Healthcare, Gasoline, Food And Housing Taking Biggest Bites Out Of American Budgets

Gasoline prices are shown at a gas station in Del Mar, California — Gasoline prices are shown at a service station in Del Mar, Calif., March 9, 2011. Reuters

Food, housing, gasoline and health care have taken the biggest bites out of Americans’ wallets during the past 15 years, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

In 1999, American households spent an average $5,000 on food, but that number increased by about one-third, to $6,600, in 2013, according to Retale, a web and mobile application that curates local-store information and weekly ads. But households also spend a smaller percentage of their budgets on food than they used to, about 12.9 percent in 2013, compared with 13.6 percent 15 years ago.

Health-care spending shot up by 85 percent over the same period, to about $3,600 in 2013. And gasoline or transportation costs more than doubled, from about $1,000 to $2,600, while housing costs have increased by more than 40 percent.

Here is the full Retale infographic that breaks down personal consumption over the past 15 years:

Retale.com