I was really hoping not to kick off this week’s newsletter with more tariff talk, but it is hard not to. 

With stock market volatility and consumer sentiment tanking amid a darkening economic outlook, the recent buying binge will probably fizzle in the months ahead as Americans hunker down.

Receipts at auto dealerships jumped 5.3% in March, the biggest advance since January 2023. Sales at building material and garden equipment suppliers shot up 3.3%. Sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and bookstore sales rose 2.4%.

Several readers reached out to say they’ve purchased new cars in recent weeks amid tariff worries. One is Tracy, who lives in Newport, North Carolina. He wrote to me to say he was planning to buy his wife a new car this fall but visited the local Subaru dealership on March 31, just to check out what was in stock ahead of tariffs.

The dealership did not have the Subaru Outback his wife wanted, but they found another dealer with the ideal model within a 600-mile radius. They locked in a 60-month loan with 2.9% annual percentage rate, and the cost was $2,000 below the listed price, Tracy says.

“To say we feel lucky – both with finding what she wanted in current inventory and also beating tariff prices – is understated,” Tracy wrote via email.

I also received a message from Paul, who says he is hoping to buy a newish-but-used car later this year. 

Paul could not push up the timetable to purchase one before the tariffs took effect. “We are saving for a move across the country,” Paul writes. “So (we) will just have to deal with the higher prices later.” 

Paul says he expects to pay cash for his next car – “although the decline in the market is not going to make that easier.”

Let me know if you’ve made any big purchases ahead of tariffs or if you’re eyeing anything pricey now. Write to me at onthemoney@thomsonreuters.com.

Trillions of dollars have been wiped off and added back to portfolios this month, leading to high anxiety among investors.

The rollercoaster ride is nerve wracking for both average Americans and financial professionals. It shows that the back-and-forth over tariffs – which is causing huge market swings – comes at a cost.

Most experts say the best thing to do right now is to sit tight (more on this below), which is not always the easiest advice to follow.

Money stress has long-lasting effects, though. Indeed, nearly half of Americans (47%) recently surveyed by Quicken report that financial anxiety impairs their ability to make clear decisions about their future. 

This especially impacts younger generations, with 60% of Gen Z and 56% of millennials saying the stress clouds their decision-making, while only 18% of boomers report the same struggle, according to the survey, which was released on April 17.

What stresses you most about money? Write to me at onthemoney@thomsonreuters.com.

Market Talk: Fed has no grasp on where economy is headed

Michael Landsberg, chief investment officer at Landsberg Bennett Private Wealth Management, said Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's comments show how clouded the central bank's economic ‘guesstimations’ are. Watch here.

My portfolio is down. But I'm not looking at it. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

At this point in 2025, it is safe to say that checking your investments constantly can be dangerous.

That is because the pain of losing money is more powerful than the pleasure of making it — a cognitive bias that behavioral finance experts call loss aversion.

Looking at your retirement and investment accounts non-stop when the market is falling is a terrible idea because seeing your lower balances only makes you feel worse, experts say.

Indeed, I did not look at my account balance for an ENTIRE YEAR during the last big downturn! And I’m doing my best not to look right now. But if retirement is around the corner, you might not have a choice. 

Do you agree or disagree? Let me know your thoughts at onthemoney@thomsonreuters.com.