More and more people are reaching for their wallets to keep up with rising prices. But how has inflation really affected us?
For two years, TikToker Amy (@amywaytosave) decided to find out by testing the effects of inflation on her own grocery shopping.
In the video with over 1.3 million views, she shows the same grocery shop three times and purchases the same items each time.
In 2020 she purchased a cart full of essential groceries at Walmart for $10.09.
The video showed her receipt and the various food items that she bought, including basic items such as bananas, eggs, potatoes and flour.
In 2022, she says, there was a lot of discussion about inflation in the grocery store. So the TikToker decided to go back and purchase the exact same items in 2022.
She took a photo of her dated receipt from 02/14/2022. They cost her 10% more.
This week in 2023, Amy went back and purchased the same groceries at the same prices.
This time, the difference was that her same purchases now cost $15.10.
The results? This year, there is a 50% increase in total price for the same basket of food.
Viewers of the video were glad to see the results of Amy's experiment with over 1800 comments
"Meanwhile their profits have never been higher! Wonder why," said one comment
While another said, "Thank you! I’m so sick of people saying inflation isn’t the issue just budget better. Like it is a huge difference."
Amy replies: “Yes, especially since I bought very staple items-not nonessentials.
The most-liked comment said, “It’s not inflation anymore its price gouging.”
Will the recent price hikes cause consumers to finally find their breaking point?
Kyle Herrig in Bon Appetit, the president of watchdog group, Accountable.us, says companies are using various factors such as supply chain issues and inflation to justify their increases, alleged a report in the New York Times
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: In December 2022, food prices in the US increased at a slower rate of 10.4% compared to a year earlier. This was the lowest level since 9.1% in June.
As of November 22, 2022, there were 4,650 Walmart stores in the US (via Scrapehero) with the most stores in Texas (516), Florida (341) and California (278 stores).
Final thoughts
Despite the increasing number of discussions about rising prices, over one million people still found the experiment of Amy very surprising.
The bottom line is that our dollars just don't go as far as they used to. It takes more work, more effort and more time to save money.
What do you think about this?
What do you think about the increase in food prices?
Share your thoughts in the comments and feel free to share this article on social media and with your friends and family if you'd like.
Disclaimer: This article is only for educational and informational purposes.
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