2025 is already off to a wild start. With new tariffs being implemented, the Department of Education and US AID being dismantled, thousands of seasoned federal employees being lured into retirement with buyouts or face layoffs, and a new president leading the charge, the times are rapidly changing.
American consumer, who were just beginning to feel more confident about their economic prospects, are now wondering if the optimism was premature. Change is always difficult for most people and these unpredictable times are no different. With every new Executive Order coming from the White House, many Americans are wondering how President Trump’s edicts will negatively impact them. The basic response we are seeing is more and more American consumers are pocketing their pennies instead of spending them. As we approach the end of February 2025, more consumers are telling us they are rethinking their spending plans including major purchases such as cars, home improvements, and vacations. Now, they are adopting a more cautious “wait-and-see” attitude. This year is fast becoming known as “No Buy 2025.”.
Here are the top reasons why so many Americans are souring these days:
No Buy 2025
No Buy 2025 is the newest sentiment across social media platforms. Instead of the usual run to Target and Online stores, many Americans are opting out of buying anything not deemed essential.
A large percentage of Americans—especially women—are pledging to buy less this year. They are no longer interested in overconsumption. People are more interested in being able to afford groceries and pay their bills.
Fear of Higher Inflation
Although President Trump promised to lower costs, that has yet to be seen. Instead, the cost of many basic day-to-day food items such as eggs has increased. Also, the threat of tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China has consumers scratching their heads wondering how much more the basic necessities are going to cost them, These decisions by the new leadership in Washington, D.C. have reignited consumers’ fears of a new wave of inflation.
According to The University of Michigan’s latest consumer survey, this is only the fifth time in a 14-year timeframe there has been such a huge one-month rise in inflation expectations. Americans are scared, and with good reason.
Immigration Deportation
Donald Trump touted mass deportations of illegal immigrants as one of his main goals once he was back in the Oval Office. The president has wasted no time in delivering on that campaign promise. Officers from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). has been deployed across the country to apprehend illegal immigrants. Of course, this is disrupting many businesses and communities that rely on immigrant workers to perform menial work from farming to housekeeping and janitorial services in many hotels and office buildings, boost public school enrollment, pay taxes and fees in their local community, and support many of their local small businesses.
This has caused a wild response from Americans. Although at first glance, it appeared the majority of Americans agreed with this move to roundup and deport illegal immigrants, a deeper investigation of Americans who have been polled in recent weeks, now suggest a major shift in their views. One policy revealed Americans were marginally opposed to deporting immigrants who had no violent record. A larger number of Americans oppose separating families and leaving children without their parents. It’s both a complicated and difficult conundrum for politicians.
Cannot Afford to Save
Nearly 4 in 10 Americans cannot save a penny. A Fed survey revealed this group of people cannot cover even a $400 emergency expense.
With the economy becoming even more unpredictable and volatile under the new president, the future is uncertain. This is unnerving to most American consumers. Many Americans we have interviewed tell us they “are struggling to make ends meet” and could not afford an emergency situation such as a hospital stay, let alone losing a job.
Tariff Scare
As previously noted, President Trump’s move to implement tariffs on Canada, Japan, and China. Is causing more uncertainty and a negative backlash is predicted as those countries retaliate with stiff tariffs in incoming American-made products. As one consumer leader suggested, “This is a no-win strategy. Everybody loses and no one is better off as a result of this tit-for-tat game plan.”
Although some Americans believe this is a good thing, experts state this will further cause inflation. Americans are already struggling to afford the basics and groceries, and tariffs—admittedly by Trump—will make matters much worse. “Consumers will suffer from tariffs being imposed on America’s major trading partners,” says Thomas Hinton, president of the American Consumer Council.
Federal Workers Pushed Out
A new rule has been enforced that Federal workers can either conform to the new “reforms”—including mandated in-office work or take a buyout and resign. Fear, shock, and uncertainty prevail from this new mandate.
Over 2.3 million Federal employees now face this new deadline to decide whether or not to resign. The incentive to resign was met with an offer of eight months of pay and benefits through September 2025. This has put many loyal Federal workers in a difficult bind—and many Americans feel it is unfair. While court challenges are being filed to stop this Executive Order by President Trump and his deputies, many federal employees have already jumped ship and accepted the buyout for fear of eventually being terminated if they opted to stay. The serious downside is the loss of many talented and knowledgeable employees as well as a major “brain drain” of experience and know-how in working the system and getting Americans the answers and results they need.
Overall Unhappiness
A feeling of overall unhappiness and fear is weeping across the country. Whether it be inflation, tariffs, immigration raids, or dismantling federal departments and agencies to encourage fair and equal opportunities, Americans are feeling unhappy.
As the president issues more executive orders, more chaos and uncertainty is expected, Americans are scared. The overall mood in the country has greatly soured due to the extreme nature of everything being changed at once.
Bottom Line
With more turbulent days and potential economic chaos ahead, it’s understandable why so many Americans are souring and questioning the rationale of the new administration’s actions. With increasing prices, no increase in salaries, unpredictable times, and age-old laws being ignored, it raises a very serious question: Is the United States of America creating an economic storm that will sink our ship of state?
With the divide of Americans ever-growing over the new administration’s economic and political direction, many of our allies are questioning the strategy and logic of the new administration as they see so many changes rocking the status quo. With no clear road ahead, Americans are bracing for whatever chaos is to come next—and doing their best to prepare to withstand the imminent economic impact that is sure to hit every American household In short, this means belt-tightening strategies by most American consumers in 2025, and a major decrease in discretionary spending in in the months ahead until there are clear signals from the president and Congress that our economic fortunes are secure.
