Greetings—


A new report from Urban Institute experts finds that
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many families—facing increased costs of essential goods—relied on credit and debt from credit cards, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) options, and payday loans to pay for groceries in 2023.


Using data from Urban’s Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey, the researchers explore families’ use of credit and debt products and their debt repayment challenges. They
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also found that:
- Six in ten adults reported using credit cards to pay for groceries at any point in 2023. This included 20.0 percent who paid less than the full balance on a credit card but always made the minimum payment, and 7.1 percent who did not make the minimum payment.
- More than one in six adults reported using BNPL in the past 12 months, including 3.5 percent who reported using BNPL to pay for groceries. Of those who used BNPL for groceries, 37.0 percent reported missing payments on these loans.
- Nearly one in five adults reported paying for groceries with savings that they did not intend to use for routine living expenses.
- Adults experiencing very low food security were the most likely to report paying for groceries using BNPL (11.5 percent); cash from a payday loan (10.0 percent); and savings (51.3 percent). The researchers recommend that policymakers and practitioners looking to help families meet their basic needs without taking on debt consider increasing the sufficiency of SNAP and other safety net supports while also providing near-term options to help families manage current debt burdens and access affordable credit.


Read the
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report and
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blog post to learn more, and
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subscribe to our updates to receive Urban’s latest anti-hunger and food insecurity research.


If you have questions or would like to connect with researchers
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Kassandra Martinchek and
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Dulce Gonzalez , please
mailto:[email protected]?subject=
email me .


Sincerely,


Amy Elsbree
Associate VP for Strategic Communications and Outreach
202-261-5513

mailto:[email protected]
[email protected]

U R B A N I N S T I T U T E

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www.urban.org




Urban Institute is a nonprofit research organization that believes in the power of evidence to improve people’s lives. Urban as an organization does not take policy positions but Urban’s independent experts are empowered to make recommendations based on their research.


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