For some, the continuous rise in today’s cost of living has been absolutely dumbfounding. In a viral TikTok video that has amassed over 50,500 views, user Rachel (@rachel_i_guess) struggles to make the $50 cost of her one bag of Walmart goods add up.
@rachel_i_guess ♬ original sound – 🤷♀️
“Me trying to figure out how this one bag from WALMART is worth $50?” the caption read.
In the clip, the TikToker checks out the back and front of a receipt and then shows a shot of a single plastic Walmart bag with a few items in it. Then she looks into the camera with a deadpan stare.
In the comments section, many shared Rachel’s sentiment and their own financial woes.
“$40 is the new $20,” one user wrote, which the creator liked and responded to, saying, “LITERALLY.”
“Spent $130 on groceries to last me until Friday (it’s only Tuesday night),” another added.
“I spent almost forty bucks making TWO trays of banana pudding for a family event the other day,” one person lamented.
It seems that Rachel’s $50 bag of Walmart goods isn’t an isolated event. Customers are noticing higher prices at other stores as well.
One shopper commented, “I bought a pack of diapers and a jug of apple juice from Walgreens for $20 yesterday??”
“That would have been $90 at Target,” warned another.
“I went to CVS with coupons still 40 bucks,” echoed a third.
Although inflation is starting to come down after reaching a 40-year high of 9.1% in June 2022, 61% of Americans say the increased price of goods has caused them financial hardship in the past few years. The survey suggests that even the recent slowing of inflation rates has not provided any financial relief for everyday Americans.
As one person pointed out about the single bag of Walmart goods, “For anyone making federal minimum that’s about 6 hours of labor in that bag.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Rachel via TikTok comments and Walmart via contact form.