A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
There's a lot of financial uncertainty this holiday season. Tariffs, inflation and layoffs are - affect really what people can afford to spend and how they feel about spending it. As part of NPR's Cost of Living series, we're going to talk about shopping for the holidays with Jeanine Skowronski. She's a personal finance journalist and the founder of the newsletter Money As If. Jeanine, so what have you been hearing from folks about their financial concerns? Is it tariffs, inflation? Anything else, maybe, that is making them worried?
JEANINE SKOWRONSKI: Yeah. I mean, it's all of the above. I think we all know, heading into this holiday season, the vibes are just very different than they have been in years past. And you've either been through a layoff, you're worried about a layoff, you know someone who's been through a layoff or worried about a layoff. And there's just a lot of job and economic insecurity, and we're seeing that - right? - show up in data now. So this week, we learned that the Consumer Confidence Index is down to its lowest point since April. There's lots of surveys that speak to financial stress or economic insecurity, and it's all kind of pointing to a bit of a lean year.
MARTÍNEZ: So we're about to head into a part of the year, Jeanine, where we're going to get bombarded with messages about buying stuff, buying stuff, as much stuff as you can buy. So if someone is feeling anxious right now, how should they approach the holiday shopping season?
SKOWRONSKI: Yeah. I - a couple things. I mean, I think if you have money to buy gifts and you want to buy gifts, like, by all means, buy gifts. But if you don't, don't. If there ever was a year to say to someone, hey, I'm feeling financial stress. I need to save for 2026. Let's skip gifts this year - like, this is it, right? And so if you tell someone that, you give them a heads-up and they have a problem with that, that's a them problem, not a you problem. And I think that that's, like, a good first step if you really feel like you've got to trim that list and not buy gifts for certain people.
MARTÍNEZ: But here's the thing. How do you get over the guilt of spending? Even if you have - say you've saved up all year and you do have the ability to buy some stuff, how do you get over the guilt sometimes? Because that's one of the things I struggle with a lot.
SKOWRONSKI: Yeah. I mean, I think it's kind of understanding the emotions that you have going into a purchase. And then also a big thing that I've been telling people this year is, at least know how much you can't spend, right? I'm not a big fan of budgets. I think when you try to get all those columns to line up, like, that's its own stressor. But if you sit down, you go through your last couple months of bank statements - you said before inflation is really high. There's a good chance your car insurance went up. There's a good chance you're paying more for streaming. You're probably paying more for groceries. You kind of need to go in and log those amounts for your nondiscretionary spend and take a look and say, OK. I've got $6,000 coming in. Five thousand dollars are going to my bills. I have $1,000 to spend comfortably. If I spend over that, I'm going to be stressed. And knowing that number can make a big difference when you're buying in what you buy and how you feel about what you're purchasing.
MARTÍNEZ: Is there any good way to address kind of the sensitive nature of money in many families, especially during this time of year? I mean, is it best to just be flat-out out front and say, look, temper expectations here - we might be setting limits? Is...
SKOWRONSKI: Yes.
MARTÍNEZ: 'Cause that doesn't sound very festive.
SKOWRONSKI: Yeah. It doesn't, but I think managing expectations is huge. I think people are really understanding. I mean, I've even done it in other years, where we're just like, hey, you know, we don't want to buy gifts this year. We - you know, we just don't want to put each other kind of through not even the financial stress, but there's the stress of even having to get all this stuff. And I think even with kids, too, you can have a conversation. You can remember that what they like is the pomp and the circumstance, right? It's not necessarily what's in the gift. It's the gift themselves. They want to play with the wrapping paper. They want to play with the bow. They want to open it. And so just kind of remembering you can still have a really good holiday without having to buy 17 of the most expensive things that the store is pitching you, I think, can go a very long way.
MARTÍNEZ: And once - really quick, just a few seconds. Once we get past all the, you know, holiday shopping and the new year begins, does the guilt go away? Does it - does the reset button begin when - with the new year?
SKOWRONSKI: I just always go back to, like, my best practices, right? So even if I feel like I overspend, I remind myself that I can reset. And I can approach, you know, money in the ways that I've approached in the past, where it works and I'm saving. So if that means I'm, you know, using the sales link to buy clothes or if it means that I'm waiting a...
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
SKOWRONSKI: ...Couple of days before I make a purchase, like, you can go back and lean on those things before the holidays, after the holidays to get...
MARTÍNEZ: OK.
SKOWRONSKI: ...Yourself back into a better financial place.
MARTÍNEZ: Jeanine Skowronski writes the newsletter Money As If. Jeanine, thanks a lot.
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