How the average US consumer spends their paycheck
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From: New Jersey
Originally Posted by mxt_77,Feb 3 2010, 03:51 AM
I don't know about my total tax (including Medicare, sales tax, etc), but for my federal income tax, my effective tax rate only ends up being about 13-14% of my gross income once deductions and other things are factored in.
But I agree with your other point, most people probably are living in the red, or paycheck-to-paycheck.
But I agree with your other point, most people probably are living in the red, or paycheck-to-paycheck.
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From: MAHT-O-MEDI
Originally Posted by Spec_Ops2087,Feb 3 2010, 10:32 AM
state + fed tax = ~30% of gross...talk about being bent over
high income/high state tax/low deductable expenses/low retirement pretax contribution
But yeah you are getting bent over considering the stuff provided to you by the government is pretty low, and they are running up mounds of debt you will have to pay for on top of it.
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From: Longmont, CO
For me, percentage of gross income:
Gross income - 100%
AGI (gross minus pre-tax investments/benefits) - 85%
Taxable income (AGI minus deductions) - 65%
Income tax (federal only, no state in Texas) - 13%
Social Security - 5.8%
Medicare - 1.4%
Housing - 10% (split between two people)
Misc household expenses - 10% (again, split)
Misc personal expenses - 20%
Savings - 25%
Total - 100.2% (okay, expenses are an estimate
)
Gross income - 100%
AGI (gross minus pre-tax investments/benefits) - 85%
Taxable income (AGI minus deductions) - 65%
Income tax (federal only, no state in Texas) - 13%
Social Security - 5.8%
Medicare - 1.4%
Housing - 10% (split between two people)
Misc household expenses - 10% (again, split)
Misc personal expenses - 20%
Savings - 25%
Total - 100.2% (okay, expenses are an estimate
)
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Originally Posted by zzziippyyy,Feb 2 2010, 01:57 PM
From the article,
"These expenditures come out of an annual household income of $63,091 per year on average, before taxes"
I would venture to say 70% of the population makes less than this!
So my response would be most people have their paycheck and the next few spent before they even earn them!
"These expenditures come out of an annual household income of $63,091 per year on average, before taxes"
I would venture to say 70% of the population makes less than this!
So my response would be most people have their paycheck and the next few spent before they even earn them!
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Originally Posted by fishfryer,Feb 2 2010, 07:07 PM
Things like this I think about all the time, Housing is a big waste for most people (I am guilty of this too), we tend to have have too much house. Part of that was from the saying 'that a house is your best investment', I don't know about all houses, but some I've had I barely broke even. Some have been great as far as money.
I think in the near future the number of people that grasp the concept of inflation, FOREX and investing will need to rise or else the number of people in near poverty will be out of control. My big worry is China revaluing their currency, overnight the inflation for most people will be huge, very scary.
I think in the near future the number of people that grasp the concept of inflation, FOREX and investing will need to rise or else the number of people in near poverty will be out of control. My big worry is China revaluing their currency, overnight the inflation for most people will be huge, very scary.
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From: Wylie, TX
Originally Posted by sahtt,Feb 3 2010, 12:26 PM
If people were to pay cash for their homes it would be a different story.
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From: Scatterbrainia
Originally Posted by Elistan,Feb 3 2010, 09:21 AM
So that means that $4116 is not accounted for in this chart, even with taxes figures. That's not a lot of savings, but it's certainly not the paycheck-to-paycheck or in-the-red scenario some of you are talking about.
It's info from 2007, but this article (particularly the graph on the first page) is pretty telling in a sad way:
http://www.bea.gov/scb/pdf/2007/02%20Febru...0207_saving.pdf
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That's a really interesting chart.
It'd be interesting to see how those proportions shift with incomes towards the extremes.
Instead of 20.2% spent on housing, we spend 7.8%.
But instead of 6.5% spent on cars, we spend 9.1% (approximate).
It'd be interesting to see how those proportions shift with incomes towards the extremes.
Instead of 20.2% spent on housing, we spend 7.8%.
But instead of 6.5% spent on cars, we spend 9.1% (approximate).
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Originally Posted by Incubus,Feb 2 2010, 05:47 PM
Remember, people like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett count toward this statistic. The floor is $0, but the ceiling isn't double the average.
EDIT: Your guess about 70% making less than the average is probably close, or even low. I'd say more like 80% or 90%.
EDIT: Your guess about 70% making less than the average is probably close, or even low. I'd say more like 80% or 90%.
Wealth discrepancy in the US is vastly over rated. It's not equal by any means, but its not the case that a few ultra-wealthy individuals control so much wealth that 90% of people make less than the average as a result of a relative few incredibly wealthy outliers.
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From: Keller, TX
We are a skew also as we spend about 12.3% on housing/bills/etc, and <1% on cars as we have no pmts and insurance/maint is the only expense ( I will place fuel in a different category)
But agreed the savings is pitiful and the leverage is extreme.
But agreed the savings is pitiful and the leverage is extreme.
