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Monday, August 24, 2026Vol. II · No. 24 · Omaha, Nebraska
MoneyHole

Shoveling You Deeper Into Financial Wisdom

Omaha, Nebraska

MARKETS
HOPE-4.2%RENT+11.8%WAGEunch.VIBES+212.5%DOOM+3.7%ROCK+9.1%BEANS-0.03%EGGS+14.6%DEBT+6.9% · recordDGNTY-18.0%SLEEP-2.4%PTO-100.0% · expiredRSUHALTED · pending vestPLSMA+2.2% · twice weeklyPNTS+1,400 ptsLATTE$7.25HSTL+45.0%STRTRno bidTMSHRlimit downIRA-0.9%SSA255$255 · unch. since 1954BOOMR+52.0%GENZdelistedCOPE+18.4%LUCKunch.FICO-41 ptsEQTY+0.0% · theoreticalDDCTBL+$3,400TIPS+22.0% · prompted at kioskTIME-24 hrsMOMLNrestructuredBRNCH$61.00LOYAL-0.4%PENSNno longer quotedSILVR+1.1% · still not gold

The National FabricI · Mobility Failure Modes

I3I

Gutterpunk Seasonal Migration

The train-hopping crust economy: dogs, denim, patches, and a cash-only moral universe.

Reference marketFirst identified in Portland, Oregon (ZIP area 97266).

Also found inSacramento, California; Seattle, Washington; Eugene, Oregon; Santa Rosa, California.

Opting out, except from other people's couches.

Portrait

In their own words

  • Age27
  • Income$11K
  • Net worth$300
  • Education22%
  • Homen/a
  • Ownership0%
  • HouseholdChosen family, canine-heavy
  • VehicleFreight rail, borrowed van
  • DebtNone; institutions cannot find them
Vice
Cheap beer and road dogs
Most likely to
Know every all-ages basement venue in six states
Signals
DIY shows, thrift stores, communal cigarettes

Who they are

The economy here runs on freight schedules, spare change, and a moral framework that despises money it cannot acquire. He's twenty-seven, travels with a pit-mix named after a dead anarchist, and wears denim so patched it qualifies as a load-bearing structure. Eleven grand a year, mostly busking and the kindness of people with leases. He'll lecture you about capitalism while panhandling outside a Whole Foods, cash only, no notes, and considers a shower a compromise with the state. The dog eats better than he does. It's a genuine opt-out from the system, except for the showers, couches, ERs, and spare change the system keeps providing.

Our neighborhood

No fixed address by design: freight yards, squats, the all-ages basement venue, a friend-of-a-friend's porch in whatever city the rail dumped him. He can name every DIY show space across six states and not a single landlord. Home is a borrowed van and a tarp, philosophically defended, structurally damp.

Shopping

Dog food first, then patches, then whatever the dumpster behind a co-op produced. The denim is patched to the point of being a load-bearing structure and the tarp is philosophically defended and structurally damp. Cash only, no notes, no card he would consent to carry.

Spending

Eleven grand a year from busking and the generosity of people with leases. He'll lecture you about capitalism while panhandling outside a Whole Foods, which is a supply-chain observation whether or not he means it as one. The dog eats better than he does, the only budget line executed with discipline.

Media

Word of mouth, a flyer stapled to a pole, and a phone at four percent charged in a public library. Zines and a Facebook group for show listings. News arrives three weeks late and gets treated as gossip, which is often correct.

Interests

Freight schedules, all-ages basement venues, and a pit-mix named after a dead anarchist. He can name every DIY space across six states and not one landlord. A genuine opt-out from the system, excluding the showers, couches, ERs, and spare change the system keeps supplying.

Where they live

Darker is more of them.

I3 · GUTTERPUNK SEASONAL MIGRATION

ZIP CODES

—

How thick on the ground

$76K

Median household income

1.05× the national median

$490K

Typical home value

1.84× the national median

6.2×

Home value against income

1.65× the national median

34%

Bachelor's degree or higher

1.47× the national median

49%

Owner-occupied

Share of occupied units

$1,953

Median gross rent

Monthly, contract plus utilities

2.48

Average household size

Persons per occupied unit

37.5

Median age

Years

How they compare

Against the average American household.

  • Median household income

    1.05×

    $76K here$72K everywhere else

  • Typical home value

    1.84×

    $490K here$267K everywhere else

  • Bachelor's degree or higher

    1.47×

    34.1% here23.2% everywhere else

  • Home value against household income

    1.65×

    6.20× here3.76× everywhere else

Who lives next door

Household types that turn up on the same blocks.

The receipts

No.SignalAgainst the countryReading
  1. 01Renter-occupied90th50.8%
  2. 02Households with no vehicle88th12.6%
  3. 03Households with a vehicle12th87.4%
  4. 04People per square kilometre93rd2,658 /sq mi
  5. 05Residents 25 to 3485th16.8%
  6. 06Walks or bikes to work78th3.9%
  7. 07Commutes by transit91st6.7%
  8. 08Never-married adults85th41.6%
  9. 09Enrolled in college80th6.7%
  10. 10Residents 65 and over28th15.3%

SourcesFigures from the U.S. Census Bureau. Everything else is observation.