Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) for December 2024

Consumer Confidence Index® (CCI) for this month (December, 2024) was released by The Conference Board® this morning:

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Predicted: 112.0

• Actual: 104.7

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Previous Month (revised): 112.8

• Change from Previous Month: -7.18% (-8.1 points)
  

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The "predicted" figure is what economists were expecting, while the "actual" is the true or real figure.

From Today's Report:

"...'The recent rebound in consumer confidence was not sustained in December as the Index dropped back to the middle of the range that has prevailed over the past two years,' said Dana M. Peterson, Chief Economist at The Conference Board. 'While weaker consumer assessments of the present situation and expectations contributed to the decline, the expectations component saw the sharpest drop.

Consumer views of current labor market conditions continued to improve, consistent with recent jobs and unemployment data, but their assessment of business conditions weakened. Compared to last month, consumers in December were substantially less optimistic about future business conditions and incomes. Moreover, pessimism about future employment prospects returned after cautious optimism prevailed in October and November.'

Peterson added: 'Consumers became a bit less bullish about the stock market in December: 52.9% expected stock prices to increase over the year ahead, down from a record high of 57.2% in November. Also, 25% of consumers expected stock prices to decline, up from 21.7%. The share of consumers expecting higher interest rates over the next 12 months ticked up to 48.5% but remained near recent lows. The share expecting lower rates eased to 29.3% -- down from recent months but still quite high.'..."

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Every month, The Conference Board sends a questionnaire to 5,000 U.S. households. Survey participants are polled about their feelings regarding the U.S. economy, current and future, and about their own fiscal circumstances. On average, 3,500 participants complete and return the 5-question survey.

• The baseline "100" score for the CCI is associated with 1985 survey data.

When consumers feel good about the economy, they tend to do more spending, and vice versa.

Based in New York City, The Conference Board is a private, not-for-profit organization with a mission to, "create and disseminate knowledge about management and the marketplace to help businesses strengthen their performance and better serve society."

The CCI is usually released on the last Tuesday of the month.

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CHART: Consumer Confidence Index (CCI)
DECEMBER 2024 Update

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• Click here to view the full Conference Board report.

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Bad Spending Habits All Around Me...

So I am back living in the house I grew up in; a big town just outside of New York City.

The house had been empty for years...Not because it's in a bad neighborhood.

Empty because the cost of maintaining this house is too high.

Old-world construction is very strong and sturdy, but the cost of heating + cooling this place is extreme.  It's the kind of house that OK during the cool months, but feels hotter than the outdoors during the summer, and colder than outside when the weather gets frosty.

And then there is the property tax.  Extremely onerous, and it never goes away.  And if the bill goes unpaid for a long time, as it has here, a lien can happen, then a tax sale...💰😭💸😭💸

Student-loan debt is pure evil.  Many years ago, when I was really struggling, I defaulted, and "they" were able to access my bank account and take every penny I had.  It was less than $1,000, and they just took it without warning.  I wasn't able to pay my rent.  It was hell.

Losing control with credit-card debt? MUCH worse.  Did that when I was young and stupid, but eventually get my act together and paid it all down to $0.

But credit-card debt is unsecured. A bank can't take your home away from you, no matter how much credit-card debt you have.  BIG difference.

So my cousin decided to move into this house and give living here a shot.  Made sense to her, because she landed a great nursing job in NYC.  Great pay, A+ benefits and all the overtime she wants. Only problem was that she lived in Massachusetts. This house solved that.

So now my cousin has two places that she calls home, in two different states.  She commutes back and forth a lot, but the 3-hour drive goes by fast, especially on weekends.

My mother (RIP) spent lots of money on repairs and renovation.  Other members of my extended family pitched-in too.  While empty, thieves and/or squatters did bad things.

There are young children here, but the house is big, and the walls are thick.  Noise is contained, and the kids have plenty of room play, without disturbing anyone. The situation here is cool and calm and drama-free, which is very, VERY important to me. After all I've been through over the past 22 years, I have no tolerance for ugly behavior of any kind. ZERO TOLERANCE!

There is, however, a nagging concern here: my cousin and her husband are both shopaholic-spendaholics.  There is more footwear dumped all around this house than I have EVER seen in any home.  There must be at least 300 pairs of shoes...In every corner, and every room.  Moreover, there are more daily deliveries from Amazon than I used to see in the retail outlet I managed years ago.  Stacks of boxes, all shapes and sizes, and from all over the world, waiting outside, every day. Crazy....😱📦🥴📦😱📦😵‍💫📦😱

The mother of my child was REALLY GOOD at wasting money, and doing so in the most despicable way. Tantamount to just flushing it down the toilet.  So yeah: these things bother me...😑😒😐🫤

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Transunion and Equifax Credit Score Update - May 29, 2020

Transunion and Equifax Credit Score Update - May 29, 2020

I'll be doing a lot of traveling soon, and I was feeling quite insecure about my Dell laptop.  Still works, but the hard drive started to get noisy -- a strong signal of impending drive failure -- and it does this sputtering lockup thing often enough to be totally annoying. So I decided to buy a new one.

I bought another Dell for a bit over $800.  I put the purchase on my favorite rewards credit card, which has the highest credit limit in my card arsenal ($30K), with plans to pay it down to zero within two or three months.

Credit scores still looking OK.  Stay tuned.

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New Dell Laptop with Sony Wireless Headphones

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What Will I Do With My Tax Refund Check?

So Bush is giving something back...

Approximately 1% of the Gross National Product will be distributed to middle America as an economic "shot in the arm." Refund checks for everyone; yipee! Although I know that this 'free money' won't actually make it to my doorstep until much later this year, I am already thinking about what my husband and I are going to do with it.

The responsible thing to do would be to pay down our debt with the money; we wouldn't miss it because it would not be coming out of our regular income. How simple is that? I know that most people will probably hit the malls and the car lots, which is what the government is hoping for - a jolt in consumer spending. Many will even convince themselves that they do so well paying their bills all year long that they deserve to splurge.

Maybe that's true; but is it wise?

I hope that my husband and I maintain the discipline we need to go ahead and invest that money in our freedom. It might make me feel free to go to the mall and spend $1600 on various wants and needs, but once I get home and see that unwaivering mountain of bills, the feeling will fade. Paying down or paying off a debt that we owe will be a step toward a freedom that lasts.

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