2025 Rewind: Money Moments That Defined the Year
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2025 Rewind: Money Moments That Defined the Year
Plus: The best stories, podcasts and videos you may have missed.
In this week’s edition:
- Trending money words we couldn’t stop saying.
- NerdWallet’s economist reflects on the biggest moments for the U.S. economy.
- In case you missed it… this year.
- Top Smart Money episodes.
- Viewers’ favorite personal finance videos.
- Rundown of NerdWallet’s top findings and trends in 2025.
Money words we couldn’t stop saying this year
Some social media-driven financial phrases seeped into the vernacular this year. Here are the top new money words we saw:
Giftflation: the rising cost of gift giving, fueled by inflation and the growing pressure to give.
Job hugging: people who have jobs and are holding on to them for dear life.
Revenge saving: saving very aggressively, often after a period of overspending or financial uncertainty.
choosing to spend money on things you enjoy today and stashing money away less aggressively for your later years.
2025 economy explained: What just happened and what could 2026 bring?
Reflecting on 2025
Anna Helhoski: I’m hoping you can talk a little bit about what a standout event in the economy last year was for you and what had the biggest economic ripple effects.
Elizabeth Renter: So that’s a really tough question because as we all know, 2025 was a crazy year when it came to impacts to the economy and potential impacts to the economy. But if I was to choose a single moment or event, it would be the cluster that surrounded April and Liberation Day. So the announcement of the 10% universal tariffs, the reciprocal tariffs, and everything that happened after the fact — clawbacks of tariffs, changing policies. And the story is still unfolding, both how it impacts inflation and what the ultimate policies are gonna be.
A.H.: Was there one economic moment in 2025 when things really changed?
E.R.: It really felt like economic policy whiplash throughout the year. The one thing that stood out as far as change goes is when the Fed resumed cuts in September. So they cut a few times last year and stopped after the December [2024] meeting and then held rates steady throughout the first half of the year.
That change, when they decided to cut again, really told me that they saw the risks to the labor market as rising relative to the risks to inflation, and that was significant.
Labor market shifts
A.H.: Let’s dig in a little bit more about what happened with the labor market last year. It’s not looking quite as hot as it once was.
E.R.: Yeah, just a few years ago, things were totally different. It was very dynamic. And when I say dynamic, I mean it was really good for workers, right? We called it the great reshuffling. People were quitting their jobs and moving to greener pastures. And that couldn’t be further from what we see right now.
The labor market has definitely chilled. Hiring rates and quits rates are low. People are staying in their current roles because they know the environment out there isn’t really friendly to them. So it’s a tough job market.
Inflation surprises
A.H.: Now, turning to prices, did inflation behave the way that you expected in 2025?
E.R.: Well, not really. There were a couple of surprises, but they weren’t really dramatic. Just a few things that didn’t go the way I anticipated they would. Number one, core inflation stayed stickier with housing and services inflation really holding overall inflation higher for longer. I didn’t anticipate this. The other thing that didn’t go the way that I thought it would was I anticipated faster pass-through of tariffs. I thought we were gonna see more, quicker impact to inflation from the tariffs that were implemented.
Looking ahead to 2026
A.H.: We've talked a lot about different indicators, but is there any one that you'll be watching in 2026?
E.R.: I think in the shorter term, one of the things I'm specifically looking at is layoffs and how they show up in federal data. So during the federal data blackout that we saw in October and November — and we're still catching up to in December, and we will be for the next few months — we heard a lot from private data sources and private companies that were announcing layoffs or reporting big numbers of announced layoffs. The problem with that is announced layoffs rarely line up with the layoffs that actually show up in the data. So in the months ahead, I'll be looking to federal data to see what the layoffs actually look like at the end of 2025.
Another thing that I'm going to be keeping an eye on is household debt delinquency levels. Household debt levels have risen to and sometimes above what they were before the pandemic. Not only that, delinquency levels are rising. And this is a real indicator of household financial fragility. We're seeing it across auto loans and credit card loans. So I will keep an eye on how many people are becoming increasingly delinquent on those debt balances. And again, that speaks to their ability to weather economic storms should something come down the pike later in the year.
A.H.: Anything else you're going to be keeping an eye on this year that might shape where the economy goes next?
E.R.: Yeah, so in the next year, I'm definitely keeping an eye on Fed independence. As we're speaking, [President] Trump is weighing a new chair. The big question is, will the new Fed chair be someone that is a loyalist and perhaps more prone to political influence, or will they support a truly independent Fed? An independent central bank is the bedrock of a modern and healthy economy, and so I'll be keeping my eye on that.
- A.H.
Coming soon: NerdWallet’s 7-Day Financial Reset
The 7-Day Financial Reset is coming to the NerdWallet app Jan. 1-7. Each day, we’ll give you one smart step you can take to improve your finances. We’ll guide you through trimming subscriptions, protecting your credit, boosting your savings and more.
By the end of the week, you’ll have a clearer sense of where your money is going and how to make it work harder for you in 2026.
Ready for a fresh start? All you need to do is download the NerdWallet app. We’ll see you in January.
In case you missed it this year
Here are some of our favorite NerdWallet articles of 2025 for …
News junkies
Globetrotters
Savvy spenders
Credit card points collectors
AI skeptics and enthusiasts
- A.H.
Top listens
Here are Smart Money listeners’ favorite podcast episodes of 2025.
- AI Stocks May Be in a Bubble, and Car Prices Could Rise Soon — Here’s What to Know. Listen: Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio
- The Fed Just Cut Rates — Here’s How to Make the Most of It (Plus: How to Freeze Your Credit). Listen: Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio
- What Home Sellers Can Legally Hide and How to Master Irregular Bills. Listen: Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio
Videos you couldn’t stop watching this year
Earning the title of most-watched NerdWallet YouTube video of the year was a short exploring the trials and tribulations of life after college graduation.
Runners up:
Over on the NerdWallet social channels, video producer Taylor Mitchell has some sage advice for her younger self.
Runners up:
- What’s the last thing you bought on Amazon? (Instagram)
NerdWallet’s top consumer insights of 2025
Data writer Erin El Issa handled a lot of studies this year, but here’s the 2025 data that stood out to her most.
Tariff worries took over
In an April survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of NerdWallet, most Americans said they were worried about Trump’s tariffs, with the top concerns being their ability to afford necessities (46%) and the tariffs resulting in a recession (45%). That said, about 3 in 10 Americans (29%) thought tariffs would help bring manufacturing back to the U.S. Learn more.
Americans’ financial goals shifted as uncertainty mounted
The economic conditions changed goals for some by the midpoint of the year: Nine in 10 Americans (90%) say they set financial goals for 2025. Of them, 22% said their original goals changed due to economic conditions in a June 2025 survey. Learn more.
Major shopping moments got pricier
Shopping events got pricier, and/or we got spendier: 2025 holiday shoppers planned to spend $182 more, on average, than 2024 holiday shoppers. And 2025 back-to-school shoppers planned to spend $200 more, on average, than 2024 back-to-school shoppers. This may be, in part, due to tariff-related price hikes. Read more about back-to-school shopping and holiday spending.
AI became a mainstream money tool
Using AI for financial planning is quite popular: More than 2 in 5 Americans (43%) say they’ve used AI for aspects of their personal financial planning, with the top uses being saving money (18%) and making more money (17%). Read more.
Your MoneyNerd team: Courtney Neidel, Anna Helhoski, Rick VanderKnyff.
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