☕ DrinkCoffeeAndProfit
Smart money moves before breakfast
Inspiration Quote for the Day
“Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like.”
— Will Rogers
The Morning Ritual
Your Car Payment Is Now Bigger Than Your Student Loans

My buddy called me Tuesday. He just signed a loan on a new truck. `$52,000`. His monthly payment: `$1,040`.

I asked him what his mortgage payment was. He paused. “About the same.”

He is not an outlier. He is the new normal. And the numbers that dropped this week prove it.
In One Sip
• Americans now owe `$1.68` trillion in auto debt. That is the highest level ever recorded, per a Century Foundation report released this week.
• `86` million people carry a car loan. That is `28%` of all consumers. The average monthly payment: `$680`. Up `38%` since 2018.
• `1` in `5` new car buyers now pays `$1,000` or more per month, per Edmunds. A year ago it was `1` in `6`.
• The average new car costs `$49,275`. In 2017, automakers built `36` models priced under `$25,000`. Today: `4`. Per Kelley Blue Book.
• Auto debt is now larger than all credit card debt in America. `$1.68` trillion vs `$1.28` trillion. Nobody is talking about that.
Why It Matters for Your Money

If you have a car loan right now, you already feel this. But the dollar math is worse than you think.

The average new auto loan is `$33,519`. That is `$10,000` higher than it was in 2018. Your monthly payment jumped from `$506` to `$680`. That extra `$174` a month is `$2,088` a year.

Think about what `$2,088` does somewhere else. That is a full year of maxing out a Roth IRA catch-up contribution if you are over `50`. Gone. Parked in a depreciating asset instead.

Now here is the part most people miss. If your credit score is below `580`, you are not paying `6.9%`. You are paying over `18%`. On a `$30,000` loan, that is `$14,000` in interest alone over the life of the loan, per the Century Foundation. Almost half the car’s price, just in interest.

And gas is `$4.53` a gallon. You saw the sign on your way to work this week. The car costs more to buy, more to finance, and more to fill. All three at once. My buddy does not know this yet. He will when his first statement arrives.
Partner Message
What “Mini-Buffett” Is Buying Today

A friend of Warren Buffett’s who’s been called a “mini-Buffett” by the financial press owns more than `$100` million worth of a unique asset.

And his latest financial disclosures reveal he’s buying more.

It’s not a tech stock. It has nothing to do with AI or energy.

Over a long time frame spanning just shy of `20` years, this asset has beaten the NASDAQ by `269%` and crushed the S&P `500` by `542%`.

The Buffett Indicator has a perfect track record in signaling strong rallies in this asset.

The first time before the “dot-com” crash in `2000`. Then again before the Global Financial Crisis in `2008`. And again before the COVID Crash in `2020`.

All three times, investors had an opportunity to reap big gains.

Yet today, the Buffett Indicator is sending its strongest signal yet.

We may be in the beginning stages of the biggest bull run this asset has ever seen.

What is this extraordinary asset?

Click here to discover all the details…

Good Investing,

Porter Stansberry

P.S. A scheduled public announcement expected soon could cause the price of this asset to soar. That’s why I recommend you make an informed decision today. Click here for the full story…
The Wealth Angle

Here is what nobody in the headlines mentioned.

Low-income borrowers pay more per month than high-income borrowers. Not less. More. The average payment for the lowest-income group: `$738`. That is `$58` more than the national average.

Read that again. The people who can least afford it are paying the most.

The Century Foundation found something else. Borrowers carrying auto loans see faster credit card balance growth regardless of income. The car payment cascades. You stretch for the truck. Then you put groceries on the card. Then the card balance climbs. Then the rate on the card climbs too.

I think this is the most underreported financial pressure in America right now. Everyone talks about housing costs. Nobody talks about the `$680` leaving your checking account for a car that lost `20%` of its value the day you drove it home.

Meanwhile, `43%` of new cars are now bought by households earning over `$150,000`. The middle is getting priced out. That is a market splitting in two.
☕ Key Insight:
Auto debt just passed credit card debt: `$1.68` trillion vs `$1.28` trillion. Your car payment is now the largest non-mortgage monthly obligation in America.
Coffee Break Move

Pull up your most recent auto loan statement right now. Look at three numbers: your remaining balance, your interest rate, and your monthly payment.

If your rate is above `7%` and your credit score has improved since you signed, call your lender today and ask about refinancing. A `2`-point rate drop on a `$30,000` balance saves you roughly `$55` a month. That is `$660` a year back in your pocket.

If you do not have a car loan but are thinking about buying: run the `20/4/10` test before you walk into the dealership. `20%` down. `4`-year loan max. Payment no more than `10%` of your gross monthly income. If the car you want does not pass all three, you cannot afford it. Find a different car.

My buddy is excited about his new truck. I am looking at the math on his loan. One of us will feel differently about it in three years.

I know which one.

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