Financial media pundits dictate sentiment, ignoring rising prices. Low-income earners cut dining out due to inflation, credit card rates soar.

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“Runaway prices at U.S. fast-food joints and restaurants have made people skittish down the income ladder and executives at chains including McDonald’s (MCD.N), opens new tab and Wendy’s (WEN.O), opens new tab recently said they worry about losing business from those on the tightest budgets.
Roughly a quarter of low-income consumers, defined as those making less than $50,000 a year, said they were eating less fast food and about half said they were making fewer trips to fast-casual and full-service dining establishments, according to polling in February by Revenue Management Solutions, a consulting firm.
The rising price of food is contributing to budget-conscious diners cutting back.”
https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/fast-food-companies-seeing-low-income-diners-pare-orders-2024-03-27/

“More than 42 million households spent more than 30% of their income on housing in 2022, the latest available data shows, making them what many call “cost-burdened.” It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Home prices and rents skyrocketed during the pandemic-fueled housing boom; the former are still setting all-time highs, while the latter have fallen slightly. Mortgage rates reached a more than two-decade high last year, but have come down too. Incomes, on the other hand, haven’t kept up. So people are making sacrifices.”
https://fortune.com/2024/04/05/how-americans-are-affording-housing/

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