A news report the other morning mentioned that Americans will spend $8 billion on Halloween. I repeat; $8 billion on costumes, decorations, candy and other junk food. That’s roughly $26.00 for every man, woman and child in the good old USA.
Such spending got me to thinking, how do Americans spend their money, exactly what is affordable? Some research and Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the following:
The average household income $62,481.
Average amount spent: $48,109 … and here is how we spend some of it.
Eating out: $2,505
Alcohol: $412
Entertainment: $2,504
Apparel: $1,700 **
Personal Care: $582 **
Tobacco: $365
Healthcare $3,157
The facts are unassailable; if we learned to cook, ate a few less burgers, left our hair its natural color, watched more TV at home, stopped buying new clothes because a new trend was sold to us, cut back on the pagan ritual each October and stopped smoking, not only is health care affordable, but we also may be able to retire before age 80.
It’s all a matter of priorities … but I have to admit, I’d rather have someone else pay for that prostate exam and spend my money on candy corn and a round of golf, and hey, I received my “free” flu shot this morning.
Still think health care is unaffordable?
I know, I know, what are we supposed to do live like monks . . . anyone volunteering to pay for my new tatoo?
** These items seem a bit suspect to me given the average women spends about $700 on manicures each year and reportedly buys 3-4 pairs of shoes a year.
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I don’t think healthcare spending numbers are accurate. I’ve spent roughly $500 a month on premiums alone for the past few years which would be about $6000 a year. $3157 seems low.
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Don’t forget we are talking averages here. Many people pay less and the majority of people spend very little on health care in any given year.
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