Tracking Your Spending (Attachment N(g))

“The CPI affects you”

A

verage annual expenditures by American
consumers rose 33 percent from 1993 to 2003.
The average share of total expenditures spent
on housing was about the same in 1993 and 2003—31
percent and 33 percent, respectively. Households
spent approximately 21 cents of every housing dollar
on utilities, fuels, and public services in 1993 and 22
cents in 2003.

percent of their total to health care. In households
headed by someone under age 25, 51 percent of the
health care total went to health insurance in 2003,
whereas only 40 percent went to health insurance in
1993. In households headed by someone aged 65 or
older, 53 percent of the health care allocation went to
health insurance in 2003; in 1993, that share was 51
percent.

Transportation expenditures accounted for 18 percent
of average annual expenditures in 1993, and 19
percent in 2003. In 1993, consumers spent 18 cents of
every transportation dollar on gasoline and motor oil;
that share dropped to 17 cents in 2003. Vehicle
purchases accounted for 48 percent of all
transportation expenditures in 2003, 6 percentage
points more than in 1993.

The share of total expenditures devoted to tobacco
products and smoking supplies by households headed
by someone under age 25 was approximately double
the share allocated by households headed by someone
aged 65 or older, 1.0 percent compared with 0.55
percent, in 2003.

In 2003, households headed by someone under age 25
allocated less than 3 percent of their total annual
expenditures to health care, while those headed by
someone aged 65 or older allocated more than 12

The percentage of homeowners increased over the
decade from 1993 to 2003, rising from 63 percent to 67
percent. Conversely, the percentage of renters
decreased from 37 percent to 33 percent over the same
period. Among homeowners, the share accounted for by
those with a mortgage increased from 37 percent to 41

Spending on food away from home accounted for 38
percent of total food expenditures by consumers in
1993; by 2003, that share rose to 41 percent. Among
single-person households in 2003, 46 cents of every
food dollar went to food away from home, whereas, in
households with five or more persons, only 37 cents of
every food dollar went to food away from home.

Among all consumers, the share of total expenditures
allocated to apparel and services declined from 1993 to
2003, dropping from 5.5 percent to 4.0 percent. In
1993, consumers spent 15 cents of every apparel and
services dollar on footwear; by 2003, that share rose to
18 cents. Also in 2003, consumers in the Northeast
allocated slightly more than the national average to
apparel and services, 4.4 percent, while consumers in
the Midwest and South allocated slightly less, 3.9 percent.
Consumers in the West allocated 4.0 percent to apparel
and services.

In the Midwest region, average annual expenditures
rose 39 percent from 1993 to 2003, compared with
increases of 33 percent in the Northeast, 29 percent in
the South, and 32 percent in the West. In 2003, the
share of total annual expenditures allocated by
by households to entertainment was about the same
in the Midwest (4.9 percent), the Northeast (5.0
percent), and the South (4.8 percent). The share
allocated by households in the West was 5.5 percent.

In 1993 and 2003, single-person consumer units averaged
one vehicle per household. In 1993, the four-person
consumer unit averaged 2.6 vehicles per household while
in 2003 the number of vehicles per household dropped
slightly to 2.5. Both types of consumer units spent
approximately the same share of total transportation
expenditures on gasoline and motor oil in 2003—17.6
percent by single-person consumer units and 17.8
percent by four-person consumer units.

percent, while the share for those without a
mortgage was the same in both 1993 and 2003--26
percent.