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.
Yeah it’s sad but it makes me happy I was always cheap af and never really enjoyed the “premium” stuff like big Mac or whoppers. With the phone app and its deals paired with the cheapest offering most of those places I can still spend like 5-7 bucks and get more than enough crap food for a meal. I am pretty bad myself, but I also have no idea how anyone can enjoy 5 straight days of any fast food. It’s a once a week thing, maybe twice, depending on time and budget. Again I know it’s bad!