A few weeks ago, Dane started to gather supplies of “paper products,” including “cases of paper towels and toilet paper,” as well as “piddle pads” for their shih-tzu, while his wife upgraded from an iPhone 8 to 14.
The 73-year-old resident of South Carolina mentioned that these purchases—made in anticipation of Donald Trump’s trade policies—recalled the initial days of the Covid pandemic when he rushed to acquire masks, gloves, and toilet paper.
“It’s concerning,” Dane expressed. “Prices are going to rise because of tariffs… It’s going to get complicated.”
During his campaign last year, Trump frequently boasted about his love for tariffs. However, it wasn’t until his so-called “liberation day” on April 2—when he announced broad duties on imported goods, affecting competitors, allies, and smaller developing nations—that he rattled global financial markets and raised concerns over rising inflation and stagnant growth.
In the midst of a sell-off of US government bonds, the president delayed his most aggressive tariffs for 90 days, with the exception of China, whose goods face a 145% duty.
Hundreds of Americans reached out to the Guardian to share how this uncertainty is impacting their buying habits.
Dane, now retired, spent much of his career as an entrepreneur alongside his wife before becoming an English teacher. He identified as a Republican in the 1980s but is now troubled by the direction the US is heading under Trump, expressing dissatisfaction with his “dystopian” policies regarding global allies, the economy, education, scientific research, and more.
Currently, Dane is traveling in Paris and intends to bring back consumer goods that could be affected by a 10% tariff on imports from the European Union.
“We’ll likely be getting tea, some cheese, and butter,” he mentioned. “I would love to bring back eggs, but that would be a fiasco. I’d end up with scrambled eggs in my suitcase.”
With tariff uncertainty looming, Heather, a 61-year-old college professor in Texas, noted that she and her husband could mostly handle fluctuations in food prices but decided to purchase a new car early “in anticipation of price increases.”
She indicated that they owned a 14-year-old Mini Cooper powered by gas, which they intended to replace with a hybrid at some point. They opted to buy a new vehicle now to mitigate potential inflation and decrease gas expenses.
“The economic unpredictability of the Trump administration certainly makes one think twice,” she remarked. “There’s just so much instability, chaos, and [the] unknown.”
Similarly, Stefanie, a 56-year-old educator and former tech worker in Nevada, replaced her old Jeep with a new Toyota Tacoma and converted some investments into cash.
Stefanie began planning for increased resilience against tariffs the moment Trump was elected.
“The main thing I learned during his first term is to take him at his word: he says strange things, and then he does strange things,” she stated.
She has begun cutting back on subscriptions and future travel plans while stockpiling kitchen essentials like rice, cooking oils, vinegar, and flour, along with replacing worn clothing such as shoes and jeans “before inflation strikes.”
“The supply chain is so globalized that tariffs really impact everything,” Stefanie highlighted.
In contrast, Ishaan*, a 51-year-old engineer in Texas, is refraining from significant purchases due to the economic landscape.
“Everyone I know has started tightening their belts,” he noted. “I’m eliminating non-essential expenses, cancelled my gym membership, and concentrating on saving.”
For Ishaan, who is wary of rising costs and a potential economic decline, the priority is to accumulate savings in cash. He feels “scared to invest in stocks or bonds right now” amid market fluctuations.
Similarly, Jonathan*, a 70-year-old from New Jersey, has felt compelled to cancel planned purchases and limit his spending to necessities due to the financial repercussions of Trump’s trade wars.
Jonathan shared that his individual retirement account (IRA) had initially been “decimated” but showed a slight increase following Trump’s announcement to pause tariffs on Wednesday. Nevertheless, he now sees it down roughly 15%.
As a result, he has scrapped intentions to replace the carpet in his home and upgrade two old televisions, stating, “In short, we’ll buy only what we need and pay the bills until this madness ends.”
Russ, a 35-year-old physicist in New Mexico, stated that the Trump administration’s policies are “prompting me to reconsider my spending habits that I could have done without all this time.”
He has an eight-year-old phone and a nine-year-old MacBook that still function adequately, which he plans to keep instead of upgrading. The threat of soaring prices on consumer electronics, often sourced from China, has led him to ponder: “Do I genuinely need this, or do I just want it?”
“I view these items as much toys as they are necessities,” he remarked. “Perhaps I’ll revert to a dumb phone or something similar—I sometimes fantasize about not receiving all these notifications constantly, like the phones we had back in 2005. But maybe that’s just a Luddite fantasy.”
Russ has already chosen to boycott Amazon and Target—companies perceived to have aligned themselves with Trump’s agenda and that have rolled back their own DEI initiatives. He aims to shop at local, independent stores rather than at “everything stores,” recognizing that it’s pricier and takes more time, but he believes it’s ultimately worthwhile.
“As an American citizen and registered voter, nobody seems to care about your opinions except every other November, and it makes you feel somewhat voiceless,” he expressed. “You start to think, well, if dollars are the only leverage we have anymore, then by all means, I’ll cast those votes and allocate my spending accordingly.”
Similarly, small business owner Christine* observed that the disruption might prompt a broader reconsideration of consumer habits in the US.
Amid the uncertainty, Christine, 41, procured supplies for her acupuncture practice in Miami for two years and purchased her son’s bike early for his fifth birthday in July. However, she has already noticed a decrease in demand for her services.
Overall, the possibility of inflationary tariffs is accelerating Christine’s reevaluation of how much “stuff” she truly needs. Recently, she attended “these lovely parties” where friends exchange unwanted clothes instead of engaging in fast fashion shopping.
“I really dislike being pulled into this crazy trade war,” Christine lamented, “but if there’s a silver lining, it’s that perhaps some people like me will start to question their unsustainable capitalistic behaviors.”
*Some names have been changed.
