For the last few months, Shirley Hatfield has bought mostly generic brand foods and has gone as far as to unplug her lamps and microwave when they are not in use.
Hatfield, who is 54 and works in a middle school nurse's office in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, never saw herself as a big spender. But now, the constant monitoring of her spending has started to become all-consuming.
"There are things I never would have thought of before, but now with the price increases ... it all is adding up," she said.
