Plus, gas prices for the Memorial Day holiday
| |  | | May 23, 2025 | | | | | | | | | | Editor's Note: We'll be off on Monday for Memorial Day. On the Money will be back in your inbox on Wednesday. | | | | | | | | The Secret Ingredient to Saving: Your Kitchen | By Ben Kesslen
If your paycheck isn't stretching as far as it used to and you're worried about where the economy is headed, you're probably looking for ways to reduce your expenses.
One biggie is food, and pretty much everyone knows it costs less to eat at home than to eat out. But how much less? We looked into it.
First off, the average U.S. household spent almost $4,000 in 2023 eating out, 30% more than just two years earlier, according to the most recent data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The cost of eating at home has also grown significantly since the pandemic turbocharged inflation: Groceries are 27% more expensive than they were in March 2020, according to the Consumer Price Index.
So what's a good estimate of the potential cost savings? | | | | | | | | | | Can fine dining meet frugal cooking? TikTok influencer Danny Kim challenged award-winning chefs to make a meal on a $20 budget. (Danny Kim via YouTube) | | | | | | | |   | | Recovery Road | It was February 19. Stocks were sitting at all-time highs, with the S&P 500 surpassing 6144. A rapidly shifting policy landscape was largely written off by investors as the typical early days of a new administration.
Then came April 2. On what President Trump called Liberation Day, he unveiled a baseline universal tariff on imports in addition to higher reciprocal tariffs.
The market reaction was swift. Over the next week, stocks — already down 7.7% from their all-time highs — fell an additional 12% as investors grappled with what were likely to be the meaningfully negative effects of higher import costs.
The market carnage ended suddenly on April 9, when the administration announced a 90-day pause on tariffs to allow time for negotiations. The S&P 500 rose 9.5% that day, the 10th best day for stocks since 1927.
Looking past major tit-for-tat retaliation with China and an eventual detente, stocks have nearly round-tripped all the way back, now sitting just 5% away from all-time highs.
If the pivot on trade policy was what ignited this rally, washed-out positioning and bearish sentiment, which reached its most extreme levels since 2022, served as fuel. Factors like this can affect price only for so long before fading, however. That looks to be happening now with the recent strong momentum losing some steam.
Read more | | | | | | | | 42 cents | | That's how much less Memorial Day drivers will spend on a gallon of gas this year versus last year, according to AAA. A gallon of regular unleaded averaged $3.18 Wednesday, down from $3.60 a year ago. A record 39.4 million Americans are expected to take road trips over the long holiday weekend — the unofficial start of summer. | | | | | | | | Intel, insights, and inspo for your money. | | On the Money cuts through the noise of day‑to‑day financial news to bring you a more thoughtful point of view on what's important in this moment — and how it impacts your bottom line. We value your trust above all. | | | | | | | | | | Did you find today's newsletter valuable? | | | | |
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