Are we in a recession? What you should worry about

BOWLING GREEN, Ky.-“We may already be in a recession,” said WKU Assistant Professor of Finance Jon Handy. 

Many people are worried about what’s coming next for the economy. Is a recession looming?

A recession is a period of significant downturn in economic activity that lasts at least a few months… the harrowing word takes many of us back back to 2008

“I think the 2008 financial crisis created a sort of PTSD in individuals in where they hear the word recession they automatically think of that time period,” said Handy. 

News 40 asked several of you in Bowling Green if you’re anxious about a recession. Some of you are, and others…not so much. 

“I am really worried about it and really worried about taking care of my loved ones because things are gonna go up, prices are gonna go up and scarcity’s gonna go up,” said resident Steven Earl. 

“Right now probably not a whole lot worried about it, I watch the news and try to pay attention to it at the moment, not especially here in Bowling Green where things are booming and hopefully will keep booming,” said resident Jim Sears. 

“I’m worried about the employees and stuff cuz they’re paycheck to paycheck most of em. It’s gonna get hard for a lot of people,” said business owner Nikhil Vanmali. 

But everyone we interviewed says they’re already watching money habits. 

“Spending and saving. Watching every penny,” said Vanmali. 

“I have unfortunately begun doing that, especially even more so. I have to be very careful of what I spend nowadays,” said Earl. 

“If there’s something I wanna go do I’ll probably still go do it but at the same time I’ll probably still have that thought rolling around the back of my mind,” said Sears. 

Economists hope people do save… especially with ongoing inflation. Otherwise there could be consequences. 

“Those who aren’t [saving] probably are having to rely on credit cards and debt much more often and I am afraid you are seeing that. I think if there’s a massive recession one of the things you’re going to see are people seeing their debt sources run dry,” said Handy.