Americans Spend $3,000/Year on Lunch, Lattes

By Admin on January 29, 2012 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

That cup of coffee you're sipping right now at work could be setting you back financially. The average U.S. worker spends more than $1,000 a year on java -- on top of another $2,000 a year on lunch, a new survey finds.

In fact, the $3,000 a year that the average U.S. worker spends on lunch and lattes is twice as much as a worker typically spends on commute costs, the survey finds, according to Reuters.

But spending habits seem to differ by gender and by age. For example:

Male workers are more likely to dig into their wallets for lunch. Men spent $47 a week on midday meals, compared to $27 a week for women, according to the survey by Accounting Principles, a division of staffing-services company Adecco SA.

Younger workers spend much more on coffee and lunch than older workers. People 18 to 34 spent about $25 a week on coffee and nearly $45 a week on lunch. They may want to take a cue in thriftiness from their over-45 counterparts, who spent just $14 a week on morning joe and about $32 a week on lunch, the survey found, according to Fox Business.

Not all American workers are willing to sacrifice $3,000 a year for daily coffee and lunch indulgences, however. One-third of employed Americans are diligent enough to pack their lunches, and about one-half of U.S. workers don't buy coffee, according to the survey.

The coffee and lunch spending survey also revealed another difference between the sexes that has nothing to do with money: Men are far more likely to complain about the crummy selection in office vending machines, the study found.

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