Reddit users weigh in on which items’ high prices shock them most at the grocery store

A popular Reddit thread asking users to reveal which items have given them the most sticker shock in the past few years was flooded with responses from users flabbergasted by the high costs of normally affordable items amid persistent inflation.

“What item is now so expensive the price surprises you every time you buy it?” user “citizen_of_leshp” posted in “Ask Reddit,” on Sunday. By Monday afternoon, the post had received 11,000 responses in just 14 hours.

Most posters said common household items and groceries had burdened their bank accounts.

“I usually don’t brag about owning expensive things, but I just left the grocery store,” one user with the handle Actuaryba joked.

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Top comments cited how the prices of instant ramen, breath mints, fruit, peanut butter, soda, bleach, razor blades and pet food had spiked at stores. 

The most popular comments complained how even eating out at fast food restaurants was no longer affordable.

“Old subway commercial was 5$ footlong, 15$ dollar foot long doesn’t quite have the same jingle to it,” hermit22 posted.

One truck driver admitted he invested in cooking equipment to make himself meals on the road because eating out had become too costly. But some said the high cost of food has had unintended positive effects on their lives.

“Potato chips. I’ve lost ten pounds. My doctor says that inflation is the best thing that could have happened to me. No joke,” ChangeForAParadigm responded.

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Reddit users admitted high costs had caused them to change their spending habits on entertainment as well.

“Concert tickets. I mean I don’t buy them anymore, but when I go to buy them… I don’t,” TimeForALobotomy shared in a post that received 11,000 upvotes.

Other top comments included rent, magazines and getting things framed. 

High inflation has created severe financial pressures for most U.S. households, which are forced to pay more for everyday necessities like food and rent. Food prices are up 33.7% from the start of 2021, while shelter costs are up 18.7%, according to FOX Business calculations. Energy prices, meanwhile, are up 32.8%.

The December consumer price index report showed inflation rose 0.3% from the previous month and was up 3.4% from the same time last year.

While President Biden celebrated the fact that the month to month inflation rate has come down from its peak in June 2022, most voters feel they have been hurt rather than helped by Biden’s economic policies, according to a recent survey. 

A Fox News poll from December found 61% of Democrats, 93% of Republicans and 85% of independents rate the economy negatively. Compared to when Biden took office, those marks have worsened by 6 points among independents, 8 among Democrats, and 11 among Republicans.

Fox News’ Dana Blanton and FOX Business’ Megan Henney contributed to this report.