The United States now owes more than $40 trillion, and nobody in Washington, D.C. has asked for your input on the repayment plan.
They may get around to asking eventually. It'll arrive as a tax form.
I'm not writing this to frighten anyone. I'm writing it because the clients I've worked with for 27 years in Snohomish and King Counties do better with full awareness than with surprises. This is the first post in a series. I'll follow up as real information arrives, and I'll skip the rumors.
What We Know and What We're Guessing
Two things are on the record. Treasury data shows the national debt passed $40 trillion in August, and interest on that debt now costs more than national defense. And the 2026 Social Security Trustees Report projects the retirement trust fund can pay full benefits until late 2032. After that, unless Congress acts, incoming revenue would cover about 78% of scheduled benefits. The checks wouldn't stop. They'd shrink.
Everything else is a guess. Future administrations could raise taxes, trim benefits, cut spending, let inflation do the quiet work, or combine all four in proportions nobody can predict. Both parties helped run up this tab, and neither has published the bill.
Here's the surprising part: you don't need to know which one happens.
Score One Decision Against Three Futures
In my last post I wrote about the trade study, the method engineers use to compare options against weighted criteria. We used it to compare three homes. Now turn it sideways. Take one housing decision, whether that's staying put, moving up, or simplifying, and score it against three futures.
In the first, things carry on roughly as they are. In the second, your tax bill rises. In the third, retirement income arrives about 20% lighter than you planned.
A decision that only works in the first future is a bet. A decision that holds up in all three is a plan.
How Your Decision Style Handles Uncertainty
How you run that exercise depends on how you're wired, and every style brings something useful. If you're Analytical, you'll rerun the monthly payment as a share of income under each future, and you'll feel better the moment the spreadsheet exists. If you're Balanced, you'll ask which parts of daily life matter enough to protect when the budget tightens: the commute, the garden, the room for grandkids. If you're Cautious, you'll look at reserves first, and you're right to, because cash on hand is what turns a policy change from a crisis into an inconvenience. If you're Strategic, you'll see home equity as a major asset you manage yourself, and a fixed-rate mortgage as a principal and interest payment that doesn't change with the headlines. And if you're guided by Timeline, you'll notice that 2032 is a date on a calendar, which means there's time to decide on purpose instead of reacting later.
A Modicum of Control Is Still Control
None of this replaces your CPA or financial planner. Tax strategy and when to claim Social Security are their territory, and I'd bring them into the conversation early. My part is the housing decision: what your home is worth, what it costs to keep, and what your options look like under each future.
You can't vote on the Treasury's balance sheet. You can put your own in order, with margin in the payment, reserves in the bank, and a decision you made with your eyes open. That isn't fear. It's good housekeeping on a slightly larger scale.
I'll keep tracking this and writing as the picture sharpens.
Run your own three futures with my ABCST trade-study worksheet.
Every major life transition involves different emotional, financial and decision-making styles. If you'd like deeper clarity around how you naturally make important decisions, I'd invite you to take the two-minute ABCST Decision-Making Assessment for Sellers. I personally review every response and provide thoughtful guidance tailored to you. I also have custom assessments for buyers, downsizers, and investors, and I'm happy to send one on request.
If you're ready to talk through your next step, I'd be glad to connect. Schedule a consultation with me directly with no pressure, just a real conversation. What's your biggest concern today that I can help you with?
I share this because better decisions build better lives.
Sage Sanders, Managing Broker
Coldwell Banker Danforth | Sage LifeWorks
[email protected]
Text: 425-333-1315 | Call: 206-478-7333
sagesanders.com
Check out this article next
