Opinion

You can blame inflation for your bad finances. Or are you spending too much?

Credit card debt is at an all-time high even as restaurants stay packed and flights sell out, pointing to a spending discipline crisis

By Ted Jenkin Fox News

Published March 27, 2026 5:00am EDT

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There’s a narrative floating around right now that if inflation would cool off and if prices would finally come down, Americans would be back on solid financial footing.

I don’t buy it. Not at all.

Because here’s the uncomfortable truth. Even if prices dropped tomorrow, a lot of Americans would still be going broke.

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And it’s not just about the economy.

It’s about our instant gratification behavior.

The Blame Game Is Getting Old

We’ve spent the last few years pointing fingers at:

And yes, prices did go up. A lot.

But at some point, we must take a step back and ask a harder question:

If money is so tight, then why does it look like nobody got the memo?

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