Fourth of July parties will cost more this year but you can save with a bit of math

David Branch is making some changes to his Fourth of July celebration menu this year.

"I'm not doing ribs. I'm not doing beef brisket and other things that probably I would normally do," Branch said.

He's not alone. Rising inflation means that it's gotten more expensive to stock a party with the holiday's classic foods — about 11% more expensive than last year, to be exact. That's according to a new study that Branch co-authored, which calculated how much prices have risen for certain Fourth of July foods for a 10-person party. He's a food and agribusiness adviser for Wells Fargo, which means he follows industry price trends.

The costs of red meat and chicken are hitting wallets hard this year. Branch recommends being creative with other proteins, like shrimp or pork butt. The study, which uses data from May, shows that shrimp is 8.2% more expensive than it was in July 2021, and the price of pork has grown by 3.1%.