Tariffs making you anxious about money? 💰 Advice from a financial expert

Plus: Celebrate the moms in your life 💐

View this email online Today’s newsletter is brought to you by Life Kit producer Clare Marie Schneider   With stock market volatility and fears of price increases driven by the new tariffs, you may be worried about your finances.  In times like these, “focus on what you can control,” says Lauryn Williams, a certified financial planner and founder of Worth Winning, a financial coaching firm. “That can bring our anxiety levels down” and help us make better decisions about our money.   When the economy is hard to predict, tried-and-true financial advice will serve you well, Williams says. Keep adding to your rainy day fund, be cautious of your spending and don’t panic. She shares more tips on how to manage your money right now.  How to manage your money during economic uncertainty Wenjing Yang for NPR 🌐 Stick to buying only what you need. Some people may tell you to make big purchases now or stockpile certain items as tariffs change. But Williams says to exercise some restraint. We don’t know if the tariffs are temporary or long-term or how the economy will adjust. “So only purchase the necessities” and consider holding off on large, unnecessary purchases.   🚫 Watch out for scams. Beware of solicitations to “recession-proof your finances” for a fee, debt relief offers or get-rich-quick schemes, Williams says. Scams tend to ramp up during financial crises. “Avoid people who pressure you to take quick action, look closely at a group or individual’s credentials and do background checks on the organization before you send money off to it.”  💰Continue building up your emergency fund and short-term savings. If there is an economic downturn, “you are going to need something to help you get through the tough time, whether it’s inflation, a layoff or some other emergency,” Williams says.  Finance tips for uncertain economic times Newsletter continues after sponsor message More money-saving tips from Life Kit Shannon Wright for NPR How to spend less money, starting with a budget. Whether you're paying down credit cards or saving for daily necessities, the best place to start is with a budget. Some simple tools can help. Read the story.  Save money grocery shopping. Groceries aren't cheap, but there are ways beyond just looking for sales to make budget meals. To help cut down your grocery bill, we have practical tips for saving money on the food you cook at home. Read the story.  Smart habits to keep you out of credit card debt. Stay on top of your monthly payments and avoid costly fees and interest charges with these smart credit card strategies. Read the story.  5 tips to stop stress-spending. We could all stand to stretch our cash a little further right now. Life Kit teamed up with financial expert Tiffany Aliche, also known as the Budgetnista, for tips about how to separate needs from wants, stop stress-spending and save for the future. Read the story. Support our work & listen sponsor-free Support public media while getting expert advice on health, finance, relationships and more with Life Kit+. You'll get sponsor-free listening and even some specially curated playlists of episodes by theme (Master your budget, Organize your life, Move your body, and more).   Check out all the NPR+ benefits available at plus.npr.org. Explore Life Kit+ ♥️ Celebrate the moms in your life ♥️ This Sunday is Mother’s Day (this is your reminder!). Here are some ideas from Life Kit to make the moms in your life feel loved and appreciated.  💌 Send a hand-written letter. If the mothers in your life aren’t local, try sending a note instead. You can sneak gifts into your letters, says Rachel Syme, author of Syme's Letter Writer: A Guide to Modern Correspondence. Think of flat things you can fit into your envelope, like stickers, pressed flowers, tea bags, paper incense, lottery tickets and iron-on patches, Syme says. More letter-writing tips.  Get a thoughtful gift. Writer and gift-giver extraordinaire Rachel Wilkerson Miller says gifts can do a lot: “They can solve a problem. They can make somebody's life a little easier in some way. They can bring them a little joy or delight or pleasure. They can make them feel less alone. They can make them feel seen.” More tips to be an inspired gift giver. 🌴Plan a fun weekend activity. Treat Mother’s Day as a mini-vacation with a trip to the beach or another activity usually reserved for vacations in your family. Cassie Mogilner-Holmes, associate professor of marketing and behavioral decision making at UCLA's Anderson School of Management, says treating our weekends like mini-vacations actually changes our behaviors. People who do this stay in bed a little longer or cuddle with their special someone a little more, or spend a little more time eating and less time on housework and job responsibilities. More ideas for a fun weekend.  🧘 Give mom a little alone time by taking the kids out for the morning. If you aren’t satisfying your need for alone time, “there might be a cost,” says Robert Coplan of Carleton University in Canada. “Just like there's a cost of being lonely if you don't satisfy your need to belong." What constitutes the right amount of solitude varies person to person, Coplan says, but when you aren't getting enough time on your own, you may begin to feel more irritable, anxious or put out. How solitude can help you regulate your mood. In case you missed it Olivia Fields for NPR Cheap and easy ways to stock your emergency go bag. Putting together a go bag doesn't have to be daunting or expensive. Here's how to create a functional kit that doesn't require much money, time or effort. Read the story here.  What should I sing? How to pick the perfect karaoke song. It can be hard to pick a good karaoke song. You want it to be something you know well enough to pull off onstage, but also something you actually like. Here's how to narrow down your options. Read the story here.  Often ignored spring cleaning tips. Spring is a great excuse to tackle those hard-to-clean appliances and furniture. In this episode, Kyshawn Lane of the Weekly Home Check walks through a surprising mix of deep cleaning tasks, from cleaning your oven to washing your walls. Listen to the episode. Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. What do you think of today's email? 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