9 We recommend term life insurance, because all the other types of life insurance are rip-offs. Personal insurance is basically another name for life insurance, and this category is about $39 a month for an average American. 8This might make you scratch your head, but let’s dig deeper. Personal Insurance and Pensions: $656 per MonthĪt $656 per month, personal insurance and pensions are just a little bit less than food. Having a plan will also keep you from making an expensive trip to a drive-thru because you didn’t know what to make for dinner. If you want to cut your food budget-both at home and at restaurants-start meal planning! When you plan your meals before you head to the grocery store, you’ll be more likely to buy only the stuff you need-and skip impulse buys. So on average, Americans spend about $185 more a month on groceries than food from restaurants.īudget every dollar, every month. Hey, we invented cheeseburgers! Monthly food expenses are split between food at home ($438) and food away from home ($253). It’s probably no surprise that food is number three on the list at $691 per month. Don’t throw hundreds of bucks a month into something that goes down in value as soon as you drive it off the lot. The average monthly payment for a new car is $700! 6 And that’s why paying cash for a car is the way to go. ugh, car payments-all that adds up to $913 a month. (But a weekend visit to get a plate of Mom’s famous meatloaf and mashed potatoes is fine.)Īirline tickets, gas, insurance, repairs and. If you want to save money, maybe living rent-free in your parents’ basement and eating your parents’ food really is the way to go. To avoid being house poor (aka spending too much money on housing), keep your rent or mortgage (plus insurance, taxes and any HOA fees) at no more than 25% of your take-home pay. It also includes property taxes, homeowners insurance, repairs, gas and electric bills, and furniture. And this category doesn’t just include rent and mortgage payments. 4 Keeping a roof over your head costs a lot of dough. This probably isn’t news to you, but the biggest expense for singles, married couples and couples with kids is housing at $1,885 per month. Plus, we’ll give you some ideas for how you can come in below average for some of these costs. Next, let’s dig into what each expense category includes and break them down by the average monthly cost for each. They’re what the average American spends. Keep in mind, these are not recommended budget percentages. The 10 major categories for household expenses and their share of the total expenses for average Americans are: And remember, these are averages, so they could vary a lot based on the size of your household and the cost of living in your part of the country. But where’s all that money going? Let’s take a look at the 10 major categories of household expenses. No surprises here, right? The more people you have living in your home, the more you spend. For married couples with no kids, monthly expenses are $6,337.For single folks, the average monthly expenses are $4,009.The average monthly expenses for a family of four range from $7,333 to $8,595 (depending on the ages of your kids).But that dream comes with a pretty hefty price tag. Mom, Dad, two kids, one dog, a house and a picket fence-the American Dream. What Are the Average Monthly Expenses by Household Size? Let’s dig into the numbers a little more and see how household size affects average monthly expenses. Don’t settle for normal, because normal is broke, and the average, normal American spends hundreds of dollars a month on credit card and car payments. But when it comes to household expenses, below average is where you want to land. In school, in life and in business, being above average is great. 1īut if you’re budgeting and looking for ways to cut your expenses, don’t settle for average expenses. That equals $66,928 per year, which is crazy close to the average annual income of $78,743 after taxes. And they say the average monthly expenses for an American household add up to $5,577. There are folks at the Bureau of Labor Statistics who keep track of what Americans spend on everything from cereal to housing. After all, if you have kids, you’re guaranteed to spend more on milk and cereal than Phil and Janice, the retired couple next door. News flash-everyone’s situation is different. As you look for ways to cut costs, you’re probably wondering, What are the average American’s monthly expenses? Is everyone spending this much on food? Money’s tight for just about everybody right now (thanks, inflation).
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