On a recent late summer afternoon, with the state primary election just days away and scores of candidates vying in several dozen races, Helen Lacroix of Franklin was focused on a different set of numbers.
“It’s the two of us, and it's like $100 here,” she said, gesturing to her half-full grocery cart in the parking lot of a Penacook Market Basket. “Does that look like $100? I don't think so — but it is.”
Many New Hampshire residents are making similar calculations these days. Polls regularly show the economy as the No. 1 issue on voters’ minds this election season. And whether it’s the cost of vegetables or the cost of housing, many Granite Staters say they’re still feeling anxious about their personal finances.
Manchester resident Ryan Miller lamented his own grocery bill — five items for 30 bucks — but it didn’t take long for him to start talking about much bigger financial anxieties: his struggle to buy a house.
He moved into his brother’s basement recently, despite the fact that he’s been trying to afford a home of his own for nearly five years.
“I've been saving up for a while,” he said. “And I still, even with the substantial down payment I could put down, I'm still not going to knock down the mortgage enough for me to be able to still comfortably live and afford groceries.”
Miller works as a specialized safety inspector, earning a salary close to six figures. Plus, he’s a veteran, meaning he’s eligible for VA benefits that can help with home buying.
But he says these factors still are not enough to purchase a house.
“They say my generation — the elder millennials — are a cause of a lot of problems,” he said. “But we're out here working our butts off, and we got nothing that we were told we should get for going to college or whatever.”
Kelly Sheehan is also keeping a close eye on her weekly grocery bill these days. She noticed prices jumped during Covid — and stayed there. She tries to shop smartly, purchasing discount and in-season produce to keep costs low, but she's still struggling.
“I'm single, I don't make a ton of money,” she said.
Right now, she’s working two jobs — as a physical therapist assistant and a masseuse — and living with a roommate to stay afloat.
“I'm just working all of the time and then I don't have quality of life,” she said.
In the midst of this election season, Sheehan says she’s not hearing any candidates talk about the economy in a way that reflects her concerns.
“Some of the rhetoric is just very childish, and it’s frustrating,” she said.
Lifelong New Hampshire resident Ernest Hamel has also found the state’s cost of living increasingly untenable. He used to live in Allenstown, but he had to downsize recently and move to Concord. A cancer diagnosis and the costs of his care added significantly to his financial pressures.
“It's just like the cost of medical keeps going up and up, and it's like, no end in sight,” he said.
For now, he and his wife are sticking to the “absolutely necessary” when it comes to shopping.
“We were thinking about maybe upgrading the wife's car, but, you know, everything's got to be on hold until we can balance it out again,” he said.
He’s also had to cut back on treats — like donuts — at the grocery store.
When it comes to the economy and this year’s elections, Hamel has a simple hope.
“I hope for the country to turn around,” he said.
