America, we need to talk.
We’ve catapulted out of the Great Recession, and the unemployment rate just hit its lowest point in more than a decade. But we feel it’s our personal duty as savings experts at The Penny Hoarder to talk about your spending.
Average personal consumption expenditures, a measure of personal spending, jumped 4% across the U.S. last year, according to the latest state-level data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
That’s just a little too much for our nerves.
Sure, there are some thrifty states, like Mississippi, where residents kept their average spending to $30,200 last year — about $83 a day. But then you’ve got (surprise, surprise) Washington, D.C., where residents spent an average of $56,843 a year, or nearly $156 a day.
Let’s follow the money.
Personal Spending Was Highest in These 10 States in 2016
In terms of the U.S. as a whole, the average resident spent $39,664, with housing and health care making up the biggest purchases at roughly $7,200 and $6,700 respectively.
But, you ask, how much did your state spend?
Here’s a list of the states where money is burning the biggest holes in the pockets of residents.
Washington, D.C. — $56,843
Massachusetts — $51,981
Alaska — $49,547
New Jersey — $48,972
New Hampshire — $48,810
Connecticut — $48,497
North Dakota — $48,225
Vermont — $47,648
New York — $46,906
Hawaii — $45,123
Personal Spending Falls Within Penny Hoarder Range in These 10 States
So how do these big-spending states compare with the thriftier ones?
Here are the 10 states with the lowest personal consumption expenditures in 2016.
Mississippi — $30,200
Arkansas — $31,117
Alabama — $31,336
Oklahoma — $32,978
South Carolina — $33,266
Kentucky — $33,288
Idaho — $33,653
North Carolina — $33,779
Louisiana — $34,181
Tennessee — $34,418
Live in One of Those Big-Spending States? Here Are Some Ways to Curb Your Spending Habits
Sure, buying stuff feels good, but here at The Penny Hoarder we know that saving money feels way better. So if you want to help your state break from the list of big spenders next year, we have plenty of suggestions.
Just opening a new bank account and setting aside $5 can be an awesome start.
Consolidating your debt is another good option for reducing your annual expenditures.
And if those ideas don’t work, you can always trick yourself into saving more money.
So, for you D.C denizens out there, you’ve still got a few months to go in 2017 to cut back. We’ve got your back.
Alex Mahadevan is a data journalist at The Penny Hoarder.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, one of the largest personal finance websites. We help millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. In 2016, Inc. 500 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the No. 1 fastest-growing private media company in the U.S.
source The Penny Hoarder http://ift.tt/2giKWwg
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق