JOHN YANG: Good evening.

I'm John Yang.

Today, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent seemed to acknowledge that President Trump's tariffs may lead to some prices going up, but downplayed fears that it would fuel inflation.

On CNN's State of the Union, Bessent said he spoke with Walmart CEO after he announced this past week that the retailer may pass tariff costs along to consumers.

SCOTT BESSENT, Secretary of the Treasury: Walmart will be absorbing some of the tariffs.

Some may get passed on to consumers.

But the other thing that's happening is that inflation is down.

We had the first drop inflation in four years under President Trump.

JOHN YANG: This past week, a closely watched measure of consumer sentiment slid to a near record low, largely on concerns about trade policy.

Ali Rogin spoke about all of this with Erin Lowry, a personal finance expert and author of the "Broke Millennial" book series.

ALI ROGIN: Erin, thanks for joining me.

Let's start with the anxiety that lots of Americans are feeling right now, the R word recession that's being thrown around a lot in recent weeks.

Are we any closer to a recession right now?

ERIN LOWRY, Author, "Broke Millentnial": The situation is we don't actually know whether or not we are in a recession yet.

And part of that is because they can't declare if we're in a recession until there's enough data to make that determination.

That they is the National Bureau of Economic Research, NBER, and that's the organization that determines and announces the start and the end date to recessions.

Now, one of the key indicators is 2/4 consecutively of negative GDP growth now, we had one last quarter.

We'll find out in June whether or not there were two quarters.

So by July, we might know whether or not we have been in a recession this entire time.

ALI ROGIN: You've coined the term personal recession to refer to how some people feel despite broader economic indicators.

What does that mean and how can people break out of that sort of cycle?

ERIN LOWRY: Well, when it comes to a personal recession, that can happen at any time, no matter how the economy is doing.

And it largely has to do with your ability to earn an income.

So if we think about folks who may be en masse have been getting laid off lately, there are plenty of people who are already potentially in a personal recession.

There are so many Americans that live in a paycheck to paycheck cycle that disruption of a job loss is catastrophic potentially to their personal finances.

So even if the economy is doing well and or if the stock market is doing well, it can still feel for some people like a personal recession.

And if inflation is going up, cost of consumer goods are going up, everything feels more expensive to you, and it's reflected in your household budget.

That's pretty painful.

ALI ROGIN: Some of the data shows that the job market is strong despite layoffs.

Inflation is slowing somewhat.

So why then is consumer confidence still at the low point that it is?

ERIN LOWRY: Well, if you think about a lot of the goods that consumers are interacting with every day, we're thinking about groceries or gas prices that if they continue to go up or stay high and cost of groceries especially have felt very high for quite a long time.

Unless there's a really significant decline, those are things people are interacting with weekly.

If you're seeing all of these prices just go up and up or just stay high, that feels like a recession to you.

Whether or not the other economic indicators actually conclude we're in one, it at least feels shaky to folks, and it can really erode at consumer confidence.

ALI ROGIN: What would you say to everyday investors who are looking to navigate some of the recent turmoil that somewhat seems to have leveled out at the moment, but of course, everything is still very in flux.

ERIN LOWRY: One important thing to remember is that the stock market is not the economy.

We so often conflate those two things.

But while they play with each other, they are not mutually dependent on each other.

So the stock market sometimes does really well while we're in a recession.

And sometimes the economy's doing great, but the stock market goes into a bear market.

One of the great examples of this is the Great Recession.

Back in March of 2009 is when the longest bull run in stock market history that went on for a full decade started.

We weren't officially called at the end of the recession until June of 2009.

So the bull market started before the recession ended.

But I'm a millennial.

I remember it felt like were in the Great Recession for a heck of a lot longer than June of 2009.

So even though it still felt really hard to get a job or maintain employment, the stock market did do really well during that time.

ALI ROGIN: What would your financial advice be for people on either ends of the employment spectrum right now, both those entering the job market and those looking retire sometime soon?

ERIN LOWERY: Well, I'll start first with those who are looking to retire.

And that is to say, if you do not have a financial advisor, now is a great time to talk to someone.

Take a look at your investment portfolio.

Determine whether or not it makes sense to retire into this economic climate, or maybe if it would make more sense to perhaps push the date on retirement.

Now, for folks who are just entering, I see you.

I remember how it feels to graduate into a recession and try to find stable employment.

A few big things to keep in mind.

One, if you do have student loans, stay on top of those payments.

Make it sure that you understand all of the ins and outs of when they're due, who you have to make payments to, and at least make those minimum payments.

You do want to protect your credit score as much as you can during this time.

You don't want anything going to collections.

Millennials.

We were teased a lot for being what they called boomerang kids going back to live with our parents.

But hey, if you can keep your cost of living down significantly, it makes a lot of sense.

You can really shore up those cash reserves, especially during uncertain economic times.

ALI ROGIN: Erin Lowry, thank you so much for your insights.

ERIN LOWERY: Thanks for having me.