Your Money Minute (CNBC)

Episode: High Earnings Now Changing Spending Habits

Date: November 6, 2025
Host: Jessica Ettinger

Episode Overview

This short episode of Your Money Minute addresses a surprising shift in U.S. personal finance: even high-income earners are beginning to change their spending habits due to economic uncertainty. Host Jessica Ettinger delivers a succinct, headline-driven personal finance insight, highlighting new financial concerns among America’s wealthiest consumers and the potential implications for broader consumer spending trends.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Cracks in Upper-Income Spending

• Jessica Ettinger opens with the news that retail spending, once resilient, is now softening even among the wealthiest.

  “Retail spending had been holding up, but it looks like even the wealthy may be starting to crack.” — Jessica Ettinger [00:04]

2. Diminishing Income Expectations at the Top

• Guest expert Drew Mattis (MetLife) discusses a marked downturn in high earners’ future income expectations, especially when adjusted for inflation:

  “The biggest deterioration in terms of people's expectations for their income minus inflation is coming from the extreme upper end of the income scale.” — Drew Mattis [00:11]

• High earners, who have traditionally propped up consumer spending, now anticipate fewer and smaller raises ahead, while also feeling pressured by persistent price increases.

3. Changing Behaviors Across Income Levels

• Drew Mattis observes that:
  • Lower-income consumers’ sentiment continues to worsen.
  • The middle-income group is relatively stable.
  • The most significant shift—deterioration in financial outlook—is among upper-income Americans.

  “Lower end consumers are actually—they're worsening. The middle is kind of holding in. But the real deterioration in terms of expectations is coming from the upper end.” — Drew Mattis [00:34]

4. Possible Impact on Consumer Habits

• The expected behavioral change among high earners:

  “…that might not translate into decreases in consumption for quite some time, but it's certainly going to get those people that maybe be doing things that are different than they had been in the past, maybe looking for deals where they hadn't in the past.” — Drew Mattis [00:41]

5. Outlook for Consumer Spending

• Jessica Ettinger summarizes:
  • The change appears to be slow and gradual—a “slow crack.”
  • Uncertainty looms for after the holiday season, especially heading into Q1 of the following year.

  “After everyone spends for the holidays, the first quarter is a question mark.” — Jessica Ettinger [00:59]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jessica Ettinger [00:04]:
  “Retail spending had been holding up, but it looks like even the wealthy may be starting to crack.”
• Drew Mattis, MetLife [00:11]:
  “The biggest deterioration in terms of people's expectations for their income minus inflation is coming from the extreme upper end of the income scale.”
• Drew Mattis, MetLife [00:34]:
  “Lower end consumers are actually—they're worsening. The middle is kind of holding in. But the real deterioration in terms of expectations is coming from the upper end…”
• Drew Mattis, MetLife [00:41]:
  “…maybe looking for deals where they hadn't in the past.”
• Jessica Ettinger [00:59]:
  “After everyone spends for the holidays, the first quarter is a question mark.”

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–00:11 — Introduction: Cracks in spending among the wealthy
• 00:11–00:19 — Drew Mattis on high-income expectations deteriorating
• 00:19–00:34 — Concern about fewer/lower raises and inflation pressures
• 00:34–00:58 — Drew Mattis: Breakdown by income level, early signs of upper-end behavioral change
• 00:58–01:10 — Jessica Ettinger: “Slow crack” in overall U.S. consumer spending, uncertainties ahead

Episode Takeaway

For the first time in recent years, high earners in America are expressing concern about the future, not just in sentiment but also in changed behaviors. While effects may not immediately show in spending data, hints of a “slow crack” could forecast broader shifts in the U.S. economy—especially after the holiday surge. This brief episode encourages listeners to watch for these subtle changes as an early signal of evolving consumer trends.