Consumers have been worried about the economy for years. Now they’re acting like it

Natalie Slinger’s growing family could use a bigger house and a second car. Right now, both feel out of reach.

Slinger and her husband already have one child in day care, which costs as much as their mortgage. They rarely eat out and limit their travel to camping. Their second child, due this fall, will rely on hand-me-downs.

“The cost of things is very omnipresent for us,” said Slinger, 29, of St. Paul, Minnesota.

Today, consumers are not just saying they’re worried about the economy — they’re acting like it. From slowing auto sales to declines in leisure air travel, consumer spending barely budged in June, rising just 0.3% after staying flat in May.

American consumers are pulling back on spending as the effects of tariffs — like the slowing job market and rising inflation — begin to