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Financing everyday essentials like food reveals deepening money trouble and a pattern that’s hard to escape. Learn how to stop this dangerous pattern and find real solutions to rising costs.

Installment payment options like “pay in 4” are showing up in more places, including grocery store checkouts, a sign that even everyday essentials are straining household budgets. According to LendingTree data, 25% of Americans now use buy now, pay later (BNPL) loans to cover grocery bills, a 14% increase from the previous year. This shift isn’t about spreading out payments for a TV or winter…
