"The Sunday Times asked families in Britain, America,
France and Germany to provide details of their basic
household spending. Each family has two children under 10
and the parents together earn around £50,000 a year after
tax.

United Kingdom: Steve Brady, an independent financial
adviser, and his wife Pip, a personnel manager, live in a
detatched four bedroom house in Wiltshire. They spend
£200 on their weekly shopping. Travel expenses including
petrol, bus and rail fares add up to £216 a month. Gas,
electricity and water bills average £120 a month. Total:
£14,432 per year 

United States: John and Alison Costello from Maryland,
spend £60 a week on food. Their monthly travel
expenditure including petrol for their two cars, is £95.
Utility bills on their four bedroom house are £90 a month.
Total: £5,340 per year

France: Bruno Corlin, a graphic designer from Paris, and
his wife Louise, a shoe stylist, pay £80 a week for food.
Bills on their apartment in the 18th arrondissement add up
to £50 a month, while their monthly spend on petrol, taxis
and metro tickets is £105. Total: £6,020 per year

Germany: Matthia and Barbara Hickl, of Berlin, pay
£139 a week for food. Hickl, a sculptor, pays £116 a
month on bills for the family home, an apartment so large
he can display many of his pieces of work. They also save
on domestic travel, spending £149 a month. Total:
£10,408 per year" 

20 February 2000
"Sunday Times"

-------------------------------------------------------

              FURTHER REFERENCES

  GO - "search perceptions" - in SEARCH-ENGINE


file-ID www.perceptions.couk.com/compare.txt