As food prices climb, South Florida families look for smart spending strategies
With inflation driving up the cost of nearly everything, especially groceries, working families across South Florida are feeling the financial squeeze and adjusting their spending habits just to keep up.
Experts warn that relying on credit cards can lead to long-term debt, and shoppers are looking for smarter ways to stretch their budgets.
Grocery shopping becomes a strategic game
Kiana Powell, a Pembroke Pines mother of three, said rising food costs have forced her to change the way she shops.
"I love grocery shopping. That's like one of my things that I really enjoy doing and I'm always looking at like, oh my gosh, X has increased," Powell said.
Powell, who handles most of her family's food shopping, said she's now relying on social media groups and store apps to track deals and compare prices.
"I'm looking at different groups on social media and seeing what other moms and other wives are talking about and what stores has the deals and I've also learned that I'm doing more bulk shopping, so Sams sees me a lot nowadays," she said.
This fall, her two oldest children will attend public school in Broward County, where lunch will no longer be provided for free. She's already factoring that added cost into her family's grocery budget.
"Even when I don't pack lunch, the $3, the $2—they're gonna start adding up especially with two kids and then of course you still want to send your kids with snacks," Powell said.
Economist urges: Avoid credit card debt
Ted Rossman, a senior industry analyst at Bankrate, said that while back-to-school spending has dipped slightly from last year, the broader inflation trend has many Americans relying more on credit cards.
"You think about back to school, the National Retail Federation has some new numbers that the average K to 12 back-to-school shopper is spending $858 this year — that's down about twenty dollars from last year," Rossman said.
He warned that this behavior can be dangerous, especially when debt grows quickly from everyday expenses.
"We found in our survey that the number one cause of credit card debt is emergency expenses, some kind of unplanned medical bill or car repair or home repair. Second place is day-to-day expenses, things like gas and groceries," he said.
Small steps, big impact
Powell said she and her husband are working to avoid using credit cards by being more deliberate with how they spend.
"We're all in the same boat of being more intentional with our grocery shopping and then also making sure that we're buying things that are still going to benefit our family. We don't want to hurt our family just because we're trying to save money," she said.
She also recommends downloading store apps, which often include coupons, bonus savings, and cash-back offers.
Economists note that some consumers are taking on second jobs to help manage growing debt but caution that short-term sacrifices are often better than paying 20% interest on purchases.
