Burgermeisters spend more than they realise
Jack Townend spends more in a week at McDonald’s than most millennials spend in a month on eating out.
The Palmerston North University College of Learning photography student chows his way through a McDonald’s double cheeseburger combo at least six times a week.
‘‘I don’t spend every single dollar I have on fast food, but I’m aware I probably spend too much on it.’’
After mistakenly thinking the price had changed by $1.30 Townend decided it was time to calculate how much he was spending at McDonald’s and found over the past two years his combo meals cost him $4243.20.
Townsend conceded his favourite meal might not be the healthiest choice, but a shortage of time between school and work meant choices made out of convenience were inevitable.
His estimated $40 a week spend on takeaways is a fair bit more than what most millennials spend on fast food. Nielsen’s recent Consumer and Media Insights survey found 15- to 34-year olds collectively spend $33 million a month on restaurant meals.
Including the then pre-teens in the 2013 census who are now aged between 14 and 17 years in the 2017 millennial population, there are likely to be more than a million millennials in New Zealand, spending, on average, nearly $33 on takeaway and restaurants a month.
The survey found 80 per cent of New Zealanders ate fast food over the past month and 27 per cent ate fast food more than five times over the past month.
Foxplan financial adviser Dean Blair considers spending more than $50 a week on restaurants and takeaway to be ‘‘excessive’’.
Blair said restaurant and takeaway spending should be viewed in the context of income.
‘‘If there’s very little or no money left over each pay-cycle ... cutting back on spending simply by making more food at home is a no-brainer really, in my mind. But it’s got to be their decision.’’
He said people were often spending twice as much on fast food as they thought they were. spending on fast food.
McDonald’s Restaurants spokesman Simon Kenny said people visited McDonald’s one or two times a month, on average.
McDonald’s has an ongoing programme to reduce sugar, salt and saturated fat levels in its food, and to add new food and beverage options.