American Culture: The Tendency to Spend Money on Useless Things

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What is one of the most embarrassing traits that describes the average American? Before the answer is revealed, here are some items that might give you hints. The first is food. The American's love of eating out and then discarding left overs to make room for new items is astounding. Scraps of food are thrown away like dead worms, ending up either in the treads of a car or a shoe, or washed away in the rain. Second is money. This resource is the one thing that can bring the country to its knees, let alone the average American. The tendency for Americans to spend money on useless things, or to go out and bet their money in the hopes of winning more is what can define many average Americans. Third is the overuse of energy. From the misuse of natural energy to the lack of efficiency in the energy cycle, Americans greatly under appreciate the importance of energy. Lastly is poor time management. Time is arguably one of the most valuable (if not the most valuable) resources known to man, yet Americans have seemed to master the ability known as "time wasting." Has the answer revealed itself yet? Yes, there it is, in the last sentence. The answer is wastefulness, if you haven't yet figured it out. American are some of the most wasteful people in the world. Discarding everything from food, to money, to time -- Americans not only waste their own, but sometimes those of other people as well.
America is a very gluttonous country. On a yearly basis, the average American can consume a grand total of 1 TON (or 2000 pounds) of food. However, the real problem comes before and after the eating. In total, America loses 40% of the food it produces, from farm to landfill. This shows that in 1 ton of food, 800 pounds are lost, in either the waste...

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... English, it is the love of material things. This "love of material things" causes the majority of people to spend money carelessly, always buying things that they believe make them "happy". In a study done by 24/7 Wall Street, there are 10 things that the "average" American household spends almost 15% of its annual income. These ten items are, in order from highest to lowest (in number, not price):

(10) "Apparel Products and Services"
(5) "Lodging, Vacation Homes and Hotels";
(9) "Tobacco"
(4) "Pets, Toys, Hobbies, and Playground Equipment";
(8) "Nonessential Entertainment Equipment and Services"
(3) "Television, Radio, and Sound Equipment";
(7) "Alcohol";
(2) "Gifts"; and
(6) "Fees and Admissions";
(1) "Food Away from Home".
These ten categories are what 24/7 Wall Street says are the things that the "average" American spends his/her money on the most.

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