Cost-cutting, quiet guilt and the inflation generation

Erika Beras (0:00)

This is Planet Money, from NPR.

Sarah Gonzalez (0:05)

How are you doing?

We know what it's like out there, we've seen the stats on the economy. We also know the stats don't fully capture what you're all dealing with.

Erika Beras (0:12)

We know this because we asked you to tell us how you've been doing, and we heard back from many of you.

Alan Miller (0:17)

Hello Planet Money, I'm Alan Miller from...

Lindsay Cole (0:19)

Hey, my name is Lindsay Cole, I'm a professor...

Rick Schultz (0:21)

I'm Rick Schultz, I'm retired.

Stephen Ludd (0:23)

My name is Stephen Ludd, I'm 24 My name is Josh Buck, I'm a truck driver.

Sarah Gonzalez (0:27)

The economy is treating so many of you, our listeners, very differently right now. It is boom times for some, bleak for others. It's like the everything all at once economy.

Erika Beras (0:37)

Seventy-seven percent of Americans say they're stressed about their finances. But if you own assets like stocks or property, you might be feeling good right now. Homes have appreciated so much, and if you're open to selling your home.

Rick Schultz (0:50)

That was a huge win when I sold it. I got quite a quite a nice pocket full of cash.

Sarah Gonzalez (0:55)

Nice. Unemployment is also relatively low overall, but the people who are unemployed right now are unemployed for way longer because turnover is so low right now. It's hard to find a job or leave a job.

Stephen Ludd (1:07)

It is just absolutely brutal. I have so many applications out there that have just gone absolutely nowhere.

Erika Beras (1:14)

Wages are up a tiny bit, but not for everyone.

Lindsay Cole (1:18)

So my entire paycheck only covers my child care payment and my student loan payments a month. That is it. And then it is gone.

Sarah Gonzalez (1:24)

Inflation also down from its peak to 3.4 percent, but that still means that prices are 3.4 percent higher than they were this time last year. And this is an average, right? So the price changes for specific goods can be much less than that or much, much more.

Alan Miller (1:42)

Two years ago, I could get a two liter of brand name soda on sale for a dollar. Today, it's on sale for $3.50. That doesn't feel like 3 or 4 percent.

You know, it feels like 8 or 15 or in some cases, 100 percent.

Erika Beras (1:59)

After hearing from you, a few themes popped up. The economy is pushing some people into hyper price consciousness and others into the most comfortable period of their lives. And then there are those whose entire economic views are being shaped by this moment.

Leo Vamacca (2:14)

Like I was just like thrust into a world like that.

Sarah Gonzalez (2:17)

This is 17-year-old Leo Vamacca, who spends so much of his time thinking about.

Leo Vamacca (2:22)

Honestly, spending money, how much money I have.

Sarah Gonzalez (2:26)

We're going to spend a little time with Leo, who is part of the newest generation of consumers.

Erika Beras (2:30)

Leo's a high school senior and he has two jobs.

Leo Vamacca (2:33)

I've been working since, well, I guess I've been working since I was 13, but a lot of it was under the table, I would say.

Sarah Gonzalez (2:41)

Uh-huh.

Erika Beras (2:42)

Are you sure you want to tell us that?

Sarah Gonzalez (2:43)

Yeah, yeah.

Leo Vamacca (2:44)

You know, like score-keeping hockey games and stuff, that was a lot of like what I was doing.

Sarah Gonzalez (2:49)

When Leo started working, making money and spending money, it was four years ago when we had peak inflation. Inflation that so many of us had never seen in our lives.

Erika Beras (2:59)

So much of what he's known is this era of inflation.

Leo Vamacca (3:03)

Even as I make more money, I'm like, where is it going? Where is it going? Because the prices increase, you know.

Sarah Gonzalez (3:09)

Oh, we know.

Erika Beras (3:10)

Leo says he and his friends have started doing some old school coupon clipping.

Leo Vamacca (3:15)

It definitely caught on this year and has become much more of a thing.

Erika Beras (3:19)

Are you guys like a coupon crew then?

Leo Vamacca (3:21)

Yeah, I mean, you could say that. We'll go to the same CVS, right? We'll all like caravan over there together.

Sarah Gonzalez (3:28)

The latest price conscious inflation generation has entered the economy.

Hello and welcome to Planet Money. I'm Sarah Gonzalez.

Erika Beras (3:35)

And I'm Erica Barris. And we are checking in with you, our Planet Money community, because we're all trying to figure out this confusing economic moment.