Tips to help you save as consumer confidence in business, labor market conditions fluctuates
20.7% of consumers said business conditions were ‘good,’ unchanged from July
(InvestigateTV) — The Consumer Confidence Index® has fluctuated this summer, from a two-year high in July to dipping back down in August. While consumer fears of an impending recession continue to recede, members of The Conference Board still anticipate one is likely before yearend.
Heather Boushey, chief economist with President Biden’s Investing in America campaign, said consumer optimism is much better than it was during the pandemic.
“We’ve seen 13 million jobs created month after month after month. Strong job gains that’ve been benefitting workers and families all across the country,” Boushey said. “We’ve seen wages that are keeping pace or above inflation. And we’ve seen inflation come down markedly. So, the pace is down by two-thirds from where it was about a year ago.”
While inflation is easing, the AARP says in some instances prices are still increasing more than people’s income.
“Social Security did have good gains this year, an increase for those on Social Security. With that said, overall, people are losing some of their value of their dollar,” Neil Wertheimer, deputy editor of AARP The Bulletin and AARP The Magazine said. “So, more people need to be frugal and we’re hearing that all the time. We get a lot of letters and calls saying ‘help us’ because costs are increasing more than my increase in my fixed income.”
Wertheimer said they’ve recently highlighted a list of 99 ways to save money, including tips such as:
- Book flights 28 to 35 days in advance for the best deal
- De-junk your trunk to save on gas costs – extra weight decreases gas mileage rates
- Insulate your water heater to save on electricity
According to Wertheimer, there’s nothing to lose in trying to be frugal. Even small savings can add up over time.
Copyright 2023 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
