With the ongoing affordability crisis, inflation, tariffs, and everything else, grocery lists are shrinking for many shoppers. According to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost of food at home rose 2.4% overall in the past 12 months. That’s why more and more people are facing a kind of “Sophie’s choice” in the grocery store, forced to choose between items that were once basics but now cost like luxury goods. Many are turning to r/Frugal on Reddit to share which foods they’ve had to stop buying because they simply can’t afford them anymore.
Have you stopped buying certain groceries because they’re too expensive? Let us know in the comments!
Cereals
The cereal aisle is increasingly losing foot traffic, as many shoppers are rethinking their breakfast choices because of outrageous prices. The price of store-bought cereals has increased by 1.5% in the last year, whether because of inflation, geopolitical reasons, or other issues. That’s why many are starting to replace Cheerios with oatmeal, grits, or polenta, which are still affordable.
“I can’t believe how expensive cereal is now,”said one shopper on Reddit.
“I will only buy it on sale. The regular price of $5-ish for a box is way too much,” shared another.
Bread
While the average price of bread saw a slight drop from $1.93 in December 2024 to $1.83 in December 2025, shoppers still aren’t keeping it on their grocery lists and are opting to make it at home. Mostly because the cheapest versions are not the healthiest, and include way more ingredients than flour, water, and yeast. The cleaner the bread, the higher the price.
“$7 for a loaf of bread? No thanks, I’ll bake my own,”said one shopper.
“After being able to get a great loaf of bread in Germany for €1.35, I am not paying $8 for mediocre sourdough with way too many ingredients,”said another.
“A bread maker is key,” suggested another. “Before buying one, I stopped buying bread for a while because the good stuff was too expensive and the cheap stuff just isn’t good.”
Baked Goods
Let them eat cake — but homemade. People are ditching the bakery section at the grocery store and baking their cakes, muffins, and banana bread at home. The reasoning behind it makes sense — baking is easy, and with ongoing price hikes, bakery goods have become a luxury item.
“I make my own cookies if I crave any. Local bakers are charging five bucks a cookie now. I like to support local, but it’s too much,” shared one shopper.
“I just saw the $5-per-cookie price recently. I’m a home baker, and there is NO cookie that is worth that much! I laughed my entire way through the store,” another user agreed.
Beef
Buying beef is, almost everyone agrees, no longer feasible for the middle-class shopper. Regardless of the cut, most shoppers feel sticker shock over the ridiculously increased prices. According to the Consumer Price Index released in October 2025, beef prices were up 14.7%, and customers sure as heck feel that hike.
“Haven’t bought any beef other than hamburger in over a year. The prices are laughable,” complained one shopper.
“I haven’t bought beef in months. And we were just ground beef people before, not steaks or roasts in a long time either. In the last six months, regular ground beef has gone from $5 a pound to $8 a pound—I just noticed today,” said another.
Canned Soda
Fizzy drinks are another beloved grocery item that many customers are no longer adding to their shopping cart because of unhinged prices. Over a period of five years, the price of a 12-pack of name-brand soda like Coke or Pepsi has bubbled up from $5.18 in 2020 to $9.79 in 2025 — an increase of $4.61.
“I ain’t paying no $12 for a freaking 12-pack of soda. Might as well just go back in time and hit the vending machine,” one shopper said on Reddit.
“Even the store brand is $5 for a 12-pack,” another commented.
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Chips
Snacking is also becoming an expensive habit, and shoppers, with a heavy heart, are resisting the temptation to grab a bag of chips. PepsiCo, the owner of Frito-Lay, said at the beginning of 2025 that people bought 3% fewer snacks during that quarter. Maybe because the average cost of a 16-ounce bag of chips hit $6.97 as of December 2025.
“Potato chips used to be just a fun thing to add to a meal. Now it costs more than the meal,” said one Redditor.
“No more chips. They cost more than their weight in gold, and let’s be honest, they provide no nutrition anyway,” said another.
Meat
More and more people are considering a plant-based diet over meat because of outrageous prices.
“I swapped a lot of meat for tofu and beans. If I do have meat on sale or something, I always make it last longer by mixing it with beans or mushrooms to stretch it,” shared one Reddit user.
“Meat is definitely something I think twice about,” said another.
Frozen Pizza
It’s kind of ironic that the one item genuinely promoted as a cheaper option than its fresh counterpart is no longer affordable for many. Between shrinking sizes and high price tags for anything halfway decent, shoppers are skipping the freezer-aisle favorite and either making pizza at home or waiting for deep discounts to justify it.
“I can’t believe I had to give up frozen pizzas… when they were MADE to be the cheap option. If they’re more than $4, I won’t buy them,” protested one Redditor.
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Coffee Pods
Coffee pods were supposed to be convenient, not expensive. Some shoppers say pods no longer justify the convenience and are going back to ground coffee, French presses, or old-school drip machines.
“I bought a canister of Illy ground coffee on sale, and it’s lasting me a lot longer than buying those Starbucks Nespresso pods,” said one shopper.
“Getting reusable pods has saved my family so much money,” suggested another.
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