Frustrated Woman Says She Spent $50 On Just 5 Items From The Grocery Store
She explained that toilet paper was a whopping $14.
Drazen Zigic / Shutterstock Within the last year, grocery prices across the country have been on a steady rise, which has caused many people to reevaluate their pantry staples.
In a TikTok video, Alex Thebeau, a content creator and mother, revealed how frustrated she was with how much her most recent grocery bill.
She spent $50 on just five items from the grocery store.
In Thebeau's video, she explained that she'd gone on a small grocery run to Atlantic Superstore and was shocked when she checked out after buying five things and her total was $47.43. Showing off her items, Thebeau had purchased tomato soup, eggs, a can of diced tomatoes, deodorant, and toilet paper.
"I spent $47.43 but to be fair I used $10 of my PC Optimum points. So everything said and done $37 for ingredients for a cabbage roll dish which the sentence in itself sounds pretty cheap, eggs, deodorant, and we need to wipe our [expletive] and I didn't have time to go to Costco."
Referring to the Charmin toilet paper rolls, Thebeau pointed out that they alone were $14, and the minimum wage in New Brunswick is $14.75. "You're telling me I have to work an hour to wipe my [expletive]?" she questioned incredulously.
"The eggs, seven dollars and eighty-nine cents. Do you know how much a chicken costs? One chicken produces one egg per day. Let that sit, just let that sit," she continued. "This tomato soup, six dollars and ninety-nine cents. I should have made this myself. This dented can of diced tomatoes, three dollars and seventy-nine cents. This deodorant because we don't want to stink but we also don't want cancer, $9.99."
Thebeau expressed concern over the kind of world her children will be able to afford.
She admitted that she has three children and is worried about having to send them out in the world when they become adults because they might not be able to live comfortably and make a life for themselves if the prices for things keep increasing as they are.
Photo: SDI Productions / Canva Pro
"This is insane. This entire country needs to change because the reality of things is nobody is just gonna go, 'I just saved about $50,000 for a down payment on a house.' If life was this expensive when I was in my early 20s, I would have died, that's the reality of it," she remarked.
Thebeau recalled moving out of her childhood home when she was 16, but nowadays, people can't even afford to leave until they're over 25, if they're lucky. It's not a sustainable way of living, and if we continue down this path, soon no one will be able to afford the bare necessities.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, single-person households spent the least on food: $5,235 in 2022. Two-person households spent $9,363, up from $8,242 in 2021, and the national average for three-person households was $11,158.
An NBC analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows U.S. consumers are paying nearly 40% more for a basket of common grocery items — including eggs, chicken, milk, and coffee — than they did before the pandemic in 2020.
Thebeau highlighting the increase in grocery prices over the last year shows that many people have been feeling the same level of frustration and financial stress. Her concern for the future, especially when it comes to her children's well-being is such a difficult conversation to have as a parent.
To finally have an affordable lifestyle for people, there needs to be broader conversations and actions done to make sure that we can all live comfortably and without having to pinch pennies.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.