Your latest hate-click was likely brought to you by USA Today, which recently highlighted a survey that says you spend $18,000 on “nonessentials” — including way too much on lunch.
The article, which was promptly ratioed on Twitter, is based off a survey commissioned by life insurance company Ladder and claims that “Americans are spending a small fortune on treats that are ultimately stripping them of the opportunity to save and use their money more responsibly.”
Among its findings: The average American spends $177.88 on meal delivery, $96.11 on rideshares and $93.96 on subscription boxes every month.
Any true Penny Hoarder would look at these numbers and roll their eyes so furiously they might end up on the floor
Luckily, the government, specifically the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, already tracks spending in its consumer expenditure survey. And its data, which is available each quarter and includes in-depth interviews with more than 7,000 people compared to the 2,000 in the survey.
(Click here to check out the last time we put a USA Today article on blast.)
In the U.S., the average household spends about $333 on eating out each month — if you include alcohol — according to the BLS. That’s less than half the $749 the Ladder survey says an individual American spends on restaurants, takeout and drinks with friends.
As far as lunch goes, U.S. consumers spend a little over $78 a month when they forget the whole meal prep thing, says BLS data. The survey number is more than double that — $173.62.
Again, that number is only for a single person!
Pro Tip
Meal prepping doesn’t have to mean five days of the same old meal. Use a variety of spices and sides to zest up your weekly prep.
And about that rideshare statistic of $96 a month? The average household, according to the BLS, actually spends about $64 a month on public and other transportation, which includes taxis, Uber or Lyft. For “personal grooming,” which doesn’t include gym memberships, the survey’s estimate of $94.25 is about 50% greater than what the government tracks.
The Ladder survey is ostensibly to prove that you can actually afford life insurance so long as you do away with frivolous spending. The piece follows a recent trend of articles that we’ll call “consumption shaming.” Usually, these focus on millennials (even though we found that millennials are actually thriftier than boomers).
Sallie Krawcheck, CEO and co-founder of Ellevest, called out this phenomenon — specifically related to women — in a recent Fast Company column. In it, she focuses on the trope about how simply not buying your daily latté will help you save thousands.
“All this nonsense about lattes and shoes is shifting the attention — and thus the blame — for the underlying systemic money challenges women face, to the women themselves,” she writes. “The pink tax, the wage gap, the debt gap, the funding gap, the domestic work (and emotional labor) gap, and — my personal crusade — the investing gap.”
Still, despite the whack numbers from the survey that don’t even touch reality, Penny Hoarders know there are always ways to cut back — no shaming necessary. Okay, some shaming: In a recent survey with a representative sample of the U.S., we found that 40% of Americans don’t keep a budget.
That’s a great place to find areas where you can reduce spending without depriving yourself of all happiness. The Penny Hoarder Academy’s Budgeting 101 program can help you find a budget you’ll be more likely to stick to.
Once you nail down a budget, you can start thinking about debt repayment, automating your finances and developing a holistic, budget-conscious lifestyle.
Oh, and for the record, Americans do make room in their budget for life insurance. They spend more than $400 a year, according to government data.
Alex Mahadevan is a data journalist at The Penny Hoarder. Follow him on Twitter @AlexMahadevan to read more rants about questionable data.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
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