Your Money: Tariffs, markets and how to invest for college now
Parents who put money into 529 plans may find it tricky to find the right investment strategies while the stock market is in turmoil.
Your Money

April 14, 2025

Welcome back. It’s Monday and chaos still reigns.

The stock and bond market’s volatility in recent weeks has reflected the whiplash of President Trump’s on-again and off-again policies on tariffs, the trade war that ensued — and the potential for a global recession.

At least some people, bracing for the prospect of higher prices, acted on that news, and rushed to buy iPhones and other foreign-made items, both big-ticket and small. But then, late Friday, President Trump rolled back part of his policy, sparing smartphones, computers, semiconductors and other items from at least some of the fees. Before that, he placed a pause on some of his most punishing tariffs just hours after he announced them.

With so much uncertainty, it’s hard to know how to plan for the future. As my colleague Ben Casselman recently reported, psychology is important to the state of the economy. If consumers become worried about these headlines — and pull back their spending — that can affect businesses, who experience sales declines that can ultimately lead to layoffs. Businesses prefer certainty when it comes to these policies as well, so they can make long-term decisions.

As for me, I haven’t made any big ticket purchases or stockpiled anything. I also haven’t checked the balances on my retirement or college savings accounts.

Have you done anything differently in recent weeks given the tariffs and market tumult? Did you make any purchases that you may have held off? Are you approaching spending or saving any differently?

Please drop us a line here: YourMoney_newsletter@nytimes.com

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