Gas And Food Prices, Especially Beef, Keep Going Up; How Is Your Budget Changing?

It’s a struggle just to get by for many American households. The daily commute to work is eating up more of typical families’ budgets, and there’s not that much room to cut.

More than three-fourths (76 percent) of Americans say the increasing cost of living is their biggest financial problem, according to a recent CNN poll. Spiraling gas prices due to the war in Iran are a primary pressure point for Americans, but grocery costs also remain persistently high.

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The poll showed the financial pain cuts across party lines, with a majority of Democrats, Republicans and independents saying they have changed what they’re buying at the grocery store so they don’t bust their budgets.

Some common grocery cart items, like beef, have become a luxury for many families.

Of the six grocery items NBC News has tracked in a dozen metro areas since January 2025, only chicken eggs have gone down in price, by 30.8 percent. And that’s because supplies have rebounded after bird flu pressure, not because of any specific economic policy.

But at the same time, beef prices remained high because of a tight U.S. cattle supply after years of drought, high feed costs, and herd reductions. Unlike the egg supply, the beef supply can't be rebuilt quickly.

Ground beef and orange juice costs have increased by double-digit percentages at 19.2 percent and 20.2 percent, respectively. Sandwich bread costs 4.7 percent more, and chicken breasts are up 1.6 percent in the past 16 months.

An analysis of Labor Department inflation data by FRED, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’ economic data platform, shows grocery prices overall have increased 3.2 percent since January 2025.

Compounding the pain is that middle- and lower-income Americans’ wages aren’t keeping pace with inflation, according to Bank of America data.

As a result, mealtime has changed. Consumers are shopping sales more often, switching to store brands, and trading expensive proteins like beef for cheaper pantry meals with lower-cost staples like rice, pasta, lentils and beans.

But even meals on a shoestring are becoming more expensive.

The latest monthly food costs report from the USDA Food and Nutrition Service shows that a household of two adults and two children buying groceries for a “thrifty” meal plan pays about $1,013.20 a month for food, about $20 more than in January 2025. The “moderate” plan works out to about $1,380, up from $1,328, an increase of $52 a month.

How have your shopping habits changed? This is not a scientific poll. Rather, we want to know how you’re making ends meet, what you’re sacrificing, and tips you may have to help your neighbors stretch their monthly income. Just answer the questions on the informal survey below. And FYI, we won’t collect your email address.