Young stressed mother checking her finances while her daughter is playing next to her

Whether you’re feeling a nip in the air or it’s still sweltering hot where you live, fall is upon us. The changing colors bring changing demands on your wallet. Some of these costs can be avoided or reduced, but others won’t be scared off this spooky season. These higher expenses lead some Americans to turn to credit, but many have been relying on credit even before fall costs hit. Cue the need for a fall money plan.

NerdWallet’s September 2026 Financial Resilience Index finds that 40% of Americans with a household income of less than $50,000 say they’ll likely need to lean on credit to manage at least some of their expenses this month compared with 33% of those with a household income of $100,000 or more.

Originally published on nerdwallet.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.

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