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LendingTree | A LendingTree analysis finds that families’ back-to-school spending has changed little over the past six years, despite broad price increases across the economy. Families with children in elementary through high school spent $858 in 2025 on electronics, clothing/accessories, shoes and school supplies, up 0.6% from an estimated $853 in 2019.

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LendingTree | Shoplifting appears to be becoming more common as many American consumers continue to face financial pressure. According to a LendingTree survey, 3 in 10 Americans say they’ve shoplifted, up from 23% in 2024. Most respondents who say they shoplifted in the past year cite inflation and broader economic conditions as contributing factors. The survey also examines which consumers are most likely to shoplift, what items they report stealing and the types of stores they most often target.

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LendingTree | Americans are continuing to struggle financially, and the latest bankruptcy data makes that clear. Personal bankruptcy filings rose for the third straight year in 2025, reaching 549,577 filings, up 46.9% from a recent low of 374,240 in 2022.

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LendingTree | Summer is typically synonymous with road trips, beach getaways, family vacations and more. But for many Americans this year, rising travel expenses are making staying home the most appealing destination of all. According to a LendingTree survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers, transportation costs are squeezing travel budgets and forcing many to scale back, alter or cancel plans altogether. Here’s a closer look.

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LendingTree | The men’s soccer World Cup is coming to the U.S. for the first time in 32 years, but attending a match in person will cost fans an average of more than $2,100 per person. That staggering number, based on a LendingTree analysis of publicly available data, includes the cost of a match ticket, airfare, lodging, food and incidentals, and local transportation for one person attending any of the 52 group-stage matches in the U.S. this spring and summer.

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LendingTree | Almost 1 in 5 Americans 65 or older had a full-time or part-time job in 2025. That’s largely unchanged from two years earlier, according to a LendingTree analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data on the employment status of retirement-age Americans. However, a closer look at the data reveals significant differences by state in the percentage of 65-plus Americans who are still working, as well as notable variation across occupations.

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LendingTree | A growing percentage of buy now, pay later (BNPL) users say they’ve paid late on one of these loans in the past year. Now, 47% of BNPL users have done so, up six percentage points from 2025 and 13 percentage points from two years ago. That’s just one of the troubling findings in LendingTree’s 2026 Buy Now, Pay Later Report. We asked consumers about their behaviors and perspectives regarding these popular loans. Along with increased late payments, we found that more users are buying groceries with these loans and carrying three or more BNPL loans at once, and that more than half of BNPL users say they wouldn’t be able to make ends meet without them.

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LendingTree | Going organic at the grocery store has always come at a cost, but that cost is significant — and growing. Already, organic fruits and vegetables cost 59.0% more on average than their conventional counterparts. And over the course of a year, organic prices surged 10.0%, while conventional prices remained nearly unchanged.

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LendingTree | Covering everyday bills is among the most common reasons borrowers apply for personal loans, with younger borrowers and those with lower credit scores relying on them most heavily. This study examines the growing dependence on personal loans for basic expenses, including when, where and among whom the trend is strongest.

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LendingTree | Mother’s Day is around the corner, but rising prices may mean there’s less to unwrap this year. A LendingTree survey found that while Mother’s Day gift-giving remains the norm, more people plan to skip it this year. (Sorry, Mom.) The holiday is also likely to hit wallets hard. Of those planning to give a gift this Mother’s Day, more than half say they might spend more than they can afford this year — largely due to inflation.

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