And in an average month, that’s about $5,000 in a typical American household, which requires an income of $60,000 a year.
Andrew DiPietro is lead researcher on the project for GoBankingRates.com and compared all the data of average expenditures provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. “And this is households, which is what the BLS uses, which is two-and-a-half people.”
The average person’s cost of living runs around $164.55 a day, which breaks down to $5.39 for gas, $9.355 for health insurance, $11.95 for groceries and $9.22 on eating out.
It varies by generational co-hort.
People under the age of 25 have the cheapest daily costs at $92.13, while those 25 to 34 pay the most of any age group at $208.77 a day, housing being their top expense.
35 to 44 year olds average $189.13 a day, 45 to 54 year olds $202.48, spending more for education, gasoline, alcohol, entertainment and pets than other age groups.
55 to 64 year olds average $178.01 and their older Boomer compatriots average $135.73, health costs higher for them than other groups. Not surprising, they spend the least for education, clothing and cell phone service. (Many still have landlines!)
The one expense that sends most age groups into the red? Eating out. In our 24/7 hectic time-crunched world, it's the one thing we could get by without, except when we can't.