Families spending more on petrol than food

posh*spice

The motoring group said prices at the pump hit a new high of 142.48p per litre this week, while diesel remains near its peak of 147.88p per litre.

These new figures mean the cost of filling up a 50-litre family car is around £71.24 at a time when many households are struggling with their budgets.

This is slightly more than the £70.10 spent by an average household with two children on food and non-alcoholic drinks per week.

For a family with two cars, it is now £22 more expensive to top up with petrol than it was at the beginning of the year.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/9212621/Families-spending-more-on-petrol-than-food-says-AA.html

Same in the US

Families now spend more on transportation than food

http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/2012/04/families-now-spend-more-on-transportation-than-food-1.html

wotsthat

Yes, we're really lucky in this country to have an abundance of cheap food.

savageHK

Ok - so an 'average' tank costs more than an 'average' weekly food shop. Does the 'average' family fill up their 'average' tank weekly - if not, then they aren't spending more on petrol than food. Non story.

Itismehonest

Apparently, we are the 7th most expensive country for fuel &, even if the August duty hike goes through, we'll only get as high as 4th.
http://www.staveleyhead.co.uk/utilities/most-expensive-petrol/

Mr._Pricklepants

For a family with two cars, it is now £22 more expensive to top up with petrol than it was at the beginning of the year.

You have to feel for those poor families with 2 cars.

abaxas

We do about 1600-1700 miles a month.

Two diesels and a little lotus elise cost us about 200-220 PM in fuel.

Where exactly is the problem other than people buying stupidly inefficient cars.

kabayiri

The story is relevant I'd argue, because we use benchmarks all the time in the cost of living.

The weekly shop is something that every family does. Comparing weekly fuel costs to this shop resonates with people.

More important than absolute petrol costs is the trend. Fuel costs are rising when incomes are relatively static for many. Will we see £2 a litre during the course of this parliamentary term?

Mr_Terrific

abaxas wrote: »

Where exactly is the problem other than people buying stupidly inefficient cars.

I'm sure not everyone buys an inefficient car out of choice. What about people who can't afford to buy a modern, fuel efficient car? If you need a car and you've only got a budget of £1,000 you've got to take what you'll get at Honest John's Motor Emporium.

runninglea

surely not - does Mr Average fill up with 50 litres of petrol each week. I wouldnt have thought so.

They have just worked out how many litres will cost more than the average shop and thought they would write a made up story.

Gra76

As a family of 5 we spend around £100-£110 a week on food shopping.

We run 2 cars (a BMW 335d and a Ford S-Max 1.8 TDCi) and that costs us about £80 a week between us.

Fortunately I get expenses for my cars fuel so it's not bad, but we're still not too far off an even split in terms of fuel and food.

A._Badger

Itismehonest wrote: »

Apparently, we are the 7th most expensive country for fuel &, even if the August duty hike goes through, we'll only get as high as 4th.
http://www.staveleyhead.co.uk/utilities/most-expensive-petrol/

Oh, only. Well that's all right then. And if we're really lucky the government will put it up by even more - then we can be first! Hurrah!