Millions of Americans take on debt for the most basic need

Think about the last time you did a grocery run and came out surprised at the total. Maybe you didn’t buy anything unusual. Just the usual things, the stuff you always get. And the receipt still felt off. That’s not a personal finance problem. It’s a math problem, and a new report suggests a lot of Americans are experiencing it.

The Urban Institute released findings on July 13 from its Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey, which covered more than 10,000 adults. What it found is that groceries have become a source of debt for a significant and growing share of American households, and the situation has been getting worse.

How Americans are actually paying for food right now

About 63% of working-age adults used a credit card to buy groceries last year, CBS News reported. Most paid the balance off. But more than one in four didn’t. Of that group, 19.6% paid less than the full balance but kept up with minimum payments. Another 8.7% didn’t always make the minimum at all. That last number was 7.1% just two years ago. It’s moving in the wrong direction.

Buy now, pay later has crept into the grocery aisle too. Nearly one in ten adults used BNPL to cover food purchases last year, and more than a third of those borrowers (34.8%) missed a payment, the Urban Institute found. And about 20% of working-age adults said they’d dipped into savings that were never meant to cover routine expenses just to pay for groceries.

More at:

https://www.thestreet.com/economy/millions-of-americans-are-taking-on-debt-for-one-important-reason