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CONSUMER'S GOLDEN AGE // How we spend all that money

 
Published Dec. 7, 2003|Updated June 20, 2006

No one is sure where the economy is headed, but this much is clear - we are in a golden age for consumer spending. In the first nine months of 2003, consumers accounted for more than two-thirds of spending in this country, the highest rate since the post-World War II splurge. The charts on this page show spending per $1,000 of personal consumption (through September of this year.) The charts are on varying scales - the point is not to compare categories but to show how the share of consumer spending devoted to each category has grown bigger or smaller. An accompanying story is on Page 4D.

Food and clothing cost less, health care costs more

Over time, the way people live _ and spend money _ has evolved. Here are some of the areas in which spending habits have changed. Some government data go back to 1929, but more detailed breakdowns go back only to 1959.

Outlays for education and donations have climbed, but housing has slipped.

Consumers priorities have changed.

Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis