Young Americans are venting their frustrations about inflation online and posting viral videos on TikTok offering helpful tricks to combat the rising cost of goods in stores.
To vent his anger on TikTok, an influencer named WorldofBrian asked his audience to guess how much he spent on just five basic grocery items: cereal, milk, deodorant, detergent, and a pack of toothbrushes.
He then revealed a receipt from a Target in a mid-sized city suburb, which amounted to $51.05.
Brian estimated that a minimum wage worker in his state would have to work almost a full day to make the small purchase.
“If you make $40,000 a year, $1,000 a month, $12,000 a year, like people on Social Security, this is more of a struggle,” he said. “This is beyond tough times and just hang in there. For many people, this is a question of survival.”
He noted that when factoring in housing costs, car payments and other needs, people are starting to have to make “really scary decisions.”
In another viral clip, influencer Woods Owned posted “evidence that inflation will ruin us all” and compiled several videos of Americans worried about rising costs.
TikTokkers are reeling from the high price of food. TikTok/_worldofbrian
A woman in the video also talked about her experience at Target, where she bought two bottles of hair products, a bottle of shampoo, a box of trash bags and a Halloween decoration for $70.
He said his son had been shocked by the cost of the small shopping bag and noted that he doesn’t remember a time when Americans could get a two-bedroom apartment in a decent part of town for $600 a month (his one-bedroom apartment now costs $2,000 a month).
The woman also revealed that she spends $65 to fill up her gas tank and her grocery bill went from $350 to $600 in the last four years despite purchasing the same items.
A woman revealed how she saves money at the supermarket by shopping in the international aisle. TikTok/adrienne1131
“This is out of control,” he said. “What does the bourgeoisie think will be the result of this? “They cannot believe that extracting every last penny from the working class by inflating all prices and paying us poverty wages is a sustainable economic model.”
A November report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that young Americans experience inflation at higher rates than other demographic groups.
In October, households headed by someone under the age of 25 experienced inflation at a rate 0.35 points higher than average. Household costs, in particular, have hit young Americans, with those under 40 much more likely to rent a home than own a home.
Young people share their struggles to keep up with rising food prices. TikTok/_worldofbrian
Young Americans are now posting viral videos showing their peers how to save on essentials and mitigate the effects of inflation.
In a video posted to social media, TikTok business influencer Gary Bird went to Walmart to see how much money he could save by purchasing generic brand foods instead of name brands.
Initially, Bird purchased several brand-name products, including waffles, frozen pizza, soft drinks, chocolate milk, orange juice, fruit snacks, and brownies. At checkout, his bill totaled $130.
But when those same items were replaced with generic alternatives, Bird had to pay just $87, a huge savings of $43.
TikTok user Adrienne1131 gave her own grocery hack that can be accomplished in any store with an international food aisle.
Buying generic brands can help Americans save at the grocery store. tiktok/thegarybird
In a video posted to her account, Adrienne revealed how the garlic salt and chopped onion found in the general spice aisle were $3.49 for 3 oz and $6.89 for 6.3 oz, respectively.
But upon entering the international aisle, she discovered that 11 ounces of garlic salt were selling for $3.19 and 5 ounces of chopped onion were selling for $2.99.
Personal finance podcast host Andrew Giancola offered another idea for fighting inflation, telling his audience to increase the amount they invest each year, at least based on current or previous years’ inflation.
For example, if someone invests $100 a month in a brokerage account and inflation that year is 2%, that person would invest $102 to maintain their purchasing power next year. If inflation increased to 9% the following year, that person would need to multiply 102 by 0.09 and invest an additional $9.18.
Inflation remains the main problem for a large portion of Americans, according to several surveys.
When asked in the annual Reagan National Defense survey which problem facing the country was the most important, inflation and the price of gasoline and food came in at 16%, tied with jobs and the economy, among respondents.
A November Fox News poll produced similar responses, with most voters expressing concern about inflation and higher prices. Three-quarters of respondents said the economy is in poor shape, while two-thirds said they saw nothing to suggest economic conditions were heading in a positive direction.
Overall, 89% are worried about inflation. While that is where the concern level has been hanging around for the past year, it is below the high of 93% in July 2022.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn