Poorest Households Spent Less on Alcohol Last Year: Survey

The poorest 20 percent of American households spent an average of $152 on alcohol last year, a new government survey finds. These households spent less on alcohol last year than at any time in the past 15 years, according to The Wall Street Journal. Their overall spending was at its highest level since 2008.

The findings come from the latest Labor Department Consumer Expenditure Survey. Consumers tend to cut back on alcohol, a discretionary purchase, when they need to trim their budgets, the article notes.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people who make less than $25,000 annually binge drink most often, and drink the most per binge.