Americans are pinching pennies while racking up views on social media.
The Trump administration’s institution — and pause — of tariffs on have sent stocks into a tailspin and led to severe economic uncertainty.
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WATCH HEREThough these taxes would have an effect on many industries, they would pointedly impact the prices of grocery items, which are already elevated. Produce, coffee, fruit, cheese, nuts and other imported foods could become even more expensive.
Discussions with China over tariffs may or may not be underway, and experts warn that a recession could happen in 2025 if high tariffs remain.
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Needless to say, many Americans are concerned about how expensive their grocery bills are about to become.
And so, according to TikTok, the hashtag #budgetmeals has seen a 20% increase in posts over the last month, from March 23 to April 22.
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Videos of people making so-called “budget,” “poverty” or “recession” meals — ways to eat for a week on $25 worth of groceries or even less — are garnering millions of views.
One creator, Dollar Tree Dinners, limits her purchases to — you guessed it — Dollar Tree stores, sharing with her nearly 3 million followers how to make simple desserts or turn $20 into an Easter dinner for four.
“It was partially born out of necessity, but also it was a fun way for me to reframe my own situation, regain some control, and try to make light of it a little bit,” Dean Boskovich, a private chef based in Asheville, North Carolina, tells TODAY.com.
He says that a sudden move and several emergency expenses put him in financial turmoil, which led him to create his “Eating like a medieval peasant until all my credit cards are paid off“ series.
“My bank account was in the negative and I had almost no food in my kitchen because I’d just moved in,” Boskovich, tells TODAY.com. “While it was somewhat of a stressful situation, I am always able to find some peace while cooking.”
Boskovich posts innovative recipes, many of which use scant ingredients, like combining cashews, broth and stale bread to make a restaurant-worthy dish. He also makes a meal using a handful of rice and a stick of jerky he found at the bottom of his backpack.
“I kind of figured that showing people the meals I was able to make out of random ingredients could be helpful to other people facing financial difficulties, because not everyone grows up learning to be resourceful in that way,” he says.
Another food creator names Kate (@itsmekatevee) shows in her series “eat cheap (and vegan)” that people can eat affordably on a plant-based diet, too.
“I’m an epidemiology Ph.D. student and after research grant cuts started to impact my field, I decided to cut my food budget and share my experience doing that,” she tells TODAY.com.
Kate says that she always starts planning her daily meals by looking at what coupons and sales are available at her local grocer. “I’ve been cooking for a long time so I can usually just think of things I can make with the stuff that’s on sale, but sometimes I’ll look an ingredient up on a recipe website I like to find ideas,” she says.
Others have taken inspiration from other periods of economic hardship in American history.
“If this is your first time being poor, I’m Kiki,” TikTok creator Kiki Rough says in a video about making recipes from the past. In one video, she makes a bean loaf, a World War II meat replacement, which reminds viewers about how rationing and substitutions came in handy then, and can now, too.
“What I do is I look at how they created it in these Depression, recession and wartime cookbooks, if they’re available, and then I’ll look at modern recipes, because what was available in those books heavily rely on eggs,” Rough tells TODAY.com. “It seems like everyone had eggs back then, and now we don’t.”
Rough often makes recipes without eggs due to recent shortages and price hikes, even in baked goods like cinnamon rolls. She says she’s always mindful of what’s going on in grocery stores and how that affects her viewers in a time when even fast-food can come at a premium cost.
Rough says, for many, it’s not in the cards right now to host lavish dinner parties or go out for a nice meal.
“I think that we need to steer away from convenience, and I think that we need to get more confident as a society not investing so heavily on aesthetics and being comfortable to own where you’re at,” she says — and Boskovich agrees.
“Our economic and political system thrives on keeping us addicted to convenience, which fuels isolation, which deepens the divide among us,” he says, adding that cooking and sharing meals or bringing food to neighbors will help us all get through economic strife.
“I think these are powerful tools in rewiring the way that we view the world, our place in it and how we relate to our community,” he says.
Rough adds, “No one is looking out for us, so we need to look out for one another.”
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
