For many, the holidays this year means making do with less : NPR

A customer purchases produce at an HEB grocery store earlier this year in Austin, Texas. Many shoppers are cutting back on purchases due to higher costs.

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Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Many families across the country expect the holidays to be more expensive this year, leaving them with fewer things to do during the season: family and food.

“My goodness, is it different this year!” Steve Posey said this week while reviewing the dairy case at the Aldi supermarket in Medford, Massachusetts. “With inflation and the cost of eggs and cheese and all that, it’s so ridiculous.”

He and his wife, India, came to the store to shop, but not for themselves. They recently found a second job at Instacart, to help cover their rising costs.

Despite Posey’s job as a case manager at a veterans organization and his wife’s job in child care, they still can’t make ends meet. For their Thanksgiving dinner, they received a turkey and canned goods from a food pantry. They prepare the rest of their meal, but Posey said it put a damper on their holiday spirit.

“It kind of takes the joy out of it,” he said. “I’m not feeling it this year. To be honest, I’m just trying to stay above water.”

Posey has also seen how the veterans he works with are struggling. Many saw their federal SNAP food assistance disrupted this month during the government shutdown, and still haven’t caught up. The tension is now starting to show, he said.

“We’re starting to see a lot more people frustrated and a lot more people angry,” he said. “You start to see an increase in violence, especially domestic violence, and heavy substance use, because they’re just overwhelmed.”

Steve and India Posey say they’re not really feeling the joy of the holidays this year because of rising costs and the increased stress they’re feeling “just trying to stay above water.”

Tovia Smith/NPR

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Tovia Smith/NPR

In New York, Queens resident Rosetta Savannah faces her own challenges. She is among those who saw their SNAP payments disrupted during the government shutdown and are still waiting for this month’s benefits. So far, she has only received half of what she normally receives and has had to pay additional medical bills.

Her family’s Thanksgiving dinner will also be lighter than usual.

“We mostly eat chicken, because chicken is cheaper,” Savannah said. “I usually make cakes and pies, but I won’t this year.”

She also relies on a local pantry for a small ham and a few sides, but she knows there’s no guarantee there will be anything left.

“You have to get up really early to be at least maybe the 30th person in line, and then you wait and see,” she said.

Savannah is also cutting back on her gifts this year. Her three children will each receive only one small gift, instead of the several she usually gives them.

There will also be fewer gifts under the tree at Bonnie Green in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

“I’m cutting out gifts in a big way, it’s just not possible,” she said. “I can’t afford it.”

Green, a 60-year-old professional and homeowner, has always considered herself upper-middle class. She loves Black Friday shopping and had planned to buy several new outfits for her children and for her first granddaughter’s first Christmas. Typically, she would also prepare an elaborate and hearty holiday feast.

“I’m going big,” she said.

This year, Bonnie Green is using one of her mother’s favorite books, which offers ways to celebrate the holidays on a budget. Despite the significant cuts she was forced to make after her federal government job was eliminated, Green is determined to keep smiling and focus on joy, “even in the midst of austerity.”

Jacob Schippell

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Jacob Schippell

But earlier this year, his position at the National Science Foundation was one of several eliminated by the Department of Government Effectiveness, created by President Trump by executive order on his first day in office. She still works as a professor at East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania, but her total income is now half of what it was.

“That’s a lot of money that’s no longer there,” Green said. “It’s really hard.”

This forced big changes this year. In addition to refusing gifts, she doesn’t decorate like she usually does and her holiday menu is much more modest. Their usual seafood chowder will be replaced with chicken soup. And forget the Beef Wellington and Pecan Pie, she says. Instead, she “leans” into dishes she can make with much cheaper ingredients.

The biggest blow: his sister won’t be able to be there for Christmas. This is not only due to the higher cost of plane tickets, but also because she is feeling the effects and having to work an extra shift.

“I have friends who say the economy has never been better,” Green said. “I don’t know what economy they live in, but it’s not mine.”

Still Green adds that she feels lucky compared to others, especially compared to the many low-income students at her school.

She said the campus pantry is almost double its usual size, and she has heard from students that they are so strapped for cash that they might be forced to drop out right before time. graduate, which would jeopardize their future earning potential.

Green, who has spent his career researching how to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged students, created a scholarship fund this fall to help students who are as close to graduating as they are to running out of money.

“It would be a tragedy beyond words,” she said. “They will never be able to (have a seat) at the table without a bachelor’s degree. They won’t even be invited to the table, and they deserve to be there.”

So far, the foundation has raised enough funds to allow one student to stay in school until graduation. But dozens more people have been deemed eligible for the program. Green does what she can to help. Even though she reduced her holiday spending, she increased her holiday donations to support the foundation.