Just last week:

“Home Depot issues dire warning about squeezed American shoppers”

Then there was:

“Half of Americans struggle to afford groceries and gas”

And this:

“63% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck”

And finally:

“Record 55% say their personal finances are getting worse.”

That’s quite a collection of headlines. But headlines are headlines. What interests me isn’t what Americans say about the economy…it’s what they’re doing. And they are -we are- changing behavior.

According to a CNBC/SurveyMonkey survey released earlier this year:

• 49% of Americans have cut discretionary spending.
• 40% have dipped into savings to pay everyday expenses.
• 37% have postponed a major purchase.
• 39% have used a credit card to buy groceries or other household essentials because they were having trouble affording them.
• 30% have taken on extra work, a side hustle or a second job.
• Another 29% are looking for a better-paying job.

Think about that for a minute. We’re not talking about people complaining that a gallon of milk or gas costs too much. We’re talking about people changing how they live.

• They’re buying less.
• They’re postponing purchases.
• They’re spending their savings.
• They’re buying groceries on credit.
• And they’re looking for more work.

And Then There Are the Credit Cards, Americans are now carrying nearly $1.3 trillion in credit-card debt. But that number by itself doesn’t tell the whole story. The Federal Reserve did something interesting…it matched survey responses about people’s financial condition with their credit records.

Among credit-card holders who said they were “finding it difficult to get by,” the average balance jumped from $6,735 to $9,265. That’s an increase of $2,530!! 37% increase in just two years.

That one got my attention. And it gets worse.

By mid-2026, Americans were carrying nearly $1.3 trillion in credit-card balances—$121 billion more than just two years earlier. Over approximately that same period, those balances grew substantially faster than consumer prices (inflation).

And remember that other number:

39% of Americans say they’ve used a credit card to buy groceries or household essentials because they were having trouble affording them. Groceries…on credit!

This Isn’t Just About Inflation, we’ve talked about inflation before. We’ve talked about the price of groceries, housing, electricity, insurance and just about everything else. But I think something more important is happening now. People are changing their behavior:

• They’re putting off purchases they otherwise would have made.
• They’re cutting things out of their lives.
• They’re spending savings that took years to accumulate.
• They’re borrowing money to buy necessities.
• They’re falling behind.
• They’re working more—or looking for ways to earn more (side-hustles).

And according to the latest CNBC/SurveyMonkey survey, 63% of Americans now say they’re living paycheck to paycheck. And 71% say that if just one paycheck arrived a week late, it would cause a major financial hardship or critical emergency.

That’s not much room for something to go wrong for American families. Actually…it’s hardly any room at all.

Maybe we ought to start paying attention.