Just found out the average American spends $1,800 a year on fast food. WTF.

I was scrolling through some random finance blog yesterday and stumbled on this stat from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It said the average household spends over $1,800 annually on fast food. That's like $150 a month on burgers and fries. I honestly thought it would be way lower, maybe $500 tops. But then I did the math on my own spending last month and yeah, I hit almost $200 just on lunch runs during my training sessions. It's crazy how those $8 combo meals add up without you noticing. Has anyone else ever tracked their fast food spending for a month? I'm scared to look at my full year.

2 comments

2 Comments

gibson.elizabeth1mo ago

The thing that gets me about that number is how much of it goes straight to the middlemen and the corporations instead of the actual food. I looked into it after my husband and I cut our fast food habit for a month and saved like $400. Turns out a lot of that money goes to the big suppliers and the companies that own the land the restaurants sit on. It's not really about the food itself. The real cost is convenience and marketing. And the crazy part is the fast food places know exactly how to get you addicted to that convenience so you don't think about the total.

torres.sage1mo ago

Wait saving $400 from just fast food is actually a thing?