Now we’re betting with house money. In the second quarter of 2009, Americans’ net worth increased by $2 trillion. Yes; the run-up in the stock market was felt by a large number of you – your stocks increased by 22% and your mutual funds by a solid 15% in the quarter. What’s not to like?
First Time Since 2007
- You’ve Made $2 Trillion! (Neil)
The increase in net worth in the second quarter marks the first time since the third quarter of 2007. Everything is coming up aces… according to CNN’s rundown, even the average value of homes increased by 2% to $18.3 trillion total.
Even your debt is down; household debt decreased 1.8% in the last quarter. Taken in conjunction with our new savings rate of 4.2% for July, and we’re talking some serious healing. Lots of that money may be going to pay down debt, so expect to see the debt numbers continue to decrease.
What’s the Catch?
I love writing optimistically, but not everything is right with the current state of affairs. Sadly, unemployment is up to 9.7%, so not everyone is sharing in the good times. Additionally, it’s important to note that even though our collective net worth is up $2 trillion, we’re still down a net 18.7% from the all time collective maximum. Also, not every debt is going down. The federal government increased its debt load by 28.2% and states increased theirs by 8.3%. Still, maybe Ben Bernanke is right when he says that the recession may be over… but 86% of the United States still disagrees. What do you think?
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