We’ve all felt the pinch of rising prices. And a 2025 report from Lending Tree demonstrates just how much many members of our community are struggling to afford the basics.
This report reveals that nearly half of Americans have used a buy now, pay later loan (a short-term loan that allows buyers to pay for products in small installments over a set time period) at least once, and 44% expect to apply for one in the next six months. And, increasingly, shoppers are using them not for things like electronics or furniture but for everyday essentials.
Of those who use buy now, pay later loans, 25% have utilized them to purchase groceries, up from 14% just a year before. And nearly as many have had three or more active loans at a time.
This use of credit to purchase the basics is evidence of the growing strain caused by rising prices. And this strain is felt most acutely by those with the least margin to absorb higher costs. This includes many families with young children struggling to make ends meet.
According to the National Diaper Bank Network, more than one in five children under age 3 in Texas lives in a family whose income is under the federal poverty level. For these families, even small price increases hit hard, forcing them to make difficult decisions about what to cut and how to pay for the basics they need to feed and care for their children.
Among the many increases facing these families is the rising price of diapers, which can cost $100 or more each month for one child. Acquiring this essential, along with other needed baby care supplies, can be a constant source of stress as parents worry about how they’re going to provide what their children need to thrive.
Those with little financial margin are hit harder not only by rising prices but by the risks of the loans many use to buy the basics, especially when they’re unable to make payments on time. The Lending Tree report revealed that parents of young children are among the most likely to pay late. Overall, 41% of buy now, pay later loan users said they had made a late payment in the past year, up from 34% in 2024.
The fees that result from late payments compound the struggles these families are already facing. It can set them up to acquire debt that can continue to impact parents and their children for years to come, not only in the form of added payments but through limiting opportunities for housing, education, health care and more.
That’s why the diapers that Dallas-area families receive through Hope Supply Co. (HSC) are so vital. By providing essentials that babies need to be clean and healthy, HSC can prevent families from taking on debt, helping them avoid these long-term ramifications and freeing funds to go toward other needs such as housing or education.
“It’s about meeting basic needs, and these needs are a social determinant of health,” says Barbara Johnson, CEO of HSC. “Not being able to purchase the basics for yourself and your family can deeply affect overall wellbeing far beyond the immediate impact of not having sufficient nutritious food and other essentials. By providing diapers we can prevent families from going into debt from their grocery bill.”