Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,
Many American families are struggling to make ends meet on their incomes alone and have resorted to credit cards, payday loans, and Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) options for groceries, according to nonprofit research center Urban Institute.
The findings are based on a survey of 18-to 64-year-old working-age adults conducted in December 2025. About 8.7 percent of adults said they used a credit card for groceries and were unable to make the minimum payment, up from 7.1 percent in 2023, the Urban Institute said in a July 13 report. This suggests “worsening financial distress” among families.
Almost one in 10 used BNPL to pay for groceries, out of which more than a third missed a timely repayment last year.
About 19.6 percent used savings not meant for daily expenses to buy groceries, while 5.2 percent used cash from a payday loan.
The report highlighted that groceries are one of the largest household budget items for families and that food costs have jumped by about 32 percent over the past five years, posing a challenge for many households.
Adults who reported that their grocery costs increased significantly last year were more likely to use their savings or credit to buy food. According to the report, 51.3 percent of adults said grocery costs rose a lot during the 12 months preceding December 2025.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that among bread, chicken, eggs, beef, and milk, only beef recorded a price increase between December 2024 and December 2025.
The price of a pound of ground 100 percent beef rose from $5.58 to $6.52 during this period. In contrast, the price of a pound of white bread declined from $1.91 to $1.83, a pound of fresh whole chicken fell from $2.06 to $2.02, a dozen large grade A eggs decreased from $4.15 to $2.71, and a gallon of fresh whole fortified milk declined from $4.10 to $4.05.
When families are unable to pay for groceries from their regular income, they resort to using credit, drawing down savings, and cutting down grocery spending, the Urban Institute report said.
Low- and moderate-income adults were more likely to report paying for groceries with a credit card, though they didn’t always pay the required minimum payment, the nonprofit said.
Steaks for sale at a store in Elkridge, Md., on Feb. 27, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times
Amid straining finances, U.S. household debt rose last year. By the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, total U.S. household debt stood at $18.77 trillion, up $740 billion from a year ago, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
For the first quarter of 2026, household debt rose marginally by 0.1 percent from the previous quarter to $18.8 trillion, the bank said in a May 12 statement.
More Americans are also filing for bankruptcy. In 2025, individual bankruptcy filings rose by 12 percent from 2024, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI).
In the first six months of 2026, individual bankruptcy filings rose by 12 percent from the same period last year, ABI said.
Unemployment, GDP GrowthFor the week ending July 4, initial unemployment claims fell to 215,000, down from the previous week and the lowest level since late May. Overall employment conditions show signs of stability, with the four-week average of unemployment claims declining,
According to minutes from June’s Federal Reserve policy meeting, the central bank believes the labor market will “remain stable in the near term, with the unemployment rate staying close to current levels.”
People shop for meat at a store in Mount Laurel, N.J., on Feb. 5, 2025. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times
GDP grew by 2.1 percent in 2025 from the previous year, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. For the January–March quarter this year, GDP rose by 2.1 percent. Consumer spending rose by 0.5 percent despite inflationary pressures.
In a recent Consumer Checkpoint report, Bank of America noted that consumer spending momentum was “remarkably robust.”
Consultancy Deloitte predicted in a July 1 report that in its baseline scenario, real U.S. GDP growth is expected to grow by a “healthy” 2 percent this year and 1.8 percent in 2027.
Tyler Durden Wed, 07/15/2026 - 17:40Cuba's national power grid has collapsed for the third time in less than 10 days, plunging the communist-run Caribbean island into darkness and leaving roughly 10 million people without electricity. The cascading failures show the regime's accelerating loss of control over critical infrastructure, just as senior U.S. defense officials evaluate potential military options aimed at regime change in Havana.
CBS News reported that senior U.S. defense officials have reviewed early-stage military options for Cuba, including an Army-led air assault involving thousands of troops from the 101st Airborne Division.
More color from the report:
Military planners have in recent weeks examined a range of options for possible action against the island, including an Army-led air assault involving thousands of U.S. soldiers to be carried out by the 101st Airborne Division, the only unit trained for such a task, according to multiple U.S. officials with knowledge of the discussions.
The officials, who spoke to CBS News under condition of anonymity to discuss national security matters, stressed that the briefings are not an indication that President Trump or the Pentagon have decided to carry out an operation.
Any regime-change operation could face constraints because U.S. aircraft, intelligence assets, and offensive capabilities have been shifted to the Gulf region, where fighting has flared up again over the past week.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio continues to favor a negotiated transition toward a new government willing to pursue economic reforms after decades of destructive communist policies that transformed the Caribbean island into a Marxist hellhole.
On Monday, President Trump told reporters that his team is investigating whether Iran has stockpiled suicide drones in Cuba.
When asked by a reporter about the purported intelligence report on drones stockpiled in Cuba, Trump replied: "If they have them, and it's very possible that they do, we'll take care of it."
Trump also suggested that the communists on the island might be storing Iranian missiles, something his administration "is looking into right now."
Recall that in early February, we were the first to raise the question of the possible drone threat originating from Cuba. Axios followed in May, and now the administration appears to be discussing the threat more frequently.
Rubio has also sanctioned several Cuban entities, including ICAP, which may be at the center of a foreign subversion network potentially linked to the Democratic Socialists of America.
The independent Cuban news outlet ADN Cuba recently leaked a memo stating that far-left activists in the U.S. are prepared to launch rapid-response protests at federal buildings, military bases, recruitment centers, and ICE facilities in the event of a military confrontation between the U.S. military and the communist regime in Havana.
Tyler Durden Wed, 07/15/2026 - 17:20