Here's a sobering reality check on the current state of the US economy: 92% of employed Americans have had to dial back their spending. That's not a small margin of error—that's the overwhelming majority feeling the squeeze.

What we're seeing is a slow-motion erosion of purchasing power. As inflation pressures compound and wage growth fails to keep pace, ordinary folks are making hard choices: cutting back on discretionary purchases, delaying big-ticket items, trimming restaurant visits. It's the everyday math of survival in an economy where living costs keep climbing.

For anyone tracking macro trends and market cycles, this data is a key signal. Consumer spending drives roughly 70% of the US economy. When that many people are in retrenchment mode, it ripples through everything—retail demand, corporate earnings, employment trends. The standard of living squeeze is real, and it's affecting decision-making at every level.

This isn't just a personal finance story. It's an economic headwind that shapes everything from inflation expectations to asset allocation strategies. Markets don't move in a vacuum, and consumer behavior data like this is part of the bigger picture worth paying attention to.