Yuppies <i> Do </i> Spend More Eating Out

QUESTION: My wife and I are having an argument over food habits and we’re hoping that you can settle it. I say young professionals spend more money eating out than they do on groceries. She says everybody--no matter what age--spends more on groceries than they do on meals away from home. Is there any way to find out who’s right?--L. V.

ANSWER: The beauty of statistics is that they can be manipulated to make everyone a winner. And so it is in this case. But making a case for your argument requires much more massaging of the numbers.

Data compiled by the Labor Department--based on consumer spending in 1982-83--shows that almost two-thirds of the “average” consumer’s food bill goes toward groceries. In other words, the average American spends almost twice as much on groceries as on eating out. In real numbers, says the government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, this hypothetical consumer has a weekly income of $418.25 and spends $35.51 on food eaten at home and another $19.60 on food eaten away from home. (The total doesn’t include alcohol and tobacco, which account for another $8.70 of this consumer’s weekly expenses.)

You’re right, however, to assume that younger Americans eat out more than their parents do. When the government breaks down the numbers for consumers younger than 25, the ratio changes dramatically. On average, they spend nearly 48% of their weekly food bill on food eaten away from home. Consumers in this category, according to the Labor Department, bring home an average of $216.83 a week and spend $17 of it on groceries and another $15.34 on meals away from home.

In percentage terms, the gap widens with age. In the 35-44 age bracket, consumers spend an average of $46.01 on groceries and $25.26 at restaurants, fast-food joints and the like. And for American consumers age 65 and older, the breakdown is $27.42 for groceries and $10.37 eating out.

Young urban professionals as a group aren’t tracked by the Labor Department. But based on the data from related categories, your assumption that younger Americans with large incomes spend more money eating out than do older Americans with low incomes is on target.

Consumers in the top 20% income group--the average weekly take-home pay is $963.90--spend $52.99 of that money on groceries and $38.17 on meals away from home, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics. At the other extreme, consumers in the bottom 20% income group--the average weekly take-home pay is $72.02--spend $19.74 on groceries and $8.34 eating out.

But the only type of consumer in the government’s statistics who actually spends more money eating out than on groceries is the single man or woman living alone. That person, says the government, has average weekly income of $239.46 and spends $13.98 on groceries and $14.14 on meals away from home.

Another interesting tidbit emerging from the government data is a breakdown by region. Consumers in the West devote a larger percentage of their food budget to meals away from home than do residents of any other region. The government says the average consumer in California and other Western states spends $57.68 on food a week, 37% of which goes toward eating out. In the Northeast, by comparison, residents spend $58.48 a week on average, 34% of which is on meals away from home.

Q: One thing you didn’t mention in a recent column on buying life insurance is the policies the insurance industry is calling “no load” life insurance. Are they really?--H. B.

A: You’re right to be skeptical. Since most investment vehicles use the term “no load” to mean no sales commission, it would seem a safe assumption that “no load” insurance policies likewise carry no sales commission.

Wrong. Most do tack on a sales fee. But they amortize it over a period of years instead of deducting it in one lump sum from the initial premium as do traditional “load” life insurance policies. So, the designation is merely to set themselves apart from the traditional policies. As usual, it behooves you to shop around, because a small minority of these policies actually are sold with no sales commission whatsoever.

Debra Whitefield cannot answer mail individually but will respond in this column to financial questions of general interest. Do not telephone. Write to Money Talk, Los Angeles Times, 780 Third Ave., Suite 3801, New York, N.Y. 10017.