Cost of Living

=Overview= Cost of living Calculations.

=The average cost of living for an American=
 * $20,194 per person per year according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (value given divided by 2.5 average household size ('consumer unit') -
 * Of this, food ($2577), housing ($6844), cars ($3442) totals $12863 per sucker

=Average food expenditures for an American=
 * Bureau of Labor Statistics - $2577/person/year -
 * Almost half of this is eating out
 * $4800/year according to
 * $2700/year according to
 * $5000/year -

=Average housing expenditures=
 * $6844/person/year - includes utilities and furnishings -
 * $541 of this is electricity, and 451 is phone
 * $1500 of this is mortgage payments, or about 1/4 of all housing costs

=The average transportation expenditures=
 * $3442 per person per year - BLS -
 * Of this, $1086 is for fuel and oil, and $205 is public transportation

=Other highest costs= From : =Average Debt= The above statistics don't tell much about debt levels.
 * Pensions,personal insurance, social security- $2242/person/year
 * Healthcare - $1190/person/year
 * Entertainment - $1134

$8500 is the average debt per person in America in 2008 -

=Cost over a lifetime= Say a person lives 78 years, and you take the average cost of living from BLS.

Over 78 years, one spends an average of about $1.6 million dollars just to survive.

Of this, one spends about $1M on housing, food, and cars ($12683 per year * 78)

More specifically:

One spends an average of $530,000 to put a roof over their head over their life.

One spends an average of $270,000 on their wheels.

One spends an average of $201,000 on grub.

This certainly makes a case for buying out at the bottom.

=See Also=
 * Calculations
 * Chris Martenson
 * Homebrew Industrial Revolution
 * Digital Fabrication