Did You Know?

According to a report from the United States Department of Labor, the average American consumer spends slightly more than 34 percent of their paycheck on housing. The average U.S. consumer makes $63,091 before taxes, with average annual expenditures of $49,638. That translates to nearly $17,000 per year spent on housing. This includes utilities, fuels and public services (which combine for 7 percent of expenditures for housing), shelter (20.2 percent), household operations (2 percent), housekeeping supplies (1.3 percent), and household furnishings and equipment (3.6 percent). What might come as most surprising, particularly to homeowners, is their annual expenditures on transportation. Transportation expenditures account for more than half of what the average American spends on housing. Homeowners looking to save money and improve their home, therefore, should consider the possibility of spending less on transportation, the costs of which include gasoline. Interestingly enough, spendings on transportation significantly outweigh what's spent on food. Again, however, homeowners hoping to save for their next big home improvement project might want to consider eating in more, as the average U.S. consumer spends nearly $2,700 per year on food purchased away from home.