Spending and Budgeting Narratives as of December 2025
This Storyboard - which we call our "stain" chart - shows you at a glance how strong or weak a given narrative is right now relative to its history.
For each narrative or "semantic signature" listed on the left of the chart, we have a series of blue dots on the right, each of which represents a specific weekly density or volume of that narrative. reading from within the date range that we are covering. The red arrow is the most recent reading, so it's just like the "YOU ARE HERE" spot on a map. The x-axis scale shows the range of index values. If a dot is at 100, that means that story is 100% more present in media than usual. If it’s at 0, it means it’s at its normal level.
The light blue shaded box covers the middle 50% of readings across the date range, so you can see quickly if the current reading is typical (inside the blue box), depressed (left of the blue box), or elevated (to the right of the blue box).
If you hover over a specific blue dot, you will see the specific date and measurement that the dot represents.
Strict Budgeting Narratives Strengthen as Economic Concerns Mount
Budgeting Discipline Gains Ground While Frugality Debates Moderate
Early December media coverage included an increase in the density of language emphasizing detailed budgeting as essential for households. As of December 15th, it had climbed to a level 79% above its long-term average, a 5.5 point increase from mid-November. This places budgeting advocacy among the highest readings tracked, reflecting sustained elevation in coverage that frames systematic financial planning as necessary for household financial success. The strengthening comes as fewer Americans expect their finances to improve in 2026, with inflation, income stagnation, and debt driving pessimism according to Bankrate's Financial Outlook Survey.
The rise in budgeting advice emerged within a narrative battlefield around household frugality. On the one hand, language claiming that cutting expenses is the primary path to wealth creation declined slightly to 73% above average, while arguments that extreme frugality deprives people of a worthwhile life were stable at around 60% above their long-term mean. This pattern suggests media narratives are emphasizing structured financial planning over pure austerity, with money experts explaining why most budgeting advice fails because it overlooks key personal and emotional factors.
Social media discussions reinforced the budgeting focus, with a variety of posts advocating automated savings approaches and specific budget frameworks like the 50-30-20 rule gaining traction. One widely shared post outlined how middle-class households earning $100,000 face tight margins after housing, childcare, car payments, student loans, food, and credit card debt, leaving just $3,000 in annual savings.
Rising food costs continue impacting household meal decisions, with customers prioritizing value in their mealtime routines. This context may be driving increased media focus on systematic budgeting approaches rather than general frugality messaging, as households seek structured frameworks to manage specific expense pressures.
Criticism of New Car Purchases Intensifies (Again)
The rising emphasis on budgeting discipline connects directly to one of the largest and most visible household expenses: vehicle purchases. Language claiming that buying new vehicles is financially foolish surged by 8 points to reach 114% above its long-term average. This intensified criticism of new vehicle purchases aligns with concrete market conditions: the average new car transaction price reached $49,766 in October 2025, with prices briefly crossing $50,000 in September and average monthly payments hitting $766.
The shift in vehicle narratives appears in the sharp divergence between opposing perspectives. While new car criticism climbed to 114, language arguing used cars cost more due to repairs and problems experienced a sharp 35-point decline after a brief shock last month. Still, trade-in values remain elevated due to limited used vehicle stock, with some analysts suggesting buying new could sometimes be cheaper than purchasing certain used models only a few years old as off-lease supply begins to rebound.
The car market has faced disruption from tariffs, trade wars, and threatened parts shortages in 2025, creating loud headlines and growing uncertainty. Nearly a fifth of new cars now carry monthly payments of $1,000 or more, reflecting a 30% increase in car prices and higher interest rates since October 2019. Social media amplified these concerns, with posts noting that 28.1% of trade-ins for new-car purchases involved negative equity in Q3 2025, the highest since Q1 2021.
The recalibration toward budgeting and the early signs of frugality extends to other highly visible household consumption narratives, too. Language arguing that restaurant spending and food delivery has minimal wealth impact declined by 33.7 points to 50% above average, suggesting reduced media dismissiveness about the financial impact of food spending choices. This aligns with social media posts detailing weekly grocery bills of $3,500-4,000 for families shopping mostly BOGO deals and using leftovers frequently, compared to $2,200 monthly budgets in 2020.
Credit and Debt Narratives Drift Toward Frugality and Conservatism
Media conversations about major purchases like vehicles (and increasingly, Doordashed burritos) naturally extends to how households finance them. December coverage showed movement in credit card narratives, generally in the direction of conservatism and frugality in the use of credit. For example, the density of language arguing that credit cards provide important benefits when used responsibly fell by 40 points. In fairness, however, the absolute level remains elevated, indicating continued strong advocacy for responsible credit card use despite the recent movement.
Perscient’s semantic signature tracking claims that credit cards trap consumers in debt rose by 7 points, suggesting intensifying warnings about credit card dangers but from a relatively low baseline. Related coverage included stories about 23-year-olds escaping credit card debt traps, as low wages, high costs, and fierce job competition push young workers into debt and onto social media for solutions.
Broader debt narratives showed parallel increases in opposing viewpoints, which typically takes place at inflection points where a topic is front-and-center in the zeitgeist. For example, language describing strategic debt use by households as normal and useful rose 14 points, while arguments that household debt should be reserved only for true emergencies climbed by 8 points. The simultaneous strengthening of both perspectives suggests media is presenting multiple perspectives on household borrowing as U.S. consumer delinquency figures suggest the economic picture might not be as grim as years of high borrowing costs and sticky inflation would otherwise indicate indicate.
Social media discussions reinforced the complexity of debt narratives. Posts emphasized typical arguments that credit cards aren't inherently problematic but rather poor discipline, with strategies like using high-limit cards kept offline and lower-limit cards for online services. Other posts warned that companies are changing how an entire generation views debt, convincing them it's normal and acceptable while making access just a click away. The conversation extended to buy-now-pay-later plans, with reports noting that Americans earning $200,000 or more have resorted to financial tactics often associated with less wealthy consumers, including 64% using rewards points for essentials and 50% using buy-now-pay-later plans for purchases under $100.
Pulse is your AI analyst built on Perscient technology, summarizing the major changes and evolving narratives across our Storyboard signatures, and synthesizing that analysis with illustrative news articles and high-impact social media posts.