Tariffs Spark Recession Fears That Bring Back 2008 Memories

A few weeks ago, Kiki Rough started feeling increasingly anxious about the economy. Reflecting on past financial struggles, she recalled the skills she had developed to make groceries last during tough times. With similar worries resurfacing, Rough decided to create video tutorials featuring recipes from cookbooks published during previous periods of hardship, such as past recessions, depressions, and wartime.

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At 28 years old, Rough openly told her followers that she’s not a trained chef. Instead, she gained her cooking knowledge while relying on food stamps. Broadcasting from her bright yellow-and-black kitchen in the Chicago suburbs, she shows viewers how to prepare inexpensive meals and make DIY versions of store-bought favorites like breakfast strudels and donuts. Rough frequently reminds her audience that they can substitute ingredients with whatever they already have on hand.

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“I keep seeing the same joke pop up in the comments: The old poors teaching the new poors,” Rough said in an interview with CNBC. “But right now, it’s important to share knowledge. People are scared, and learning skills like these can give them the confidence to handle what’s coming.”

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Her videos quickly found a receptive audience on TikTok and Instagram. In just the past month, Rough has gained around 350,000 followers across both platforms and estimates she’s racked up about 21 million video views.

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The announcement of significant tariffs by former President Donald Trump earlier in April has intensified fears of an impending recession. Many Americans, like Rough, are bracing themselves by revisiting lessons learned during the 2008 financial crisis and other economic downturns.

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Google search trends reveal a surge in interest for recession-related topics. Searches for “Global Financial Crisis” are expected to hit levels not seen since 2010, while queries for the “Great Recession” are projected to reach their highest since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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On TikTok, Millennials and Gen Xers have stepped up to offer advice to younger generations on saving money and managing tough economic conditions. Some Gen Z users are seeking guidance from older cohorts, eager to understand what living through a recession might feel like.

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“This could be the first time, at a large scale, that Millennials are seen as the ‘experts’ on something,” said Scott Sills, a 33-year-old marketer from Louisiana. “We’re the generation that knows what it’s like to have the rug pulled out from under us.”

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The advice being shared often revisits survival tactics from the late 2000s. Cheap trips to Florida replaced overseas vacations. People kept folders of receipts to catch post-purchase sales. Business-casual attire was worn to parties because wardrobes had to be practical.

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Affordable meals like pork chops became staples, with one creator humorously saying they "taste like" the Great Recession. Instead of buying expensive drinks at bars, young adults made “jungle juice” — a mix of low-cost liquors and sodas — at house parties.

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“There were things I thought were just trends back then, but now I recognize them as signs of a recession,” said M.A. Lakewood, a writer and fundraiser in upstate New York. “You can spot it coming from a mile away now.”

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Still, some users are pointing out that today’s economic pressures have made many old cost-cutting strategies less effective. For example, despite living costs soaring, the federal minimum wage has stayed at $7.25 since 2009.

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Kimberly Casamento, a digital media manager from New Jersey, recently launched a TikTok series where she revisits recipes from a 2009 cookbook focused on budget meals. She’s found that the cost of ingredients for what were once cheap meals has doubled or even tripled. Alongside documenting these price hikes, Casamento shares tips on how to save money where possible.

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“Everything is so expensive that even saving $5 on a meal is a win now,” Casamento said.

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Sharing advice like this is natural during economic hardship, says Megan Way, an associate professor at Babson College who studies family economics. In the 2000s, neighbors shared advice face-to-face. Today, those conversations are happening online.

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“When things feel uncertain, people naturally reach out to others and learn from their experiences,” Way said. “It’s a way to feel a little more prepared, and preventing widespread fear is crucial for the economy.”

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Way noted that while people are drawing parallels to the Great Recession, today’s economy is different. The 2008 crisis was triggered by bad debt and a housing market collapse, whereas today’s uncertainty stems from other sources, including global tensions and domestic policy shifts.

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Nonetheless, fears about the future are mounting. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index recently recorded one of its lowest readings in 70 years.

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This anxiety is spilling into cultural observations too. When Lukas Battle posted a TikTok joking about divorce rates rising during recessions, many users chimed in with personal stories about family breakups. (Although divorce rates actually fell during the 2008 crisis, the perception lingers.)

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Other cultural echoes are resurfacing. Viral videos of flash mobs evoke memories of late 2000s trends. Disney’s revival of Phineas and Ferb, originally launched during the last recession, also brings nostalgia.

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Even music has taken a familiar turn. Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, and Katy Perry, who dominated the charts during the Great Recession, are releasing new hits in 2025.

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“It’s like a permission slip to find some happiness despite everything,” said Sills. “It’s not ignoring the problems — it’s finding some joy while we navigate them.”

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