Viral TikTok shows the shocking reality of inflation’s impact on monthly groceries

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Grocery prices reveal just how bad inflation is right now. Credit: Oscar Wong / Moment via Getty Images

The latest trend on TikTok? Inflation.

A video uploaded by @sewerlidd reveals how much prices have increased in the past two years. In the video, the user compares their Walmart grocery bill in 2022 to how much the same order would cost today, and the reveal is shocking. The order is enough groceries for one person for one month. In 2022, the order cost $126, but now it would cost a whopping $414, nearly four times the price of their original order.

The TikTok received over 250,000 views and nearly 55,000 likes, with the comments flooded with other users’ experiences with pricey groceries.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which tracks inflation, rose 6.4 percent in 2022 and 3.1 percent in 2023, and inflation-adjusted hourly earnings have not kept up with the jump. In 2022, the CPI for food increased “faster than in any year since 1979” by 9.9 percent, with food-at-home prices rising by 11.4 percent. Growth slowed in 2023, with a 5.8 percent increase overall and food-at-home prices increasing 5 percent.

Inflation is at the top of some voters’ minds ahead of the first presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on Thursday night.

Elena is a tech reporter and the resident Gen Z expert at Mashable. She covers TikTok and digital trends. She recently graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in American History. Email her at elena.cavender@mashable.com or follow her @ecaviar_.