While increases in the costs of food throughout the world have been an ongoing story, I’m very grateful to live in America. Experts have predicted that Americans and the rest of the world will see increases in what we spend at the grocery store for a number of reasons. These include an increase in global demand, economic depression, the cost of fuel, and floods and droughts.
The United Nations has stated that food prices will soar by as much as 30% over the next 10 years. A UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report predicted that the cost of cereals throughout the world is likely to increase by 20% and the price of meat, particularly chicken, may soar by up to 30% in the very near future.
Despite future increases, the silver lining for American families struggling to get by is that compared to the rest of the world, it’s relatively inexpensive to eat in the United States. So, as we experience increases with the rest of the world, we will have started from a much lower number to begin with.
Advances in manufacturing and technology have significantly increased food production in the United States over the past 80 years – while significantly reducing the cost of this production. In 1933, Americans spent 21.9% of their income on their (at home) food. Today, according to the USDA, we spend just 5.7% on food eaten at home. Incidentally, food purchased out of the home increased just slightly from 3.3% in 1933 to 3.9% in 2009.
Compared to the rest of the world, 5.7% of personal income is astonishingly inexpensive. This does not factor in the expenses of other consumables like paper products, cleaning products, and personal care products – which when all combined together put the average American family of four above $700 a month at the grocery store. This is no small expense but if you lived outside the United States, here is the percentage of your paycheck you would spend to feed your family…
United States 5.7%
United Kingdom 8.6%
Canada 9.2%
Australia 10.7%
Germany 11.4%
Hong Kong, China 12.2%
France 13.5%
Japan 14.2%
Israel 17.7%
South Africa 19.8%
Chile 23.3%
Mexico 24.0%
Brazil 24.7%
Russia 28.0%
China 32.9%
India 35.4%
Philippines 36.7%
Egypt 38.1%
Morocco 40.4%
Indonesia 43.0%
Kenya 44.9%
Pakistan 45.5%
Azerbaijan 46.9%
The full chart can be found at http://sa2.me/
Naturally, incomes are lower in most countries with a higher percentage spent on food – but imagine if your paycheck was nearly half gone just to keep your family fed. Compare that with someone who follows my advice in the United States and can potentially feed their family on just 3% of their income. It’s a great blessing to live in the United States – where, even though we’re dealing with our own economic hardships and higher than usual unemployment, our standard of living is remarkable compared to most of the world.
As we’ve celebrated our Independence Day, join with me in giving thanks for our freedoms and the joy that we get from our personal, political, and economic liberties.
The easiest way to cut your grocery bill in half is through using manufacturers coupons combined with the best sales at local stores. Normally, this takes a lot of work to create a winning shopping list for your family. Each week, SavingsAngel.com combines over 2,000 products on sale at local grocery and drug stores with their enormous database of manufacturer coupons – which are found in Sunday’s newspaper and throughout the Internet. This combination results in access to over 300 products each week for 50% off or better. Here are a few examples of deals that are available until Saturday at midnight. Please look read our blog each week for tips on how you can easily start cutting your grocery bill!
Josh Elledge is the Chief Executive “Angel” of SavingsAngel, Inc. – launched from his home in January 2007. A husband and father of three, he now appears each week on tv, in his syndicated column which runs locally in the Grand Rapids Press, and a number of radio stations across the country each week teaching families how to cut their grocery bill in half using the Internet. Elledge created the technology found on SavingsAngel.com through the need to save his own family’s money. Successfully able to cut his own grocery bill from $600 a month to less than $300 a month, his message has reached hundreds of thousands of families. SavingsAngel.com is now growing rapidly throughout the country. You can watch a short video at SavingsAngel.com that will explain more information about how to cut your own grocery bill in half with the help of SavingsAngel.com.
About Josh Elledge, Chief Executive Angel - SavingsAngel.com
Wow that is absolutely crazy! I tend to find eating at home is way better than eating out.
I am not sure exactly what these figures are based on, but I find it hard to believe that in this country one only spends 6.2% of income on food. If you do the numbers for every 10,000 earned that translates to 620 a year or 51 per month. I am not sure what planet they derived this but it certaintly is not the USA I live in. Oh this is just food and soft drinks.
I agree with you JR – when I know the total grocery bill is over $700 a month for a family of four. This does absolutely only include food though? Still – even if you assumed a very high $50,000 a year average income, that’s $258/mo. and that still seems low… for non-SavingsAngel families anyway.