January 15, 2006

Food News: Wiser food shopping a way to fatten wallet

"Which is more expensive: a new car or food for a year?

Many people would say purchasing a car costs far more, but that's not necessarily true. Even a $25,000 car, with a five-year loan, costs less than $6,000 a year.

Yet an average family of four in the United States spends more than $8,000 on food each year, according to the most recent government consumer expenditure figures.

So during that five-year period, you would spend about $30,000 on the car purchase and more than $40,000 on food, not even figuring price inflation for food.

The point is that many consumers put in hours of exhaustive research when buying a car, making sure they get a good deal. Yet those same consumers might not give a minute of thought to examining their food spending.

Simply put, food is by far the best place to cut wasteful spending. And it's the best example of how little things add up."

Full article here.