Family Spending

These free family spending statistics can help give you ideas of reducing family spending to save money. Here you will find charts depicting spending trends and average annual expenditures divided into categories.

Good family money management can save a lot of heartache and contribute significantly to good family life.

Understanding your own spending can help control family finances. Use the data on this page to get ideas about spending and consider how your family may compare to national averages.

The following chart shows categorized annual expenditures by a "consumer unit". See below for a definition of consumer unit. The average family budget page shows a more detailed list of these expenditures.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides some excellent data to help us understand how families in the United States spend money. The following definitions were taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and help to understand the data on this page:

Consumer unit. Members of a household consisting of (a) occupants related by blood, marriage, adoption, or some other legal arrangement; (b) a single person living alone or sharing a household with others, but who is financially independent; or (c) two or more persons living together who share responsibility for at least 2 out of 3 major types of expenses—food, housing, and other expenses. Students living in university-sponsored housing also are included in the sample as separate consumer units. The average number of persons included in a consumer unit in 2008 was 2.5.

Total expenditures. The transaction costs, including excise and sales taxes, of goods and services acquired during the interview period. Estimates include expenditures for gifts and contributions, as well as payments for pensions and personal insurance.

Income. The combined income earned by all consumer unit members 14 years or older during the 12 months preceding the interview. The components of income are wages and salaries; self-employment income; Social Security and private and government retirement income; interest, dividends, and rental and other property income; unemployment and workers’ compensation and veterans’ benefits; public assistance, Supplemental Security Income, and Food Stamps; rent or meals as pay; and regular contributions for support, such as alimony and child-support payments.

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