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Food Spending: What It Means and What to Do

Quick Answer: According to Mint.com data, users spend an average of $581.46 monthly on food and drinks, with groceries accounting for the largest portion at $286.91. The breakdown shows restaurant dining ($172.27) and fast food ($51.79) as the next highest categories among tracked spending habits.

The folks over at Mint.com and Column Five Media put together a great little video with Akorn Entertainment to show how much users that track their spending on Mint.com spend on food and drinks each month.

The video entitled “Eat, Drink and Be Thrifty: Mint.com Monthly Food and Dining Spending” showed an average $581.46 spent each month on food and drinks alone based on users spending. The categories were further broken down into: Coffee Shops, Fast Food, Groceries, Restaurants, Alcohol and Bars, and Other.

Coffee Shops:

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Average single transaction: $8.43
Number of transactions per month: 1.7
Monthly expense: $14.40

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Fast Food

Average single transaction: $10.05
Number of transactions per month: 5.3
Monthly expense: $51.79

Groceries

Average single transaction: $41.97
Number of transactions per month: 6.8
Monthly expense: $286.91

Restaurants

Average single transaction: $28.47
Number of transactions per month: 6
Monthly expense: $172.27

Slowest month: December
Busiest month: March

Alcohol and Bars

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Average single transaction: $42.27
Number of transactions per month: 0.8
Monthly expense: $32.85

Slowest month: February
Busiest month: December

Other Spending On Food and Drink

Average Monthly expense: $23.24

Total: $581.46

To watch the video see embedding below:

Roughly, how much do you think you spend on food and drinks alone each month? Is this a realistic amount for you? What advice do you have for others that has worked for you in cutting back expenses? Share in the comments below!

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Steve Rhode The Get Out of Debt Guy | Consumer Debt Expert
Consumer debt expert & investigative writer. Personal bankruptcy survivor (1990). Washington Post award-winning author. Exposing debt scams since 1994.

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