Most people spend roughly $70 to $100 per month on their cell phones and another $100 or so for internet and cable. You may also need a landline telephone for work. If you’re like most people, you depend heavily on communication for everything from work to staying in touch with friends and family.Ĭommunications costs may include high-speed internet, mobile service, and television. If you really want to fast-track your financial freedom, I recommend spending no more than 5% of your monthly income on transportation. This includes car payments, insurance, parking, maintenance and repairs, and gas. You may even want to consider finding a job that lets you work from home to eliminate this time and lower your transportation costs.Įither way, you should try to keep transportation costs at roughly 10% to 15% of your total budget. Or you could try walking whenever possible.Īccording to a recent study, the national average commute is more than 52 minutes each day. Use public transportation, buy a bicycle, or use rideshare and carpooling services to get around. If you live in a city, you should seriously think twice before buying a car. By making small changes to your lifestyle or routine, you can potentially cut back on transportation costs and pump more money back into your savings and investments. Many people drive cars that are too expensive or they simply drive too much. When it comes to transportation, you generally have a bit more say over how much you spend on a monthly basis. If you shop wisely, you should be able to buy enough food on a budget to last you through the month.Įat healthily, be smart about ordering out, and your food budget should stay in check.
#SINGLE PERSON MONTHLY EXPENSES HOW TO#
Or you can limit the amount of take-out that you order on a monthly basis and learn how to stop eating out.Īgain, this is an area that you don’t want to skimp on. For example, you can use coupons or buy in bulk from a wholesale club like BJ’s, Costco, or Sam’s Club to lower the average cost of food.
If you’re spending more than this on food every month, you should reconsider your grocery shopping strategy and look for ways to cut back.Ĭhances are there are some small things you can do to reduce your food bills. Food Costsįood is expensive, but you have to eat to live! Most people typically allocate roughly 10% of their money to their food budget. This includes rent or mortgage payments, property taxes, homeowners insurance, mortgage insurance (if you can’t afford a 20% down payment), renters insurance, utilities, and maintenance and repairs. The general rule of thumb is that housing shouldn’t take up more than 30% of your gross earnings, or what you make before taxes. So in some cases, you may feel justified in spending more money on housing, especially if you have a decent job that pays well. You should feel safe, comfortable, and happy where you live. If you overspend on your first apartment, you could fall into debt trying to make monthly payments, setting you back years financially.Īt the same time, housing is important. And eventually, you might even wind up buying a house.
After that, you may buy a condo or apartment. Ideally, there should be a progression where your first apartment sets you up to move to a nicer apartment. It’s important to be selective about where you live if you want to keep your costs down.
It’s a basic necessity and chances are it’s your highest monthly cost. Unless you have the luxury of living in an inherited home or with your parents, you have to pay for housing.
Let’s take a closer look at these top spending categories. Transportation is the average person’s next highest expense at an average monthly cost of around $800 (roughly 15% of the average household income). Annually, that amounts to about $61,000.īy far, housing is the most expensive cost for most people, with an average cost of around $1,647 a month (around 32% of a typical family’s income). Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average American household spends about $5,100 each month. In This Article How Much an Average American SpendsĪccording to a recent Consumer Expenditure Survey from the U.S. We’ll also examine the most significant factors contributing to your monthly spending amount. This article explores the average monthly expenses for a single person. What you can do is compare your monthly expenses with that of the average American, which can help you understand where your money is going and if you’re on track. Your location, lifestyle, job, and family size have a profound impact on your monthly expenses.Īs such, it can be challenging to see how you stack up against others-especially when it comes to monthly budgeting. Everybody has a unique financial situation.
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