I’m Gen X: How I’m Budgeting Amid Tariff Uncertainty
Written by
Jordan Rosenfeld
Edited by
Molly Sullivan
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Members of Generation X — born between 1965 and 1980 — are known for their scrappiness and their ability to put their heads down and work hard, but they are also a generation that loves to engage in “retail therapy.” That means, they may need to change their budgeting strategies in a high-tariff environment.
The older Gen Xers are also closing in on retirement and paying close attention to their retirement accounts and their budgets as they face an uncertain economic future.
GOBankingRates spoke to two Gen Xers about how they’re budgeting and responding financially to tariff uncertainty.
Immediate Impacts of Tariffs
While some Gen Xers are anticipating the financial impacts from tariffs, Sarah Hadley, age 47, based in Oregon, has already experienced them.
A week after Feb. 1, when President Donald Trump announced tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico (who then responded with reciprocal tariffs), Hadley was laid off from her job in the wine industry, as a result of an anticipated 30% reduction in wine exports, she explained.
Three weeks later, Hadley landed another job, this time in the auto industry. Then, on March 26, Trump signed an executive order placing 25% tariffs on auto imports, which impacts approximately 60% of autos sold in the U.S.
“This is in addition to any imposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada where 50% to 75% of auto parts for repairs originate. I was laid off from that job after just two weeks,” she said.
At the time of this interview, Hadley still hasn’t found another job and unemployment only provides 65% of her original income.
Charley Gilmore, age 56, a manufacturing engineer based in California, said his and his wife’s main source of savings is his employment-based 401(k). As of October of last year, they were on track for “a tidy retirement we scheduled out about 11 years from now,” he said. But market fluctuations over the past few months have dropped that account by $50,000.
He called it “depressing” that his portfolio value has dropped greater than the amount that he’s contributed. “We’re holding our breath for a rebound, but 67 may be optimistic as a goal retirement age,” he said.
A Change in Habits
The tariff uncertainty and the 401(k) loss has made Gilmore and his wife pay closer attention to how they’re spending. Whereas before he said they were a bit “cavalier” when it came to grocery shopping, they’re now avoiding splurging. He also no longer purchases “the latest computer gadgetry” and finds himself carrying a credit card balance, where he didn’t before.
For Hadley, unemployment, job uncertainty and higher prices is a stressful trifecta. Since January, her grocery bill has gone up by $200, her car insurance by $80 (without any claims) and renters’ insurance by $25.
The biggest cost she can control, she said, is how she shops for groceries. “I’ve made the shift from meat to mostly beans and lentils for a protein source, eliminated any eating out, no eggs unless I can get them from a local farm stand, rationing coffee and sharing my Costco trips with family and neighbors to buy and split bulk items.”
Moreover, it’s affecting how she plans for future spending, too. “I plan on never having a car payment again and only using my checking account for transactions. Otherwise my money goes into investments or sits in a high yield savings account.”
She’s also downsized her living situation and moved into a walkable area that is accessible by public transportation.
The Gen X Attitude
Gilmore feels like his generation has partially contributed to their own money problems by doing a lot of retail therapy and being easily swayed by new goods and services. “It does pose a bit of a problem when the regular life expenses soak up the disposable income that used to provide the retail gratification,” he said.
Hadly agreed, adding, “We are learning in real time how goods, services and commodities move across the globe, what that means for us and how our habits can feed the beast or starve it. For example, we created a whole culture around Target being a social destination and then got upset when it chose its profits over human rights.”
Advice to Other Gen Xers
Gilmore urged his generational cohort to dig in and hold off on nonessential purchases for as long as you can. “Drive your old cars for another year. Fix the back fence yourself instead of replacing it. Stuff is going to be expensive for a while.”
Hadley is saving in a high-yield savings account and shifting some of her investments to commodities instead of stocks and bonds.
She also urged people to “spend more time building community. The headwinds are harder to face alone.”
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