Particularly when it comes to putting food on the table.
A new report indicates more than two-thirds of New Yorkers are cutting back on necessities as the cost of living increases and for more than half of New Yorkers, that means cutting back on food purchases.
According to our ABC New Price Tracker, the cost of eggs is up 90%, meat is up 16% and bread is up nearly 11%, all when adjusted for inflation.
It raises the question: how are New Yorkers getting by?
Debbie LaSalle struggles to cover her monthly expenses. When food stamps stopped during the government shutdown, the Queens resident had to cut back on electricity and heat, and more. She had to send her precious cat Gato to her mother's for the time being.
She could not afford to feed both herself and her pet.
"I had to take my cat to my mom's. So because she makes a little bit better money and for that time and I'm just now getting from I just came from there, I miss him," LaSalle said.
Debbie is not alone. According to an alarming study to be released on Tuesday, 2.6 million New Yorkers in the city reported facing food hardships this last year.
"On the worst end, 550,000 New Yorkers actually said that they ran out of food before they had money to buy any more. And to put that in perspective, that's as if the entire city of Baltimore ran out of food," Jason Cone with Robin Hood said.
Robin Hood is a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting poverty. It partnered with Columbia University to study the impact of rising food prices and cost of living.
What they found is that hardship is a social climber, going up the economic ladder.
"They're making as much as $150,000 a year in a family of four. 40% of those New Yorkers, you know, we would think about six figures you're making it finally, no, 40% of those New Yorkers are actually struggling. They don't have enough money to buy their food," Cone said.
70-year-old Marie Brutus does not need a report to tell her she cannot afford 3 square meals a day.
"If I feel like eating 2 plates of food, I cannot. I eat one and a cup of tea and go to bed. Because if I keep eating one, two, three a day like I want to, I would be short of food. Who will give me food after that?" Marie Brutus said.
"I'm actually just coming to get a soda," LaSalle said.
She says it will hold her until the morning because it's the one thing that fills you up.
Thanksgiving, a national holiday centered on eating and being grateful, is next week. For many New Yorkers, it will not be easy to fill their plates.
* Get Eyewitness News Delivered
* Follow us on YouTube
* More local news
* Send us a news tip
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts