Iranian Households Abandon Savings as Food Costs Double

The comfort of a stable middle-class life in Tehran is rapidly evaporating. For many residents, the daily reality has shifted from managing a budget to surviving on a shrinking income. A newly married woman described how her family redirected funds intended for a wedding celebration to cover a housing deposit. Now working double shifts to repay a loan, she and her husband spend most of their waking hours at work. Their home, she noted, has become merely a place to sleep. Every morning, she said, they wake up poorer than the day before.

The financial strain is quantifiable and severe. A field survey in central Tehran revealed that the cost of preparing a meal of ghormeh sabzi, a traditional herb stew, now reaches 23 million rials, or roughly $8.45. Potato patties cost about 4 million rials. The price of making chicken and barberry has nearly doubled in just one year. Factnameh, a Canada-based fact-checking outlet, calculated that a basket of 11 essential food items costs 56 million rials per person in September. For a family of three, the total exceeds 168 million rials, or $61.70.

Government support has not kept pace with these rises. The state food voucher, worth 10 million rials, now covers less than 18 percent of the per-person food cost. This is a sharp decline from the 30 percent coverage seen in December 2025. Annual inflation hit 89.9 percent in September, while the estimated monthly wage stands at around $100. These figures paint a picture of an economy where basic needs consume the majority of household income.

The economic pressure stems from a combination of long-standing sanctions, persistent inflation, and recent military conflicts. A war launched by the United States and Israel on February 28 damaged key infrastructure. Trade routes have been disrupted by a US naval blockade of Iranian ports and Iranian attacks in the Strait of Hormuz. In August, the US Treasury initiated a new sanctions campaign labeled Economic D-Day to further isolate Tehran financially.

Households are adapting by sacrificing quality of life. One family reserves meat and chicken for their children, while the parents rely on legumes and substitutes. A retired woman on a monthly pension of 180 million rials has reduced her intake of protein sources since March, citing health concerns. Even those earning above average feel the squeeze. A man in western Tehran with household earnings of a billion rials, well above the Tehran average of 600 million rials, admitted he has no savings for the future. Travel and dining out have disappeared from his routine.

Social habits are also changing. A 28-year-old woman earning 400 million rials a month said she and her friends now split dishes to afford outings. Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati acknowledged the heavy burden on citizens on October 23. He stated that efforts to isolate the country's economy had failed to achieve their main objective, yet the daily struggle for Iranians continues.

The stakes are high for the Iranian middle class. As prices soar, the gap between income and essential costs widens. Families are making difficult choices about what to eat and how to socialize. The future remains uncertain as the economy shows no signs of immediate relief.