The Trump economy has Americans rethinking everything from babies to businesses

• With tariffs, federal budget cuts, and student loan limbo, Americans are delaying financial decisions.
• 6 Americans told BI how economic uncertainty is shaping their family, jobs, budgets, and retirement.
• While the US is not in a recession, indicators are showing some signs of weakness.

Babies, homes, retirement, and business ventures — all major moves Americans have told BI they’re putting on hold as the US reels from economic uncertainty.

Tariffs are set to raise prices on everything from groceries to cars, and sweeping cuts to federal spending have many concerned about their livelihoods. Federal student loan limbo is also leaving millions wondering how they will pay off their debt.

“I feel like I just got done building a life out here,” said a Washington DC 28-year-old who resigned from her government job and may have to move due to finances. “I was actually trying to own a home.”

Some are even worried about a recession. While the US isn’t in one yet, a major indicator of consumer sentiment hit a three-year low in March, and consumer spending was weaker than expected last month. Meanwhile, a closely watched inflation metric has seen its highest jump in a year. Economists have said these conditions are making people less likely to make major purchases and take financial risks.

While some Americans also told BI they support Trump’s recent cost-cutting measures and don’t plan to make any adjustments to their jobs or savings, six shared stories about holding off on major milestones.

A millennial is weighing starting a family amid student loan uncertainty

Florence Thompson feels stuck. The 39-year-old wants to buy a home and have a baby, but she’s not sure what her future monthly student-loan payments will look like. She said she hopes they’ll stay in the low hundreds.

Thompson is enrolled in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which forgives student debt for government and nonprofit workers after 10 years of qualifying payments. Trump is taking steps to limit eligibility for the program, which could bar some borrowers from future relief.

Thompson is also on the SAVE plan, created by President Joe Biden to give borrowers more affordable monthly payments. Since July, she and 8 million enrolled borrowers have been stuck in forbearance after SAVE was blocked in court. Thompson has not been able to make payments or earn PSLF credit while the lawsuit plays out. Now, Thompson isn’t sure when she will have to add loan payments back into her budget — and how much those payments will be. The Trump administration’s recent decision to dismantle the Department of Education has heightened this uncertainty, she said. It’s complicating her plans to buy a home and start a family.

“I have the money to pursue IVF, I have the money to buy a home,” Thompson said. “But it’s like the sword hanging above your head where you don’t know when your monthly costs are going to increase and by how much. It’s just a real uncertainty, and I know people are in much more difficult positions than myself. It’s just not fair, not right.”

Until she knows what will happen with her student debt, Thompson is conflicted. “It’s really causing me to have to save money rather than spend it on the things that I’d like to spend it on,” she said.

A federal employee left a $100,000 salary on the table and is worried about the future of her career

Ashley Shannon submitted her resignation letter last month. The 28-year-old was an attorney in her second year at the Department of Justice’s Federal Bureau of Prisons. She said her job felt meaningful — her work helped combat mass incarceration disproportionately impacting Black and brown people.

But, as news flooded in about the firings of federal probationary workers, Shannon made the tough decision to leave her role.

“Higher up in the agency, they pretty much told us it’s either you leave or you’re going to likely get fired and pushed out,” she said.

The career paths for Black women in private-sector law are more limited than in the federal workforce, and Shannon had been excited to build a career in the public interest. She had been making $100,000 a year and was building her life in Washington DC — hoping to buy her first home soon. Now, Shannon has been unemployed since March 5. If she can’t find a job by the end of April, she will have to move back to Chicago to live with her parents.

“That is a very defeating feeling as a very new attorney,” she said. “I would have to move back in with my family, find another job, and pretty much restart my entire life.”

A Gen Zer moved back in with her parents to save up for an international move

Last fall, Bri O. moved back in with her parents. The 23-year-old works a finance job in Charlotte, North Carolina. She didn’t picture spending her young adult years in her childhood home, but said it’s her best option to save money.

Bri knew she wanted to live abroad at some point in her life — it’s an opportunity to experience new cultures and she has her eyes set on Spain. However, she said Trump’s return to the Oval Office has accelerated her timeline: She’s now trying to save $50,000 by 2026 so that she can move out of the US, maybe permanently.

As a young, queer woman, Bri said she doesn’t feel safe living under the Trump administration, especially if she someday chooses to get married or start a family. The government “enacting policies against us in the queer community is having an effect on our lives,” she said.

She said she’s sacrificing some of her independence by living with family right now, but it’s worth it for her finances. Being at home is allowing her to put the money she would be spending on rent and other expenses into savings for her eventual move.

“I’d love to stay in the country where all my friends and my family are,” she said, adding, “It’s disheartening that I’m leaving because of fear.”

A Gen Xer isn’t sure she can retire early anymore

Margarita Sdoukos, 49, thought she was going to retire early. She was confident that she and her husband would have a strong enough nest egg to stop working in six years. Due to living below their means, savvy investments, and careful saving habits, the couple felt financially comfortable.

Now, Sdoukos isn’t sure she will ever fully retire. The Illinois resident told BI that she and her husband have lost “tens of thousands” of dollars in the stock market since Trump took office in January, and they’re shifting to safer investments for their 401(k), even if they are less lucrative. She cashed out her teacher’s pension and placed it in an IRA due to “uncertainty in the government.” She’s concerned about potential changes to Social Security, and now expects to continue working for as long as possible.

“We don’t even think about retirement right now,” she said.

A business owner is anxious about her next step

Jessica Deseo, 40, has been in the design industry for nearly two decades. She’s a California-based, first-generation immigrant and mother who is balancing her own LLC with her role as a 1099 employee for a fellow creative.

With economic policy changing quickly under Trump, Deseo is at a crossroads with her career: go solo with her business or balance her job and freelancing.

“I’m right in the middle of figuring that out, and it’s really, really hard,” she said.

Deseo said she wants to put energy and money into growing her own business, but it comes with sacrifices. She’s worried that potential clients won’t have the extra budget to hire her as a freelancer and said that going out completely on her own would be an even bigger financial risk. Right now, she’s being cautious about spending and saving as much as she can.

“You see the economy around you and you’re just like, ‘Jesus, everyone is getting laid off,”‘ she said.

A baby boomer is putting off a move and saving some Social Security income

Kathy Heller, 67, hoped to move out of her studio apartment in Pennsylvania and buy a new house. However, due to recent changes in the stock market and her fears about the future of Social Security, she said that may no longer be possible.

“I’ve been wanting to move for the last couple of years, and I just can’t now,” Heller said. “Everything’s changed.”

Heller, who worked as a legal secretary, ate through some of her retirement savings while caring for her husband, who was ill for two decades. She works nearly full-time as a real estate agent to supplement her over $3,000 monthly Social Security survivor benefits. She said she’s had to wait for four hours on the phone to contact a Social Security representative, and she said she’s worried about what her finances may look like a few months from now, especially if Social Security is disrupted in any way.

“My plan is to save $1,000 a month out of my Social Security check, but I live alone,” Heller said. “If you don’t have savings or a monthly income, you’re screwed now.”

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