Americans are anxious about spending for the holiday season as prices rise for everyday items and specialty goods in the first year of President Donald Trump's second term in office.
The Guardian spoke to readers across the U.S. who said higher costs for necessities were cutting into the amount of money they felt comfortable spending on gifts for family and friends, and many of them specifically blamed the president and his economic policies for their reticence.
“I’m scrambling to find some way to preserve some aspect of magic for them,” said Ryan, a retired law enforcement officer in Texas who asked to withhold his last name. “I spent my life in service to my country. What he [Trump] has done in less than a single year breaks my heart.”
Ryan told the publication that his family could "barely put food on the table," so their holiday spending would be limited, and Grace Brown of North Carolina told a similar story.
“I love giving people gifts,” Brown said. “I’m a person that pays attention all year and will keep notes in my phone if someone mentions something in July they may want.”
But this year her budget for gifts was smaller, and she and her fiancé have agreed not to exchange presents this Christmas.
“Prices for everything have gone up,” Brown said. “It’s kind of hard to have luxuries.”
Data collection on many economic indexes was halted during the lengthy government shutdown, so it's not clear exactly how high costs have risen, but the latest available reading, from September, shows they jumped 3 percent, compared with 2.3 percent in April, and other surveys show consumer confidence has fallen to its lowest level since April.
“Being on a fixed income, we have had to cut way back on our spending for the holiday,” said Jeffrey Larimore, of Idaho. “We had enough disposable income to go out to dinner, take weekend trips and spoil [my granddaughters]. Since the tariffs have raised the cost of living, we have cut out all of that.”
Other readers told The Guardian that the possibility of spiking health care costs and employment uncertainty had also dampened their enthusiasm for the holidays.
“It’s more than just tariffs – it’s everything," said Shari Dunn, of Oregon. "The instability and fear."
Linda McKim Bell, also of Oregon, said she's purposefully spending less out of frustration with national politics and Trump, in particular.
“I have shopped all year at online thrift stores for my family gifts,” Bell said. “I am making the rest of our holiday gifts – orange marmalade and homemade pastries make great gifts. Will continue to buy items that are used as much as possible.”