July 31, 2026
If you’ve looked at your bank statements lately, you might find yourself searching for a leak that you can’t quite locate. There haven’t been any unexpected emergency expenses, impulse purchases, or hits to your household income. By every traditional standard of financial responsibility, you’re doing everything right.
Yet at the end of every month, the cushion in your checking and savings account feels a little thinner.
This experience is far from unusual across the Greater Philadelphia region right now. According to the 2026 WSFS Money Trends Survey, many households throughout the tri-state area are actively pulling back on spending even as their overall expenses continue to climb. The survey found that 39% of consumers are spending less overall compared to last year, while only 32% are spending more.
Tighter budgets aren't a reflection of lifestyle creep or poor financial discipline. Rising costs in unavoidable categories are the real driver.
When budgets feel tight, the instinct is to look for lifestyle corrections, which could mean fewer dinners out, canceling streaming subscriptions, or a shorter annual family vacation. However, the data shows that regional households are making those changes with 38% of respondents cutting back on restaurants, 35% spending less on vacations, 33% trimming online shopping, and 32% lowering their entertainment budgets.
The problem is the fixed costs of daily life aren’t cooperating with efforts to reduce household expenses. Among regional respondents who reported increased spending, 77% cited inflation and rising costs as the primary driver. Only 17% attributed their increased spending to lifestyle choices like vacations or shopping.
The real financial pressure is concentrated heavily in everyday essentials. Groceries lead the increase, with 67% of respondents reporting spending more. Utilities follow at 55%, while transportation and housing both sit at 44%. Since you can’t stop buying groceries or commuting to work, these costs quietly absorb whatever is saved by cutting elsewhere.
Faced with a tighter environment, many consumers are adopting more conservative financial habits. The appetite to borrow has cooled. Instead of taking on more debt, 30% of survey respondents are actively avoiding loans, 25% are reducing credit card spending, and 17% are delaying major purchases.
The appetite for Buy Now, Pay Later services has cooled as well, with just 21% of respondents reporting increased use this year. Meanwhile, 41% are leaning more heavily on debit cards to keep their spending tied to funds they already have on hand.
Taking control of debt is a smart and necessary move. But staying ahead in a high-cost environment also requires being deliberate with any dollars left over once the bills are paid.
This is where many households have room to gain. Consumer awareness and usage of standard checking accounts (92%) and traditional savings accounts (87%) are nearly universal, but a significant number of consumers are overlooking higher-yield vehicles. Nearly a quarter of respondents said they weren’t familiar with high-yield money market accounts;16% said the same about high-yield savings accounts.
In a higher-interest-rate environment, keeping excess cash in a standard, low-yield account means missing out on passive growth that could help offset the inflationary pressures squeezing your budget.
The digital tools you already use can help bring the full picture into focus. The survey finds that regular usage of payment apps has risen to 73%, and digital wallets are used regularly by 64% of respondents. Used intentionally, these tools provide real-time visibility into where money is going, making it easier to spot patterns and direct dollars deliberately.
For Clients, we recommend making intentional choices with the money you control by getting ahead of a high-cost environment. That might mean moving excess cash into a higher-yield account, using the apps already on your phone to surface spending patterns you may have missed, or having a conversation with your bank to find out whether your savings are positioned well for this moment.
At WSFS, we work with Clients across the Greater Philadelphia region to review cash flow, identify smarter places to hold savings, and build a clearer financial picture that holds up even when the cost of everything else keeps climbing.
The financial pressure felt by Philadelphia-area families is real. But with an intentional approach to dollars within your reach, your budget can still pave the way for a stable, prosperous future.
Shari Kruzinski is Executive Vice President and Chief Consumer Banking Officer at WSFS Bank. Her career spans nearly 40 years in the banking industry, serving over 35 years with WSFS.
In her current position, Ms. Kruzinski leads the Consumer Banking division. Prior to her current role, Ms. Kruzinski was Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer leading Customer Experience and enterprise-wide Customer initiatives. As a seasoned people manager and expert in talent development, she oversaw the Bank’s retail offices, contact center, sales strategy, and operations. Previously, she was Senior Vice President and Regional Manager of WSFS Bank’s Southeastern Pennsylvania market. She led the Bank’s operations, and consumer and small business banking in Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties. As a senior executive she led the division through numerous acquisitions. Ms. Kruzinski played a key role in developing Customer acquisition and retention strategies; Associate hiring and retention; corporate strategy formulation and execution; new market identification and expansion.
As a working mother of four, she has a deep commitment to fellow mothers and their children and devotes her talents to the March of Dimes, where she serves as Chair of the Eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Southern NJ Market Board. In 2024, Shari also joined the Board of Partners in Outreach, a Chester County Pennsylvania nonprofit that focuses on closing literacy gaps.
Ms. Kruzinski was named 2018 Female Business Leader of the Year by the Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry. In 2020, she was recognized by the Philadelphia Business Journal and honored with the Women of Distinction award. She was named one of the Top 50 Women Leaders in Banking by Women We Admire in 2024.
Ms. Kruzinski attended Wilmington University and is a graduate of ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking. She calls Kennett Square, PA home where she and her husband are raising their family.
