The Daily Money: Still no relief at the supermarket

Good morning! It’s Daniel de Visé with your Daily Money.

Happy Consumer Friday. I'm filling in for Betty Lin Fisher.

Latasha Warner does everything she can to keep food costs down. 

She avoids restaurants, buys off-brand products, avoids meat that's not on sale and travels out of town to shop at bigger, more affordable chains. And still, she says the $200 she spent on groceries Tuesday didn't buy enough food to last the week for her, her husband and two children.

Grocery inflation has cooled substantially since its 2022 peak, and groceries are causing less of a hit on Americans’ budgets. 

Yet, despite the cooldown, surveys show consumers are still struggling to come to terms with how much food costs today.  

The high price of summer parenting

Summer vacation lasts 11 weeks for the Restrepos. And the Michigan family has nine of them covered, thanks to a Kids Club program offered by the local public schools.

But summer camp is not free. The Restrepos are paying $225 per kid per week: $4,050 for both children for those nine weeks.

“Honestly, I don’t know what we’d do without it,” William Restrepo said.

The price of parenting tends to spike in summer, when tax-funded public education gives way to parent-funded daycare and sleepaway camps. Inflation pads the bill.

What's a parent to do?

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📰 A great read 📰

Finally, here's a popular story from earlier this year that you may have missed. Read it! Share it!

A Florida woman upset that Reese's holiday-themed chocolates did not feature the same cute designs she claims were shown on its packaging sued manufacturer Hershey's for false advertisement.

In a lawsuit filed on Dec. 28 in Florida's Middle District Court, Cynthia Kelly sued Hershey's for $5 million, alleging that the company misled buyers with "false and deceptive advertising" on their packaging.

What, exactly, did the woman think she was buying?

About The Daily Money

Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer and financial news from USA TODAY, breaking down complex events, providing the TLDR version, and explaining how everything from Fed rate changes to bankruptcies impacts you.

Daniel de Visé covers personal finance for USA Today.