Answer: Bacon with a 58% increase. 

Questions:

• What do you think caused the price of bacon to increase so much over this period? 
• Do you think a steep price increase impacts how much bacon people buy? Why or why not? 
• If you were running a supermarket, would you rather see the price increases or prices decreases for the items you sell? 

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

 Behind the numbers (from Visual Capitalist):

Over the span of 2000-2016, the amount of money spent on food by the average American household increased from $5,158 to $7,203, which is a 39.6% increase in spending.

Despite this, for most of the U.S. population, food actually makes up a decreasing portion of their household spending mix because of rising incomes over time. Just 13.1% of income was spent on food by the average household in 2016, making it a less important cost than both housing and transportation.

That said, fluctuations in food prices can still make a major impact on the population. For lower income households, food makes up a much higher percentage of incomes at 32.6% – and how individual foods change in price can make a big difference at the dinner table.

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Looking to dig in deeper on this issue of inflation and it's impact on personal budgets? Check out this NGPF Activity, ANALYZE: Understanding Inflation. 

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.