U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during a visit to Verst Logistics in Hebron, Kentucky, U.S., March 11, 2026. REUTERS Kevin Lamarque
President Donald Trump keeps playing down the importance of affordability in his ailing economy, but Washington Post columnist Michelle Singletary says nobody’splaying.
“This is no game for struggling Americans,” said Singletary. “The latest Urban Institute survey on family well-being and basic needs highlights a critical shift in consumer behavior. Last year, more than 1 in 3 working-age adults used credit cards to buy groceries— and many of them had trouble paying them off.”
“People aren’t being financially reckless. They are surviving,” said Singeltary, pointing out that it’s no longer just low-income households that are pulling out their credit cards in grocery lines.
“The same report found that even among high-income working-age adults using credit cards for groceries, many experienced repayment challenges,” said Singletary.
It doesn’t help that prices for food at home rose 2.7 percent between June 2025 and June 2026, during Trump’s second terms, according to recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Four of the six major grocery store food groups — meats, poultry, fish, and eggs — increased by 2.6 percent over the year. The fruits and vegetables index was up 5.3 percent.
When their paychecks or emergency funds fail to cover their groceries, families inevitably tapped into long-term savings.
“In 2025, nearly 1 in 5 working-age adults (19.6 percent) dipped into non-daily savings for groceries, while 5.2 percent relied on payday loans,” said Singletary.
And a quick note on “payday loans,” if you don’t already know: With a payday loan, a borrower promises to repay the funds with their next paycheck. The fees for these loans can be $15 for every $100 borrowed. But when you translate that fee into an annual interest rate, it can reach triple digits. And even though a payday loan is not designed to be an annual interest rate kind of loan, borrowers often have to take out another loan just to pay off the original. If this goes on for months, you’re pushing 300 percent to 700 percent interest.
“Families are compounding their financial strain by paying for groceries with revolving debt, which then traps them into accumulating years of interest payments for food they’ve long since consumed. It also prolongs their ‘financial distress,’ said Kassandra Martinchek, senior research associate at the Urban Institute.
Meanwhile, Singletary said the Trump administration’s changes in federal food assistance in the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act overhauled the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by adding stricter work rules, limiting who qualifies, and forcing states to foot more of the bill.
“Families are already feeling the fallout,” said Singletary. “Between July 2025 and April 2026, more than 4.5 million people fell off SNAP rolls nationwide, according to a tracker by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan think tank. In just 19 states with available data, more than 1 million children have been cut from SNAP food assistance since the law passed, according to a blog post by the center this month.”
Debt spent on survival doesn’t build wealth or drive economic growth, Singletary concluded. “Consumers forced to rely on microloans via Buy Now, Pay Later plans, predatory payday loans, or credit for basic sustenance are a warning sign for the entire economy.”