How The Average U.S. Consumer Spends Their Paycheck

[accadacca]

[trackrunner]

Even the labor department admits no one is going to buy a government car, looks like the average consumer is going with a toyota prius.

[CrazyFinn]

Average age of 48.8 - We are getting old.

Also, all these numbers will shrink as Obama raises your taxes.

[RedMan]

Wow I am not at all average.

Those numbers look crazy to me, do you guys think this is even close?

[Iceaxe]

I spend all my money on fast cars and a hot young stripper wife.... the rest of it I just waste....

[cachehiker]

How does one get by on $457/52 = $8.79 per week for alcohol?

[devo_stevo]

How does one get by on $457/52 = $8.79 per week for alcohol?

It's all about the averages. I don't drink, so you can have my $8.79 per week. That takes you up to $17.58. You're in Utah so I'm sure there are a few more folks that would be willing to share if that's still not enough for you.

[Deathcricket]

Seems about right to me. Granted I don't smoke, healthcare is free from my employer, and I spend about $75 in reading a month (could be factored into entertainment/education not reading though?). But the thing I found interesting is food. So if you combine the going out and eating in, divide by # of people and days of year, you get {[(3465 + 2668) / 365] / 2.5} that means each person lives on less than $7 in food a day? I can't wrap my mind around that. Assuming 3 meals a day that comes to $2.25 a meal.

[cachehiker]

I think if I added it up, I made enough pulled pork and corn on the cob to feed a family of four last night for around $14. Of course a buddy and I spent the weekend putting up insulation and building redwood furniture so we gorged and it probably ended up about $7 each.

Overall, I think it's pretty easy to stay under $10 and cook a meal for four. The key word is "cook". Pre-prepared and frozen meals come at just enough of a premium to make it very difficult.

[Deathcricket]

Overall, I think it's pretty easy to stay under $10 and cook a meal for four. The key word is "cook". Pre-prepared and frozen meals come at just enough of a premium to make it very difficult.

See? But even using your figures that comes to $2.50 a person, 10/4 = 2.5. And these figures before are factoring in the family going out "as well as" eating in. And they still come up with $2.25 a person.

Doing some more conservative math. Lets say the family spends $6 per person when they go out. That would be fast food with a couple Olive Garden's right? So at $6 per person we get a family of 2.5 spending $15 per outting. Maybe I'm not even guestimating that right. If I was using my numbers I would say I spend about $15-$18 per person, but I know a lot of people do a quick drive throughs more often. Anyways, divide # of outtings into the "away meals" # and we get 178 meals away from home. Then subtract that from total number of meals, (assuming 3 meals a day) [{3465 / [(3 * 365) - 178]} / 2.5] = 1.51 per meal per person for home cooked meals. So can you feed your family of 4 for $6?

Ok I did a little research and looking at my bills I see we spend about 100-150 bucks a week on groceries. Granted my wife buys organic which I'm sure is a super rip off. But can anyone here that has a family of 2.5 say they spend $67 a week on groceries? If so i might have found a place I can save some serious cash.

[cachehiker]

An ex-girlfriend of mine was doing it. Herself and two kids for $75/week.

Generic branded cereal and milk for breakfast, rice, beans, pasta, potatoes, little or no meat or cheese, no frozen dinners, school lunches, clip coupons, skip a few meals, an extra $15 worth from the community food pantry every week, and let absolutely nothing go to waste. You also have to consider food stamps.

Eating this way is one of the ways I managed to scrap my way through to a college degree. Spaghetti and fresh made sauce (no meat) costs next to nothing. Every hear of hot dog fried rice or made from scratch beanie weenies? Dried beans are about $2 per huge pot after soaking. Add dogs, tomato sauce, ketchup, and brown sugar and you're set for the better part of a week.

Honestly, given a hot plate and a few basic cookings skills, it's hard to believe one can go hungry in this country. Homeless, on the other hand, isn't that hard for me to believe.

[uintahiker]

My wife and I spend about $50 a week on groceries and we eat pretty good! Granted, I don't think we've ever bought steak or anything. We don't buy much of the pre-prepared food and do all of the cooking ourselves, but you can eat really well if you just crack open a recipe book and spend some time in the kitchen.

[Deathcricket]

Man you guys are impressive! I'm going to have to look into this then and see if I can cut any places too.

[PunchKing]

WTF???

Of all the things to clue you into that you are spending too much on food, this stupid chart? I feel like I am taking crazy pills. Here is another tip, if you want to save money on electricity get rid of the central air and get a swamp cooler. While your at it shut off the lights when you leave a room.

[cachehiker]

I spend way more than that now but I still go back to the good old standby recipes every couple of weeks. It's a good habit to be in and fried rice is even better when you use real meat.



And I estimate getting by with my shade trees instead of A/C saves about $400 every year.

It's transportation that kills me. More than one out of every six dollars goes to gas, insurance, maintenance, etc. and that's just the average. I see people who spend around one out of every three to have that new car in the garage. At least my house will increase in value.

[Deathcricket]

WTF???

Of all the things to clue you into that you are spending too much on food, this stupid chart? I feel like I am taking crazy pills. Here is another tip, if you want to save money on electricity get rid of the central air and get a swamp cooler. While your at it shut off the lights when you leave a room.

My utilities bills are way below the figures listed, I live in Saint George and run my central AC 24/7 during the summer. My entertainment expenses are probably higher but I'm not sure since I've not taken the time to calcualte them. My housing prices are higher but they are pretty much non-negotiable. So I clued into food because I know we spend about 100-150 a week for eating in food. And I would guess I go out to dinner once a week? We hit up Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, Chilies, etc. Not super expensive but not fast food. So about $40 including tip for our family of 3 to eat. So going out less and saving money on groceries is what I can work on, sue me!

It's transportation that kills me. More than one out of every six dollars goes to gas, insurance, maintenance, etc. and that's just the average. I see people who spend around one out of every three to have that new car in the garage. At least my house will increase in value.

OMG I soo learned that lesson hard in 2003. While having a shiny new car in the garage is nice, paying it off for 5 years isn't. I'll probably never buy a new car again. Go like 1 year old used I think from now on for me.

[cachehiker]

I don't pay anywhere near 1 in 6. I simply see a lot of friends making $12-$15/hour who can somehow rationalize paying $500 a month for years at a time to drive an SUV that's rarely if ever used for what it was built to do. And how about the family across the road with the big travel trailer that only gets used on the 4th and 24th of July? Or the fancy boat that gets taken to Bear Lake twice and Powell just once every year?

I ride my bike 2-3 days and consolidate everything else into about 6 motorized trips a week. I've figured out that I can buy a 5 year old car with 80,000 miles, drive it 4000 miles a year for 5 years, find a crapload of buyers who see 100,000 and think "low miles", and then pay off the next in 18 months or less. I never get bored with what I'm driving and if the girls think I'm not successful enough to drive better, forget 'em. I'll be the one laughing all the way to the bank while they're still looking for a sugar daddy in their late 40's.