Why the Economy Hasn’t Collapsed Yet & What the Data Actually Says

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Tariffs, wars overseas, painful gas prices, and consumer expectations at an all-time low have a lot of people bracing for the worst, and yet the U.S. economy still hasn’t crashed. Vivian breaks down why things haven’t broken yet, what the scary headlines get wrong about recessions, and exactly what to do with your money before the next downturn hits, because eventually, it always does. In this episode, Vivian covers:
1. Why we haven’t crashed (yet): The difference between a recession and a crash, why the economy is cyclical by design, the data behind everyone’s nerves, and how a low-firing, low-hiring job market, a decade of cheap debt, AI investment, and big-spending wealthy households are keeping things afloat.
2. Your recession playbook: Why you shouldn’t pull your investments when the market dips, how big your emergency fund should be right now, which debt to pay down first, the index funds Vivian actually buys, and which industries tend to hold up best when the economy slows down.
3. Your questions, answered: How recessions actually end, whether to buy a home or what happens to your rent in a downturn, if your friend with all cash is suddenly richer than you, where stimulus money comes from, whether it’s a bad time to start investing, and the odds that all your money just disappears.
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