‘I don’t wish that daily stress on anyone’: Gee and Ursula discuss finances as consumer confidence falls to 12-year low

U.S. consumer confidence fell in September to its lowest level in more than 12 years amid concerns about prices and the job market. Job openings also dropped by about 256,000 in August to roughly 7.1 million.

On “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio, co-host Gee Scott said economic reports cannot capture the daily stress of stretching a paycheck. At the same time, co-host Ursula Reutin thought those worries cross political lines.

“We have more people on a daily basis that are doing mental math when it comes to what they have,” Gee said. “Sometimes you’re at the gas pump, and you’re making decisions on the rest of the week on how much gas you put in the car, or you go to the grocery store, and you make a decision on just how much I can actually spend at the grocery store.”

Gee discusses the stress behind household spending

Gee contrasted broad economic measures with the decisions people face when paying bills.

“No matter if you show folks inflation numbers, you can show them the GDP, you can show them the stock market, it doesn’t matter,” Gee said.

He described the questions he believes more households are asking themselves.

“What can I move around? Do I have enough to pay this bill? Can I hold off on this this month?” Gee said. “I don’t wish that daily stress on anyone.”

Ursula discussed how financial concerns can cut across political differences.

“We always talk about the tribalism and how people are just gonna say something just because, ‘Hey, we’re not gonna speak poorly of the current people in power,’ but this is affecting everybody,” Ursula said.

Uncertainty adds to worries about paying bills

Gee also discussed fears that household finances could worsen.

“You have more and more people with less hope about tomorrow,” Gee said.

He noted how financial pressure could affect someone’s ability to leave a relationship or change their living arrangements, imagining the decisions a person might face.

“I’m gonna have to stay in this relationship, even though you’re not good for me. I’m gonna have to stay with this roommate, even though they’re not good for me,” Gee said. “Real decisions have to get made.”

Food and entertainment come up as places to cut

The discussion ended with the limits of trimming a household budget.

“When you talk about your budget in your household, there are only a few things that you can really move,” Gee said. “You can’t move your rent or mortgage payment. You can’t move money away from your child care. So usually, food is the first thing you touch in the budget.”

“Or entertainment,” Ursula said.

“For a lot of people, that’s been out,” Gee responded.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.