Call it a new recession indicator: Young women who not long ago splashed out on self care, tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras tour and “Barbie” are pulling back on their spending.
Searches in the U.S. for “press on nails” are up 10% since February, and “blonde to brunette hair” is up 17% in the same period, according to Google.
Miranda McClellan recently started skipping manicures. She also considered going back to brown hair last month, because staying brunette is easier on the budget.
The 30-year-old TV production-safety manager saw her rent go up by $150 a month last year, while her salary has remained flat, so she now weighs all her spending more carefully. McClellan even landed a side-hustle, babysitting, to pay down her rent and medical bills.
She also got into DIY fashion. After her sweatpants faded, she decided not to buy new ones from Nike. Instead, she dyed the old ones a deep right-from-the-store black. She also taught herself to sew from TikTok tutorials. To accessorize, she cut off the sleeves of her collared shirts and turned them into “bibs” to wear under sweaters.
“I’m trying to shop in my own closet,” she says.
McClellan did end up getting those blonde highlights, but the constant budgeting has left her disillusioned. “The rules of the game have changed,” she says. “I was told if I got a big corporate job I would have financial security and healthcare that would take care of everything and I could retire with a big 401(k).”
Even before President Trump’s tariff-induced financial panic, consumer sentiment had already dropped to the lowest point since 2022, according to the University of Michigan’s monthly survey. That sentiment has plunged even further, based on April’s data.
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