In March, just days before President Donald Trump announced a national emergency regarding the U.S. trade deficit, which caused market instability and decline, Kim Casamento, a 32-year-old, was exploring the aisles of a quaint thrift store located in Wayne, New Jersey. It was a seemingly ordinary day until she overheard another shopper sharing her exciting find: an original Martha Stewart cookbook that she successfully resold for an impressive $500. Although Casamento was not well-versed in the world of vintage cookbooks, curiosity prompted her to start scanning the shelves for hidden gems.
That’s when she stumbled upon a remarkable find: The $7 a Meal Cookbook, a 2008 guide designed to assist families in feeding a group of four on a budget of $7 or less during the tumultuous times of the Great Recession. (As a side note, the recipes listed in the book cost significantly more than $7 in the current year of 2025.)
“The price of everything is skyrocketing these days. Gas prices, commodities futures, and the economy in general are forcing food prices up sharply,” the author, Linda Larsen, noted in her introduction. “We have to take control of our budgets.”
Seventeen years have gone by since the cookbook was published. However, with universal tariffs now in place and Trump’s retaliatory trade war negatively impacting consumer sentiment, the cookbook’s advice seems eerily relevant even in today’s context.
“I saw that cookbook and thought, you know what, this could be my TikTok project,” Casamento explains. Known as saltandvibes on the trendy video-sharing platform, she is among a growing cohort of social media content creators who have carved out a unique niche: providing tips and insights on how to prepare for a potential economic downturn.
Essential Strategies for Recession Preparation
As economic uncertainty tightens its grip on America, a surge of financial advice is emerging online, addressing everything from avoiding panic buying to predicting potential job losses. The creators of this content range from popular “finfluencers” like Vivian Tu, who boasts 2.7 million followers on TikTok, to smaller creators eager to participate in this timely conversation.
“We don’t panic during recessions; we prepare for them,” asserts TikToker itzettromero, who has been actively posting videos with recession-preparation advice in recent weeks. Among her recommendations: young individuals should seek guidance from millennials, immigrants, or those who grew up in low-income households, as they possess valuable insights on navigating financial challenges. She also emphasizes the importance of creating shopping lists and sticking to them, advising to include inexpensive, versatile items like tuna on those lists.
Some of the recession-preparation videos, including those produced by Casamento, boast surprisingly high production values. Others, like those from itzettromero, employ dark humor and jokes about young people once again confronting a “once-in-a-lifetime” economic event.
In her engaging videos, Casamento rigorously tests Larsen’s recipes—not just for taste, but also by comparing grocery prices from 2008 to 2025, all while sharing practical tips for cooking on a budget. She has ambitious plans to produce 30 recession recipe videos over the course of 30 days.
Despite the serious topic of preparing for a recession, Casamento’s videos are anything but dull. They feature mouthwatering close-ups of gooey chocolate oatmeal cookies, crispy homemade parmesan potato chips, and fluffy scrambled eggs. Her skilled camerawork makes the recipes appear irresistible, even if some are rated as low as a 2 out of 10 for taste.
About a dozen recipes into her project, Casamento has already garnered nearly 700,000 views, sparking numerous discussions with her audience regarding their perceptions of the economy.
“The majority of my audience is comprised of women, who often take on the role of caretakers and are typically the ones doing the grocery shopping,” she notes. “Regardless of whether we are officially heading into a recession, many people are expressing their belief that we are already experiencing one.”
This genre of content is resonating deeply with young Americans and is rapidly proliferating. On TikTok, over 130,000 videos currently utilize the hashtags #recession and #recessionproof, illustrating the widespread concern and engagement with the topic.
Understanding Economic Sentiment: Are We Facing a Recession?
It is essential to clarify that a recession has not yet been officially declared in the United States. The National Bureau of Economic Research, or NBER, is responsible for making that determination once it identifies “a significant decline in economic activity that is spread across the economy and lasts for more than a few months,” as noted on its official website.
Although we have not yet reached this critical threshold, many individuals are currently feeling pessimistic about the economy, as highlighted by Sofia Baig, an economist at Morning Consult. This sentiment extends beyond just social media users.
Recent survey results from the University of Michigan indicate that consumer confidence in the economy is currently lower than it was during the Great Recession, spanning from December 2007 to June 2009. This data suggests that everyday Americans are increasingly concerned about job security, expecting inflation to rise, and fearing a decline in their incomes.
Meanwhile, J.P. Morgan has recently increased its recession forecast for 2025 from 40% to 60%, while Goldman Sachs similarly raised its recession probability prediction from 35% to 45%. This uncertainty has been mirrored in the stock market, where prices have experienced significant fluctuations since Trump announced widespread tariffs.
As of now, these statistics primarily reflect how people feel about the economy rather than actual economic performance. The latest reports from the Departments of Labor and Commerce indicate that the unemployment rate (4.2%), inflation rate (2.4%), and gross domestic product (2.4%) are all within healthy parameters. However, real economic threats do exist, particularly those related to Trump’s trade war, which could adversely affect unemployment rates, inflation, and GDP.
Nonetheless, public sentiment and expectations can serve as crucial indicators of economic trends.
“It’s a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Baig explains. If individuals harbor enough negative feelings about the economy, they may reduce their spending. “Reduced consumer spending can slow down the economy.”
Theoretically, if the trend of recession-prepping or fearmongering on social media escalates significantly, it could influence consumer behaviors, potentially increasing the likelihood of a recession. However, Baig asserts that this is not currently the case. Many of these videos appear to be harmless, if not beneficial.
“When we analyze spending data, the picture is quite optimistic,” she states. “We are not currently observing any significant slowdown.”
In fact, she notes that Morning Consult data consistently demonstrates that younger individuals are the ones making the most discretionary purchases, including spending on entertainment, dining out, and leisure activities.
While numerous people may be vocalizing their bleak perceptions of the economy in surveys and on social media platforms, the tangible economic data remains quite stable. Baig does not believe that the current wave of recession prep on TikTok necessarily foreshadows a genuine recession—not at this moment, at least.
“It seems like it might just be a matter of vibes,” she concludes, “and may not correlate with actual economic actions.”
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