It’s not every day we share a post from a big bank but this one is useful in that it helps me understand why we it seems Americans are able to continue to spend despite higher prices. Despite all the talk of recession and a slowdown (and the Fed doing its best to urge it along), people seem fine.
But that’s because we are spending down more of our savings… which can spell more acute pain later. 🙁
Eating the Seed Corn: How Long Can Consumers Rely on Savings? [Wells Fargo] – “Consumers have yet to lose their staying power, and our analysis of household finances suggests consumers still have the ability to rely on their balance sheets for some time yet. The catch: The more consumers rely on their balance sheets to spend today, the larger deterioration we’ll see in overall household finances and the worse the eventual economic downturn may be.”
We love our gas stove and so I was saddened to read about all the studies on gas stoves and indoor air quality. The prognosis isn’t great, considering you are burning stuff, but the solution isn’t bad. Fortunately, we use our range hood all the time (we went from probably 75% of the time to now 100%). Just a heads up if you didn’t know.
Your Brain on Gas Stoves [Slate] – “They release a slew of pollutants that aren’t great for kids—but there’s a simple way to improve the situation.”
In a shock to no one, stressful jobs increase depression risk. 🙁
In stressful jobs, depression risk rises with hours worked, study in new doctors finds [Sciency Daily] – “The more hours someone works each week in a stressful job, the more their risk of depression rises, a study in new doctors finds. Working 90 or more hours a week was associated with changes in depression symptom scores three times larger than the change in depression symptoms among those working 40 to 45 hours a week. A higher percentage of those who worked a large number of hours had scores high enough to qualify for a diagnosis of moderate to severe depression.”
OK, I can’t leave you all doomy and gloomy… ever curious about The Economics of Pumpkin Patches?