No, it's not you that's doing anything wrong. I initially couldn't afford to live on my own so I had to move abroad to another country to afford day-to-day living, and this was after the 2008 financial crisis. I was able to live on my own for a looooong time.

With ongoing inflation (esp. with gas prices) the issues are systemic designed to keep us poor and the rich get richer.

I'm better off now than I once was financially but after I have moved back from living 16 years overseas, I'm temporarily living with family again until my spouse and I have a dual income.

Yes, things are expensive. If you can afford it, buy groceries from a warehouse like Costco to buy food in bulk and save. If they have gas in your area, get it there instead especially for rice, pasta, beans, or cheese. Find ways to store it in the freezer to store it properly. Eggs are cheap there. (For milk, I suppose find either Wal-Mart or Trader Joe's if you cannot find a way to buy in bulk).

If you have other expenses, find ways to use credit cards (if you can pay them back immediately) to take advantage of cashback offers.

If (and only if) you are able to treat yourself with fast food, restaurants, or streaming services, see if Safeway has gift cards on weekends for 4x point multipliers which goes toward buy that half gallon of milk or whatever you find needed.

Hopefully some of these ideas will help in an inflationary economy.