Everyone looks to the stock market to figure out if we’re heading into a recession. Sure, it has some info—for example, the market right now would tell us we definitely are—but that’s not the only recession warning sign we should be on the lookout for. If you know where to train your eyes, you’ll realize recession indicators are all around us. For example, any of the following might be a red flashing light:

  • Taylor Swift starts a perfume line.
  • Your favorite OnlyFan star moves her feet pics to subscription only.
  • Equinox downgrades from Kiehl’s to CeraVe.
  • Trader Joe’s eliminates their free samples.
  • You spot a store advertising its products as “pre-loved.” It sells cleaning supplies.
  • Your Williamsburg friends move to Bushwick. Yes, they talk about it like someone who moved from America to the penguin-only island Trump tariffed, but they moved.
  • Suddenly, every guy on Hinge is into “romantic walks.”
  • Raw milk is actually the affordable choice—if you acquire a cow.
  • Hulu now offers a product that’s entirely ads. And it’s only $2.99/month.
  • You spot an influencer wearing the same outfit twice. Yikes.
  • The next season of The White Lotus is set in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
  • “Deconstructed PB and J” is on the menu at three-star restaurants. And on a second date, you order one to share (on the first date, your romantic walk went so well that you had to see them again).
  • #UrbanForaging starts trending on TikTok. This is just advice on which Trader Joe’s have free samples, but unfortunately, there aren’t any.
  • Donald Trump creates his own meme coin. Or, like, his fifth meme coin.
  • The people you need to suck up to in order to get on a boat this summer are few and far between—and more annoying than ever.
  • You feel incredibly smart for never opening a 401(k). Your mom still disagrees.
  • A dollar slice now costs four dollars. This has actually been the norm for years, but you start noticing.
  • Your rich friends just become your regular friends, at which point you start to think, “Wait, do I even like these people? Or did I just like their boats?”
  • Instead of buying new books, you read some of the books you already own. Or one of them. You start reading at least one book on your shelf. You get ten pages in. That’s the farthest you’ve gotten in years.
  • You join the neighborhood Buy Nothing Facebook group. Not even for the free stuff, just because you canceled your Peacock subscription and can’t watch Real Housewives anymore, so you need your dose of drama.
  • Whole Foods starts selling individual grapes. For $1.99
  • The only car you can afford is a Tesla. So obviously, you just walk.
  • You don’t live with your parents; your parents live with you.
  • And they also switched to CeraVe.