Something weird is happening with American households right now. As we're wrapping up the year, their outlook on the economy has actually gotten darker compared to where they started in January. Yet here's the kicker – they're still out there spending like there's no tomorrow.

This disconnect is pretty wild when you think about it. People are feeling worse about economic conditions, more pessimistic about what's coming down the pipeline, but their wallets haven't gotten the memo yet. Consumer activity remains surprisingly robust despite all the doom and gloom in sentiment surveys.

What's driving this gap? Could be a few things. Maybe households are burning through savings accumulated during previous years. Or perhaps the labor market is still strong enough that paychecks keep flowing, even if confidence is shaky. Either way, this tension between how people feel and how they actually behave with their money is one of the more fascinating economic puzzles heading into next year.

For anyone watching macro trends or trying to gauge market direction, this split personality in consumer data is definitely worth tracking. When sentiment and spending finally converge – in either direction – that's when things could get interesting.