, when they get ready to buy a home, they're going to finance it with a mortgage.

That's going to be a big monthly expense that most people find it's a home for 30 years now.

You've got credit card debt, of course, which a lot of credit companies try to incentivize you with points and reward systems.

And some of those reward systems seem pretty enticing.

But what a lot of people aren't aware of is there's been many studies on this.

You will actually spend more when you swipe a credit card versus if you try to pay for something with a debit card or with cash.

And I know some of our listeners may still be using a lot of cash today, but many people don't use cash at all anymore.

But it's still true that if you actually see the money leaving your bank account every time you swipe a card versus just accumulating a balance on a credit card, you'll actually end up spending a lot less than you realize.

But there are even things like paychecks.

payday loans nowadays, where companies will actually let you finance your wages before you actually get your check to come in.

We're going to talk a little bit about debt.

I don't think we've talked much about debt, have we? No.

Not from what I can remember, but it's certainly a topic that I think many people are feeling nowadays with interest rates up and debt being a lot more expensive than it's been in recent history.

Yeah, and certainly we're going to get into the country debt of over $40 trillion as well.

But here's a shocking fact for you.

The typical American worker has just, on average, $955 saved for retirement.

Not $955,000, $955.

So when researchers ask people what's standing in the way, it wasn't the market, it wasn't health care costs, it wasn't inflation, it was debt.

So this is a big number, Aaron.

77% of Americans say debt is preventing them from saving for retirement.

What does that tell you?

You know, there's a lot of things that go into how much people can save, how much people have saved.

And I would say debt being a big one.

There are just so many different ways that institution will lend money nowadays.

You know, obviously, you have your bigger debts out there.

You know, most people, when they get ready to buy a home, they're going to finance it with a mortgage.

That's going to be a big monthly expense that most people find it's a home for 30 years now.

You've got credit card debt, of course, which a lot of credit companies try to incentivize you with points and reward systems.

And some of those reward systems seem pretty enticing.

But what a lot of people aren't aware of is there's been many studies on this.

You will actually spend more when you swipe a credit card versus if you try to pay for something with a debit card or with cash.

And I know some of our listeners may still be using a lot of cash today, but many people don't use cash at all anymore.

But it's still true that if you actually see the money leaving your bank account every time you swipe a card versus just accumulating a balance on a credit card, you'll actually end up spending a lot less than you realize.

But there are even things like paychecks.

payday loans nowadays, where companies will actually let you finance your wages before you actually get your check to come in.