In addition to rising prices and tariffs, readers cite growing unemployment as a reason not to exchange gifts this year

In addition to rising prices and tariffs, readers cite growing unemployment as a reason not to exchange gifts this year

Americans are feeling rattled about the state of the economy. Donald Trump has batted away question after question from reporters on concerns over higher prices, just a year after he won an election promising to bring down costs.

While the White House has tried to reduce concern, floating tariff-funded $2,000 stimulus checks and removing import levies on certain agricultural imports, many consumers remain anxious.

Preparing for the holiday season, and bracing for the spending it often demands, Guardian readers across the US expressed apprehension – and explained how they plan to spend – in this economy. Many said the higher cost of necessities, like groceries, was imposing on their ability to buy gifts for family and friends.

  • InvalidName2@lemmy.zip
    1·
    1 hour ago

    Being unemployed is very high the list of why I cut back, and my unemployment is directly caused by the Trump administration. Nearly everybody I know that is fully employed, across all kinds of different careers and industries, has had cutbacks/layoffs at work with threat of more to come, so they’re all very cautious about spending in general (not just holidays). Even self-employed folks in what are typically solid trades seem to be struggling more than I would have expected.

    Personally, I’ve decided I’m not traveling to see family this year and I’m not buying any gifts, aside from a few toys for younger relatives. Since I don’t know how much longer I’ll be unemployed or if I’ll be able to find something with comparable pay and benefits to what I had, it doesn’t make sense to spend on gas, vehicle maintenance, stamps, etc for the foreseeable future.

    As an aside, I ended up at Walmart this morning on Black Friday, though I wasn’t going for any of the sales stuff. I was dreading it. While I’m sure it was busier than a typical Friday morning, it was an “I’ve seen it busier on a random Tuesday night in April” kind of situation. I know that the situation at one Walmart I was in for 30 minutes or less on Black Friday doesn’t count for squat and there are a plethora of reasonable explanations as to why it didn’t seem particularly busy, but it does fit suspiciously into the general theme of a struggling economy with lots more people than normal cutting back due to concerns about their economic outlook. It will be interesting to see the official data, though with this administration it’s not like that will be particularly accurate or trustworthy.

    Funny enough, on the way to the store I had a flashback to the days leading up to the 2024 election when the super basic yard signs were all over the place around here with slogans like “Trump low prices, Kamala high prices”. Of course, I knew it was absurd even back then, but now it just seems all the more ridiculous as I look back through my grocery expenditures and realize that even with all the cutbacks I’ve made this year, I’m still spending more while getting a lot less.