The consumer is the main engine of the American economy. That’s you! And me. No pressure.

Consumers have shown a remarkable willingness to spend despite elevated inflation for years now, even if they’re increasingly unhappy about it. That trend continued into this fall, and we’ll dig into the numbers below, but can we keep it up through the holiday shopping season? My colleague Kristin Schwab looked into it. — Tony Wagner, newsletter editor

When you have six kids, someone always needs a new something.

“It’s expensive,” said Julie Yang, who lives with her husband and family in Minnesota, and spent about $800 on school supplies and clothes this fall. “I was like oh my god, I can’t believe how much we’re spending on back to school stuff because Asher is growing constantly and then Isla’s sprouting like crazy, too.”

Harvey, who’s seven years old, gets a lot of hand-me-downs, which helps because everything is more expensive these days. Filling up the family van costs $100 alone. So this year, they’re going to stick to a budget for Christmas. Actually, rumor has it Old Saint Nick is dealing with inflation, too.

“Uh, mom and dad and Santa Claus talked about it,” Yang said. “We’re just going to do either one really big thing, or we’re just going to do a lot of little small stuff.”

Most families begrudgingly plan to spend as much or more than usual on the holidays this year, according to the consulting firm Accenture, which has been surveying thousands of Americans for 20 years now.

Yet that spending is not enough to make companies feel confident, because a lot of the increase is inflation . In other words, real spending may be flat.

Kelly Askew, global retail lead for Accenture, said shoppers are anxious about their budgets but realistic about prices.

“It doesn’t mean that when December rolls around and I’m out in a mall and I’m feeling festive I’m not going to pull out my credit card for one more purchase,” he said.

So, shoppers are trying to plan ahead and spread out the financial pain. 20% started tackling their holiday lists before August. 90% will start before Black Friday.

“They’re becoming more thoughtful about what they buy, they’re searching for value,” Askew said. “And they’re making deliberate tradeoffs.”

Early shopping is music to any retailer’s ears. It’s easier to manage inventory, and a longer shopping season could coax consumers into spending more overall.

“And so discounts have begun,” said Simeon Siegel, consumer equity research analyst at Guggenheim Securities.

DNEG isn’t a household name, but the visual effects studio has won eight Oscars for its work on movies like “Dune” and “The Odyssey.” After starting from a garage, Tavaria now employs thousands across the globe. We visited DNEG in Mumbai as part of our series “The Age of Work.”

The Milwaukee Brewers are one win away from sweeping Marketplace’s hometown team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and advancing to the World Series.

Jake Bauers hit a two-run homer in the seventh last night to secure the Brewers lead, and he’s had a great run since nearly retiring from professional baseball two years ago.

“To be completely honest, the only thing that brought me back was my wife got pregnant,” he said in a postgame interview. “We need health insurance for these kids.” 

Getting in the door for tonight’s game will actually cost you less than the parking at Dodger Stadium, but it’s free to read our explainer on how health care became tied to employment.