It's the 1st of the month. Here's your $452, honeyI

'Wives Tighten Purses on Japan's Salarymen'

According to a survey by Shinsei Financial Co., the average allowance given to Japanese salarymen by their wives-- who typically manage the family finances, including the husband's earnings -- is now a pitiful $15 a day, or 36,500 yen per month -- the lowest since 1982, Bloomberg reported in this article dated June 27, 2011. Economic growth in Japan has been stuck at less than 1% a year for the past 10 years, exacerbating deflation; wages are down since the March 11 earthquake/tsunami. Chances of a consumer-driven rebound? Slim.

Workers’ allowances peaked in 1990 at the height of the country’s asset and real-estate bubble, with men receiving a monthly 76,000 yen, more than double what they get today, according to the survey. Respondents in [the June 27] report said they spend the greatest proportion of the money on lunch, dispensing an average 490 yen.

That's a beef bowl at Yoshinoya. Or two cucumber rolls from a sidewalk sushi vendor. Or 4 sticks of yakitori from the Food Show.

It's a Coffee Jelly Frappuccino at Starbucks.

Read the story here.