A Look at the Average American’s Budget

A cool graphic from The Credit Blog that nicely lays out how the average American household spends their paycheck.

An average “consumer unit” —  2.5 people, 1.3 wage earners — brings home $62,481 a year and the average annual expenditures are $48,109. Here’s a breakdown:

• Housing – $16,557 (26.5%)
  • rented dwellings – $2,900 (4.6%)
  • mortgage interest and charges – $3,351 (5.4%)
• Transportation – $7,677 (12.3%)
  • gasoline and motor oil – $2,132 (3.4%)
• Food – $6,129 (9.8%)
  • food at home – $3,624 (5.8%)
  • food away from home – $2,505 (4.1%)
• Personal Insurance and Pensions – $5,373 (8.6%)
• Healthcare – $3,157 (5.1%)
• Entertainment – $2,504 (4.0%)
• Apparel and services – $1,700 (2.7%)
• Everything else – $5,012 (8.0%)

It’s always a little painful to be reminded of the 5.4% of the income is spent on mortgage interest — money handed straight to those evil banks, but I guess it beats renting. It’s also interesting to see the massive amount of money spent on eating out – 4.1% is spent on food eaten outside the home. Opting to cook for yourself clearly slims the waistline and fattens the wallet. Finally, those transportation costs, over 10% spend to get ourselves around, riding a bike, riding the bus, walking, etc… all are looking much better.