That gap between upbeat economic headlines and everyday financial pressure is leaving many Americans questioning their own reality, according to Vivian Tu, the former Wall Street trader and financial educator better known online as Your Rich BFF.
During a conversation with Ellevest CEO Sylvia Kwan for CNBC Make It, Tu said people are stretching their money further each week while hearing a much more optimistic story about the broader economy.
“It makes people feel really crazy when they feel like they are trying to stretch their dollar further and further every week at the grocery store, but all the headlines are like, ‘The economy is better than it’s ever been,’” she said.
Stretching every dollar
“The American Dream” has traditionally promised that hard work could lead to greater stability, more choices and a better life. Tu and Kwan say that promise is becoming harder for many Americans to reach.
“The cost of housing is so high, the cost of education is so high,” Kwan said, adding that many young adults are graduating with significant student debt and wondering whether they will ever be able to afford a home — or even move out of their parents’ houses.
That reality can feel especially disorienting when it clashes with upbeat messaging from Washington. In April, the White House described the U.S. economy as demonstrating “exceptional strength and accelerating momentum,” even as many households continued struggling with the cost of everyday life.
The pressure does not end with housing. Half of parents said they had no idea how they would afford their children’s education, according to a Talker Research survey conducted on behalf of College Ave.
Who is getting left behind
The financial pressure extends beyond college tuition and home prices. Even putting food on the table is taking a larger bite out of household budgets, leaving some Americans ashamed of what they can afford.
Kiki Rough, a social media creator who shares recipes inspired by the Depression era, told NPR that financial hardship can shape something as basic as what people eat.
“I know a lot of people right now who have shame about where they are in their lives, their financial situations, down to the food that they have access to,” she said.
