Between groceries and restaurants, Americans are spending more of their income on food than they have in 30 years.
That’s according to the latest data from the USDA, which shows that U.S. consumers spent more than 11% of their disposable income on eating — whether at home or at a restaurant — in 2022, the highest percentage since 1991.
“This is really a metric that’s about the share of our disposable personal income which the USDA tracks, and which recently was at essentially a 31-year high,” Jesse Newman, food reporter for the Wall Street Journal, told CBS News.
Experts say painfully high food prices, and ongoing inflation more generally, help explain why many Americans are down on the economy despite low unemployment, rising wages and steady economic growth. Inflation is expected to continue slowing this year, with the National Association for Business Economists on Monday forecasting that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) — a basket of common goods and services — will decline to an annual rate of 2.4% this year, compared with 4.1% in 2023 and 8% in 2022.
My coworker spent $17 on a whopper meal 5 days in a row.
Homie dropped $85 on whoppers this week. Like wtf
$50 would sound whack as fuck.
A nearby hotel currently has a $26 cheeseburger on their menu, and a few $12 drafts. 2 beers and a burger at $50 before tax and tip, looking at like $65.
I want you to understand that if he ever complains about money you have the internet’s permission to slap the ever living fuck out of him.
He makes half of what I make (he’s new/young). He has 3 kids. He has a galaxy s24 ultra. He has a PS5.
Me and fellow coworkers keep trying to get him into PC gaming. “I donno I can’t drop that kinda money.”
🤷♂️
I even gave him a $500 build list and told him I’d build it lol.
My slapper is itching
This isn’t anywhere near that expensive, but there’s a local cafe my daughter likes me to take her to. A chai latte for me and a smoothie and a yogurt parfait for her (our usual) costs $20. And they’re a lot cheaper than plenty of other places offering similar fare.
That sounds like a lot, but honestly it’s not much less than groceries these days. A week’s worth for me (one person) at Stop & Shop is $80-120 depending on what I get. If I was getting stuff for a burger, fries, and drink every lunch, it wouldn’t be that far behind. A couple bucks for convenience.