Many families relied on credit or savings to afford groceries in 2025, a new Urban Institute analysis finds, with lower-income households more likely to face repayment problems.
The brief draws on the institute’s December 2025 Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey, which included more than 10,000 adults. Among working-age adults, 34.9% used a credit card and paid the balance in full, while 19.6% paid less than the full balance but always made at least the minimum payment. Another 8.7% did not always make the minimum payment.
Nearly 1 in 10 working-age adults used Buy Now, Pay Later plans for groceries, and about one-third of those respondents missed a payment. Nearly 1 in 5 reported using savings not intended for daily expenses, while 5.2% used money from a recent payday loan.
More than half of respondents said grocery costs had increased a lot during the prior year. Those respondents were more than twice as likely to miss a minimum credit-card payment when buying food than people who reported smaller or no increases.
The Urban Institute said the findings point to growing financial stress and warn that using debt or emergency savings to cover food costs can make it harder for families to meet future needs.
Source: Urban Institute, July 13, 2026.
