Finance Reality Check

Drop number + state. "Middle class" is fiction unless we define it. 👇

🚨The student loan total is now $1.8 trillion.

Higher than credit card debt. Higher than auto debt. About the GDP of Australia.

The deal was: pay $40K for a degree, out-earn it 10x.

Here's what actually happened:

- Median grad debt: $37,000
- 4 in 10 borrowers in default or forbearance
- 22% of grads earn less than HS-only peers by age 30
- Interest compounds for life if you defer

The "investment" was the lender's. Not yours.

It needs "just a little work". The "little work" is $80K. The down payment was already $85K.

Most people don't realize their "good salary" lost to inflation. Here's how:

1. $50K in 2000 = $93K today
2. $75K in 2010 = $112K today
3. $100K in 2015 = $134K today

Your raise wasn't a raise. It was math catching up.

Average daycare costs more than in-state college tuition. They want kids. They made kids economically impossible.

Boomers retired at 62 with pensions.

Gen X retires at 67 with 401(k)s.

Millennials retire at 75 with hope.

Drop the % below. The 30% rule died 5 years ago. 👇

Would you accept $2,000/week for life if it meant you could never earn another dollar from work?

They keep saying things are getting better. Then your grocery bill says otherwise.