Food still eating up the family budget
The average Greek family spends just under 1,800 euros a month with only a tenth of its disposable income going to housing, despite a rise in rent and house prices, according to statistics made public yesterday. The National Statistics Service (NSS) said that each Greek household spends on average 1,792 euros each month. In its survey of more than 17,000 people between February 2004 and January this year, the NSS found that the largest percentage (17.1 percent) of this money is spent on food. Buying meat accounts for around a fifth of this amount. Greeks also like to wash their food down with some drink, as nearly 4 percent of the overall budget is spent on alcohol. The NSS said that during the last five years, Greeks have been spending less on food and clothing and more on other categories, such as communication. Housing costs account for 10.69 percent of the family’s spending.
