The trends aren't friendly, warns Fiona Greig.
Philadelphia's deputy budget director under Mayor Michael Nutter, J.P. Morgan's top researcher on family finances, gig work and stimulus programs since then, Greig is the new head of investor research and policy at Vanguard's Investment Strategy Group, tracking how households spend and save as the economy strengthens and slips.
To be sure, many people really built up their reserves during COVID, as many Americans collected three government stimulus checks, paid down debt, saved a bit more in their retirement plans, and took advantage of federal small-business, student-loan and housing aid, she noted Tuesday in a phone interview. Plus a labor shortage forced hourly wages higher.
