Americans are financialy strained
Dr. Glenn Mollette American Voices
The average monthly car payment for a new vehicle is $734, according to second-quarter 2024 Experian data, up 0.1 percent year after year. Used cars have an average monthly payment of $525, down 2.1 percent. Meanwhile, new lease payments average $586, a 2.3 percent decrease.
The average house payment is around $2,700 per month.
The average rent payment is between $1,300 and $1,789 per month.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the average single person can spend between $238.46 and $434.33 per month on groceries. Many factors will impact a given individual’s expenses, such as location and eating style.
The average family spends about $270 at the grocery store per week, but that number increases when children are taken into account.
Families with kids spend an average of $331 a week on groceries or 41 percent more than families without kids (USA Today, Jan. 20, 2024).
The average cost of utilities in the U.S. is $500-$600 per month or $6,000-$7,200 per year, including electricity, gas, water, sewer, phone, internet, and streaming or cable TV services.
Utility bills depend on your location, home and household size, individual utility usage, and your home’s efficiency (Home Guide).
On average, Americans spend between $150$200 per month on gas. The amount spent on gas depends on a number of factors, including:
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state (gas prices vary by state), lifestyle (factors such as driving habits can affect how much is spent on gas), and vehicle type. For example, drivers of full-size SUVs pay more on gas than drivers of subcompact or compact cars.
In 2023, the average cost of health insurance in the United States was $8,435 per year for single coverage and $23,968 per year for family coverage. This was a 7 percent increase from 2022 (Source: KFF, Oct. 18 2023).
The United States has one of the highest costs of healthcare in the world. In 2022, U.S. healthcare spending reached $4.5 trillion, which averages to $13,493 per person. By comparison, the average cost of healthcare per person in other wealthy countries is less than half as much.
For children attending public school from kindergarten to 12th grade, parents can expect to spend a total of roughly $162,899.86 on their child’s education and related activities Source: Gradepowerlearning. com.
Unfortunately, it takes money to pay the bills. Living a modest lifestyle requires a monthly intake of cash – a lot of cash.
You might survive for a while on a small income, but you can see from any of the items above that a modest income makes life a strain when it comes to paying the bills.
The cost-of-living increase needs to come to a halt so that Americans can catch up. Until this happens, millions of Americans will continue to experience financial strain.
Dr. Glenn Mollette is a graduate of numerous schools including Georgetown College, Southern and Lexington Seminaries in Kentucky. He is the author of 13 books including Uncommon Sense, Grandpa's Store, Minister's Guidebook: Insights from a Fellow Minister. His column is published weekly in over 600 publications in all 50 states. Learn more at glennmollette. com.
