While policy analysts debate how much of today’s inflation can be traced back to tariffs, KashKick surveyed 82,173 of its own members in September 2026 to find out how higher prices were affecting their spending. A companion survey of 23,476 KashKick members shed light on general financial habits and preferences.

KashKick members are trading down to cheaper brands, delaying big purchases and looking for ways to spend less or bring in additional income.

“We’re not trying to debate the economics here,” said Katie Nelson, head of consumer research at KashKick. “What we can speak to is behavior, and the behavior is unambiguous. People are actively adapting to—not just absorbing—higher costs.”

“We’re not trying to debate the economics here,” said Katie Nelson, head of consumer research at KashKick. “What we can speak to is behavior, and the behavior is unambiguous. People are actively adapting to—not just absorbing—higher costs.”

The Backdrop: Inflation Is the Dominant Financial Worry

Among KashKick members surveyed about their general financial habits, 45% ranked inflation as their single biggest financial concern, ahead of unemployment (21%), interest rates (12%), the housing market (16%) and stock market volatility (6%).

More than half (53%) described the broader economy as somewhat or very weak, while more than 3 in 10 described their own financial situation as unstable or very unstable.

But that perspective doesn't split cleanly by age. Younger respondents ages 18 to 24 were the most optimistic about the broader U.S. economy of any age group. Yet they were the least likely to describe their own personal finances as stable, and the most likely to call their situation “uncertain.” 

Older respondents ages 65 and up showed the inverse: They were the most pessimistic about the economy overall, but the most likely to describe their own finances as stable. 

In other words, younger respondents felt better about the economy in the abstract but shakier about their own footing, while older users felt the opposite.

Nearly Everyone Has Noticed Higher Prices, Especially on Groceries

Asked where they'd noticed higher prices over the past 12 months, respondents pointed overwhelmingly to groceries, followed by clothing and apparel prices.

• 91% noticed higher prices on groceries.
• 62% noticed higher prices on clothing and apparel.
• 49% noticed higher prices on electronics.
• 48% noticed higher prices on automobiles and auto parts.
• 45% noticed higher furniture and home goods prices.

Less than 3% said they hadn't noticed higher prices in any of the categories listed.

Respondents were also more likely to view those increases as lasting than temporary.

• 42% said they believed the increases were permanent.
• 23% said they believed they were temporary.
• 35% said they weren’t sure.

The Default Response: Trade Down, Not Opt Out

The most common response to higher prices wasn’t cutting purchases altogether. It was substitution. 

More than 7 in 10 respondents (71%) said they had switched to a cheaper or store-brand alternative in response to higher prices in the past year. Beyond that:

• 52% said they had delayed a planned purchase.
• 45% said they had bought secondhand or thrifted instead of new.
• 28% said they bought extra of something ahead of an expected price increase.

Purchase timing shifted, too. Nearly one-third of respondents (30%) said they had made a large purchase—such as electronics, an appliance or a vehicle—earlier than planned specifically to beat an anticipated price increase. 

But waiting was even more common: 65% said they were holding off on a planned purchase in hopes that prices would come back down.

Where KashKick Members Are Finding Room in Their Budgets

To absorb higher costs elsewhere in their budgets, respondents reported cutting back hardest on discretionary spending.

But cutting back only goes so far. 

Nearly a third of respondents (32%) said they had both dipped into savings and increased their credit card use to cover everyday living costs in the past year. Another 26% said they had relied on savings alone, while 21% said they had relied on credit cards alone. Just 21% said they had needed neither.

Many respondents also looked beyond cutting expenses and toward increasing their income. Six in 10 said they had started or increased gig work, reselling or a side hustle specifically to offset higher costs.

Respondents also reported changing how they use rewards and cash back apps. More than a third (34%) said they were using these apps much more deliberately to manage costs than they had a year ago, while another 31% said they were using them somewhat more. 

KashKick's companion financial habits survey also found that cash back and rewards apps were the most commonly used financial tool among respondents in the previous 30 days, at 50%, compared to paycheck advance services (17%), budgeting apps (14%) and automatic savings tools (13%).

That usage wasn't concentrated among the lowest earners, either. In the companion survey, cash back and rewards app usage generally rose with household income, from 40% among those earning under $25,000 to 67% among those earning $150,000 to $174,999, before leveling off somewhat in the highest income brackets.

Within KashKick's panel, that suggests cash back and rewards apps aren't limited to lower-income respondents. These apps were also commonly used by middle- and upper-income respondents. 

Who’s Adjusting the Most

Those adjustments weren’t uniform across KashKick’s panel, with some clear differences by age, parental status and income.

Younger Respondents Adjusted Spending and Sought Extra Income

The share of respondents who said they had started or increased side hustle activity to offset higher costs generally declined with age, from 63% among those ages 25 to 34 to 42% among respondents 65 and older.

The same generational split shows up in purchase timing. Respondents ages 18 to 24 were roughly twice as likely as those 65 and older to say they had bought something early specifically to beat a price increase, at 39% versus 19%.

Meanwhile, 70% of respondents ages 25 to 34 said they were holding off on a purchase in hopes that prices would drop, the highest share of any age group.

Older respondents, by contrast, were far more likely to report neither accelerating purchases nor deliberately putting them off.

“Younger users aren't just reacting to prices, they're actively gaming the timing: buying early, holding off, picking up extra income,” Nelson said. “That's a more strategic posture than we expected to see this clearly.”

Parents Cut Back More on Discretionary Spending

Parents of children under 18 reported noticing higher prices at a greater rate than non-parents in every category surveyed, including groceries (92% versus 90%) and clothing (65% versus 59%).

But when it came to cutting back, parents reported pulling back more than non-parents on dining out (77% versus 71%), travel (61% versus 55%), entertainment (61% versus 56%) and personal care (55% versus 45%). 

On groceries, however, the difference went the other way: 44% of parents said they had cut back, compared with 45% of non-parents.

Within the survey panel, this pattern suggests parents may be prioritizing grocery spending while cutting back more in discretionary categories.

Side Hustle Activity Was Consistent Across Income Groups

Within KashKick's panel, the rates were similar across income groups:

• 60% of respondents earning under $50,000.
• 65% of those earning $50,000 to $99,999.
• 62% of those earning $100,000 to $149,999.
• 60% of those earning $150,000 or more.

Differences by income were more pronounced in spending cutbacks. Households earning under $100,000 reported cutting spending at higher rates than those earning $150,000 or more across nearly every discretionary category surveyed.

Within KashKick's panel, efforts to bring in additional income were relatively consistent across income groups, while spending cuts varied more clearly by income.

The Takeaway

KashKick's findings suggest rising prices aren't prompting a single response. Members are adapting on several fronts at once: trading down, delaying purchases, cutting discretionary spending, drawing on savings or credit, seeking additional income and making more deliberate use of rewards.

While the degree of adjustment varied by age, household makeup and income, the broader pattern is consistent across the panel: Higher costs aren't just changing how much people spend. They're changing when they buy, what they buy and how they pay for it.

“People aren't waiting around for the inflation debate to resolve,” Nelson said. “They're already adjusting, in some cases pretty dramatically. What we're seeing is KashKick members are actively managing this, not just absorbing it. The interesting part for us is watching how many of those adjustments run straight through side income and reward-stacking—the exact behaviors our platform is built around.”

Methodology

KashKick surveyed 82,173 members on shopping behavior and price sentiment in September 2026 and 23,476 members on general financial habits and preferences in June 2026. 

All respondents were existing KashKick members. Findings reflect self-reported behavior within this panel and should not be interpreted as representative of the U.S. population or as a comparison with non-members. Findings on price attribution reflect respondent perception only and do not measure the causal economic impact of tariff policy.