I'm actually surprised it's taken this long to show up in the numbers, but I am fully aware that I'm in a bit of a bubble.
Most people I know got all their big ticket spending done before January, and then hunkered down into saving money mode so that they'd have some cushion for if and when things go bad. Sure, there have been some outliers, but they aren't the norm.
Part of the problem is, even a lot of people who still have their good jobs are cutting way back and trying to put money aside because they simply do not know how much longer they'll have a job. People who once saw themselves as indispensable to their employer and have enjoyed stable careers are no longer so confident in the economy or their job because they've seen what's happened to so many others recently.
When I was watching the news last night, they did the thing where they said something like "COMING UP. Major news tonight involving Dolly Parton. KEEP WATCHING AFTER THE BREAK." and then those bitches went to commercial.
My heart sank because I was worried they were going to report something tragic like a terminal cancer diagnosis. Fortunately, I have access to thousands of news sources instantly so I did in fact not keep watching and instead just looked it up.
Anyway, good for her!