The Official Numbers Say Americans Are Struggling. But I See Prosperity Everywhere. What's Real?

Speaker A00:00:37

You open up the news, recession warnings, debt crises, Americans living paycheck to paycheck. And then you look around and the restaurants are packed, that luxury mall lot is full and everybody seems to be doing fine.And you think to yourself, wait a minute, the data and the reality don't match. One of them's got to be lying. But here's the thing. They're both telling the truth, just not the whole truth.And the gap between them is exactly where your financial decisions should start. So stick around. We're going to get into that on today's show. Hello and welcome to Financially Confident Christian. I'm Ralph Estep Jr.I just want to thank you for joining me today. Today we're digging right into the news and we're going to talk about that confusing gap between what the official numbers say.Hey, we're reading it all the and what you actually see going in the world around you. We got a listener question.The data says Americans are struggling, but everywhere this listener looks, its restaurants are packed, people have new cars, they're going on vacations and they can't reconcile the two. And I get it. It's real confusion as seeing conflicting signals and not knowing which story is true.Now if you've got a question for this show, listen, this show is all about answering your questions. And I'd love to do that. You can send me your question by going to financiallyconfidentchristian.com/questionWe'll put a link in the show notes, but again, that's financiallyconfidentchristian.com/question Now let's get right to today's listener question.And the subject line on this one said the official numbers say Americans are struggling, but I see prosperity everywhere. What's real? And here's what they wrote. Hi Ralph. This has been bugging me for years.I just can't reconcile what I'm seeing in the world with what the data says. Every article and government report says Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, buried in debt, unable to afford homes.But when I look around, the reality seems like the opposite. People are traveling constantly. Restaurants are packed, parking lots at those luxury malls are full.Everyone is in new cars, freshly renovated houses with endless subscriptions. People drop hundreds on things that would have been splurges five years ago. Everyday folks talk casually about spending wild sums.And Ralph, online, it's the same posts make it seem like everyone's investing successfully at age 24. They're upgrading and they're feeling great about their finances.Now, I'm not saying the numbers are fake, but they don't end up with what I see and hear every single day. Has anyone else noticed this gap between the reported economy and and the lived economy? What could explain it? Thank you.So here's a big idea for today. You ready for this one? Both things are true. Some Americans are struggling and I feel for those people, but at the same time, some are thriving.But the bigger issue and the thing that we really need to focus in on today is that gap between them is getting bigger than it's ever been. And you're looking around and you're saying, ralph, this doesn't make sense. They say everybody's living paycheck to paycheck.Well, you're seeing this skewed version of reality because of who you encounter and what you pay attention to.And once you see the why, and that's what we're going to dig in today, Once you see the why, you can stop letting go of that skewed picture and make decisions for yourself. Well, really, we got to start with this. There's a huge thing called a visibility bias behind what you're noticing.You see people traveling, you see people dining out, you see people shopping. What you don't see is the people working two jobs just to pay rent. We had a call the other day, a listener question the other day.They're doing exactly that. You see those new cars in the parking lot, but you don't see that 15 year old paid off car being driven quietly past you.People who are struggling tend to be invisible. That's the truth about today. The people who are really struggling, you're not going to see them. Guess what? They're not at the mall.They're not posting. They're working two and three jobs. People spending visibly are by definition visible because their prosperity is loud. Listen to this statistic.The top 10% of Americans control about 70% of the wealth. Again, the top 10%, this isn't America, control 70% of the wealth.That's a relatively small number of people shaping what you see around you every day. Those are the people that are at their luxury restaurants. Those are the people with the new cars living in those premium neighborhoods.But it's concentrated among higher earners. But here's the other frightening statistic. The bottom 50% controls about 2 to 3% of wealth.So half of the people are controlling 2 or 3% of the wealth. And that gaps been growing for decades. So as you look around, what you see passing by you isn't the whole picture. It is even most of it.But let's talk about what debt can hide because both hold truths at once. Consumer debt in America is at an all time high. Credit Cards buy now, pay here later. We've talked about that on the show.Personal loans, they're at all time highs. And so as you see people around you, people can look prosperous while they are deeply in debt. The appearance and the reality aren't the same thing.See someone driving a new car or living in that renovated house, they might be one emergency away from crisis. In fact, what I have seen, a lot of those people are just one emergency away from crisis. They are living to the extreme.And of course we live in this social media place. Social media shows the vacation. What it doesn't show you is that credit card statement that came after that.It doesn't show you where they're trying to struggle to pay that. But both things are true at once. Millions of Americans really are struggling. And the prosperity you're seeing around you is also real.The gap isn't a sign of one set of numbers is lying. You said that in your question. Is somebody lying? What it is a sign of is that there is inequality and that inequality is real.The economy isn't just one story. It's millions of different stories happening at once. But what's the takeaway from this? What do you learn from this?You can't let other people's spending set your budget because that's the step where this actually gets dangerous. When the prosperity around you starts to look normal, when you start to embrace this, well, this is what everybody does, Ralph.It becomes the baseline for how you think you should live. And I've fallen into this trap. And you start spending like that's normal. That new car, that renovation, the subscriptions, the travel.But you might not be in that top 10% of income earners. You might be in that big bottom 50. You might be trying to live a consumption level that was built for someone else's income.And that hurts you and it hurts your people. And the fact that someone else is doing something doesn't make it wise for you. My grandfather used to say that all the time.He said, look around what people are doing. That doesn't mean it's good for you.You got to know your own numbers and you got to make decisions based on your situation, not what you saw at the mall. I just want to reinforce this. Everyone else's spending is not a budget template for you to use.But I want to get into a little bit more of the faith question here because you said something in your Question. You said the prosperity you see looks like the opposite of what the data says. And that's a real thing you're noticing.And it's tempting to embrace that. But here's what faith doesn't promise us. Faith doesn't promise us that following what everyone else is doing will work out for you.It doesn't promise us that visible success is actually real success. But here's what faith does promise us. You've been given wisdom to steward what you actually have, not comparing yourself to other people.You've been given wisdom to know your own numbers and to make your own decisions. Now, this one's going to be a little bit of a stretch, but I want to go to Proverbs 14:12.And it says there is a way that appears to be right, but in the end, it leads to death. Now, what we're talking about here is not death, but think about the other part of that.The way that appears to be right is the way everyone else around you seems to be living. It looks successful, it feels normal, but the way that's actually right requires you to know your own numbers, make your own decisions.As I've said on this show many times, run your own race, not to be swayed by what you see around you. Now, that's not popular, it's not flashy, and it's not visible, but it's what keeps you free when others are trapped.And trust me, a lot of what you see around you are people living entrapped lives. And I just want to encourage you because you're asking the right question instead of just copying what everybody else is doing.Most people never stop to ask if it actually fits their own situation. And that instinct that you had to question, it actually the start of wisdom. So here's your win for today.I want you to write down one spending pattern that you've been influenced by that doesn't match your actual situation. And trust me, we all can find these. Maybe it's a restaurant dining. Maybe it's travel frequency or it's that upgrade you've been expecting to make.And I just wanted you to write one thing down, but I want you to write it down for a different reason. I want you to be honest about whether you're doing it because it's right for you or because it looks normal.Now, I'm not telling you to cut anything today. I just want you to name the real reason behind it. Because you can't change a pattern you haven't named. And today you name it.Which takes us to today's bible verse Proverbs 14:12. And this is from the new Living translation. This New Living translation is kind of interesting. I like some of the wording it uses.But again, Proverbs 14:12 it says there is a path before each person that seems right, but in the end it's death. The way that appears right is the way everyone around you seems to be living and it looks successful.You see the highlight film and you think it's that way because so many people are doing it. But friend, it can lead you somewhere you don't actually want to go.The way that actually requires stepping back from what's visible and looking at what's true. Understanding your numbers, understanding your situation and understanding your capacity. That's not what's visible at the mall.That's what's actually true in your life. How about we pray together?Heavenly Father, I bring before you someone who's watching the world around them and trying to make sense of conflicting signals. And man, there are so many, Lord, and they're not sure which story to trust.So today I just ask that you would give them wisdom to see clearly, Lord, to know the difference between what looks right and what actually is right for them. Protect us from that temptation to spend.Protect them from that temptation as well, Lord, based on what everyone else is doing and help them to trust their own numbers instead of being swayed by the prosperity they see around them. And Lord, when they feel pressure to keep up, remind them they're not in a race. They're building something that lasts.And I ask this in Jesus name, Amen, friend. I just want to commend you. You notice something today that's real and most people don't even see the gap you're describing.And the very fact that you're asking questions instead of just copying others means you're already thinking differently about your choices. So here's your takeaway for today. Remember, you're seeing a filtered vision of reality.It's shaped by location and social media and who you happen to encounter. And like I said, wealth inequality means that top earners are spending shape what you see every day.But people are living in debt, fuel consumption, and it looks different than what it is. Most struggle and prosperity are real in America right now and they're doing it at the same time.So in the end, don't let other people's spending patterns become your budget template. You don't need to follow everybody else.Now maybe right now you're struggling with something with your finances and you really need somebody to talk to. I'd love to hear your voice.You can send me a voicemail by recording at financiallyconfidentchristian.com/voicemail we'll put a link to that in the show notes. You just click the link and click record again. That's financiallyconfidentChristian.com/voicemail thank you so much for joining me today.Thank you for a great question. This inequality stuff really gets my juices flowing. I want to encourage you to stay financially savvy.May God bless you and you have a truly great day. We.