President Donald Trump has repeatedly downplayed concerns about affordability in the U.S. economy, but Washington Post columnist Michelle Singletary warns that for millions of struggling households, the situation is dire.

"This is no game for struggling Americans," Singletary said. "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."

The Urban Institute, a nonpartisan research organization in Washington, D.C., has tracked household financial insecurity for years, but the finding that everyday food purchases are increasingly financed through credit marks a notable shift from prior cycles when credit cards were more commonly used for discretionary or emergency spending.

"People aren't being financially reckless. They are surviving," Singletary added, noting that it is no longer solely low-income households pulling out credit cards at checkout lines.

"The same report found that even among high-income working-age adults using credit cards for groceries, many experienced repayment challenges," she said.

The strain has been compounded by rising grocery prices. According to recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, food-at-home prices rose 2.7 percent between June 2025 and June 2026, during Trump's second term. Four of the six major grocery store food groups — meats, poultry, fish, and eggs — saw prices increase by 2.6 percent over the year. The fruits and vegetables index climbed 5.3 percent.

When paychecks and emergency funds fall short, families have been forced to tap 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," Singletary said.

Payday loans — short-term loans where borrowers promise repayment from their next paycheck — can carry fees of $15 per $100 borrowed. Translated into an annual interest rate, that can reach triple digits. Borrowers frequently take out additional loans to repay the original, pushing effective interest rates to between 300 percent and 700 percent over extended periods. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has previously warned that payday loan rollovers create cycles of indebtedness that are difficult to escape, a concern echoed by state regulators across both Republican- and Democratic-led states.

"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," said Kassandra Martinchek, senior research associate at the Urban Institute. "It also prolongs their 'financial distress.'"

The economic pressures have been intensified by policy changes. Singletary noted that the Trump administration's 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act overhauled the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by imposing stricter work requirements, narrowing eligibility, and shifting more costs to states.

SNAP, the largest federal nutrition assistance program, historically serves more than 40 million Americans in an average month, making enrollment reductions of the magnitude described by researchers a significant shift in the social safety net.

"Families are already feeling the fallout," Singletary said. "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."

Singletary concluded that debt incurred for survival neither builds wealth nor drives economic growth. "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."