Daily News 6/25/15
June 25, 2015
Thursday – June 25
Consumers across the nation spent their hard earned dollars on cars and trucks in May, while they paid more for gas at the pumps. The Commerce Department reported on Thursday that Personal Spending surged by 0.9% in May, the fastest pace in six years and above the 0.7% expected. A key reason behind the upswing in spending comes as the job market continues to improve, while wages have edged higher. Personal Incomes rose by 0.5% in the last two months, fueling the solid spending in May.
A disturbing report surfaced this week … Americans throw out $165 billion worth of food each year. A recent report shows that 76% of Americans say that at least once a month leftovers go right into the garbage and not in the refrigerator. Of that 76%, 70% report being bothered that they waste that much food. The report broke it down to reveal that individual households waste $640 in food every year. One big reason that so much food is wasted is because many consumers misinterpret expiration dates. There are 160 billion pounds of food thrown away each year in the U.S. alone, which puts food waste as the single largest contributor of solid waste in landfills.
Motor club AAA reported on Thursday that the upcoming July 4th holiday will see an estimated 41.9 million Americans traveling over the holiday weekend. The 4th falls on a Saturday this year, which will extend the weekend, since many are off that Friday. It is further estimated that 85% of the near 42 million that say they will travel, will drive by car to the destinations. The good news this year is that filling up the car at the gas pumps will be the cheapest in five years. The national average price for a regular gallon of gasoline is at $2.78, 88 cents less than last year.
