Where Americans Are Spending Their Paychecks — If They’re Still Getting Them

By Uncle Dave Friday July 10, 2009

Click pic to embiggen

Fewer dollars being spent on discretionary spending.

40 Comments

Patrick says:

7/10/2009 at 6:14 am

# 17 Uncle Dave said, “#15: I think you’d be surprised how far right my views actually are. At least on economic issues.”

Oh, like when you called fiscal conservatives hypocrites for wanting a return on their government forced retirement investments? You never explained that bizarre viewpoint.

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bobbo, resonating with a like mind says:

7/10/2009 at 6:22 am

I also use the label “fiscal conservative and social liberal”–it sets up a nice balance==even a ying/yang sort of thing if I may be only a little bit imprecise.

#21–patrick==there is no such thing as a government forced retirement investment. Maybe thats why you got no response—just too stupid to acknowledge.

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OvenMaster says:

7/10/2009 at 6:32 am

You have to eat, you have to have clothes on your back, and you have to have a roof over your head.

So food, clothing and shelter are now considered discretionary? Or are the options of living off the land, naked in a cave now considered viable alternatives?

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MrMiGu says:

7/10/2009 at 6:36 am

#19
I would assume that student debt and credit cards would fall under education and whatever you decided to buy with your credit cards.

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Patrick says:

7/10/2009 at 6:45 am

# 23 OvenMaster said, “Or are the options of living off the land, naked in a cave now considered viable alternatives?”

Give it time. O’mama is working on this.

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Mr Diesel says:

7/10/2009 at 7:01 am

Good luck with living in a cave……real estate taxes will eat you alive.

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Patrick says:

7/10/2009 at 9:55 am

Here’s something we won’t see UD blogging about.

Even though he liked to cover the same issue with Bush..

Hey, JCD, this would make a fun topic…

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JoaoPT says:

7/10/2009 at 10:01 am

You guys are blabbering about trivialities and don’t get to the bottom line of the picture:

Housing is one third, transportation is almost one quarter and Reading is 0.2% and education is a bit under 2%.

And people still wonder why everything is going down the drain…
when education spending is half of entertainment spending and reading is less than alcohol spending.

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Patrick says:

7/10/2009 at 10:08 am

# 28 JoaoPT said, “Housing is one third, transportation is almost one quarter and…” taxes about one third…

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Dan says:

7/10/2009 at 10:34 am

The title of the chart:
“Where does the money go?”
If you leave off 1/3rd or more of where the money goes, it’s a very misleading picture.

Dan

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ECA says:

7/10/2009 at 10:38 am

Hmm,
interesting.
Person getting $63k per year. And after tax still has $49K, His wife dont work and he has a kid?
So this person at 48, is making $31 per hour??
10% to retirement??
5.7% to health care?? someone PLZ find this.
House for $1200+ per month..I wish I could aford 1/2 of this stuff.

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ECA says:

7/10/2009 at 10:42 am

Can someone tell me where this person lives?
Utilities cost him 7%?? $3430 for the year??

He has a high paying job, Lives in a great house, and his utilities payments are LESS then mine??

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ECA says:

7/10/2009 at 12:49 pm

This person gets to eat $500 per month in Food??

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ECA says:

7/10/2009 at 1:14 pm

Vehicle purchase??
$3400??
Find someone that will let you pay that cheap.
It will take him 8-10 years to pay off, unless he already paid 1/2 down.

Gas and oil?? do you mean maintenance??
His car is costing him $2400 per year?? I suggest he get a better car.

I would love to find a house that only cost 1/3 of my check including utilities.
You figure that at $10 per hour.
$1600 per month(full time) Take 1/3 out in tax gives a person about $1056 to spend. Lets make him happy and make it $1200(25% tax).
$600 for rent.(if you can find a house/trailer this cheap, good luck)
$300 for utilities.
$225 for food.
$1125, and we hope we can buy gas for the car.

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Patrick says:

7/10/2009 at 3:06 pm

# 27 Patrick said, “Here’s something we won’t see UD blogging about.”

I knew all I would get would be the sound of crickets from UD when I posted this.

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Timuchin says:

7/10/2009 at 4:19 pm

As I recall, Clinton assumed tax money belonged to the state even when it was still in our wallets, so this chart is accurate to his perspective.

My own chart looks radically different since I am retired, own my own home, don’t go to Hollywood’s movies, don’t pay for education any more and don’t travel that much. I do buy a lot of books, though.

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ECA says:

7/11/2009 at 12:22 am

JUST HEARD THAT IN CANADA MIN WAGE IS $11 PER HOUR??

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Patrick says:

7/11/2009 at 4:22 am

# 37 ECA said, “JUST HEARD THAT IN CANADA MIN WAGE IS $11 PER HOUR??”

That’s about $9.00 US, minus the larger Canadian taxes. Nothing to get excited about…

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k.g. says:

7/11/2009 at 9:18 am

ITT: Bitching, whining conservatives. Hey, nobody gives a shit what you have to say because you didn’t start saying it until you lost power. Cry all you want to, but you’ve been discredited as a bunch of hypocrites and the majority of the population realizes it. Good luck with your Alaskan ‘tard factory.

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Frank B says:

7/11/2009 at 9:41 am

Interesting how Social Security is lumped in with Insurance and Pensions when it’s actually a tax. At least it is for me. I don’t believe for a second that I will ever receive squat from SS. It’s just another massive redistribution of wealth program from our tax-and-spend big-government Congress-critters. And whether you consider it tax or pension, it certainly isn’t discretionary.

So the amount this chart hides from us isn’t 34% (in the taxes as noted many times previously), but rather 34 + 7.5 = 42.5%. So almost half our money goes to D.C. Unsurprisingly, the chart hides this. It’s there, but our “friends” at the Dept of Labor are pointing the other way and hoping we don’t see it.

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