Managing a monthly budget can be a stressful experience for many people. For years, Americans often spent more than they earned. Then came the Great Recession, and families began to cut back. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which tracks consumer spending, the average family spent 2.8 percent less in 2009 than it did in 2008. This represents the first time the BLS has seen a drop in consumer spending since it began tracking the data in 1984. The BLS tracks the data by consumer units, defined as a family, a single person or a single person with roommates who are financially independent on one another. The typical consumer unit contained 2.5 people, 1.3 wage earners and two cars. The BLS releases the figures annually.

Earnings and Expenditures.
• The average consumer unit earned approximately $62,000 before taxes in 2009 compared to about $63,000 the previous year. Overall, earnings dropped by 0.7 percent from $63,563. The average consumer expenditure was $49,000 in 2009, compared to roughly $50,000 in 2008.
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Food
Americans may have eaten slightly less in 2009. The average households spent about $6,300 on food in 2009, compared to $6,400 in 2008. The overall drop was about 1 percent. Of these totals, the typical American spent $2,600 eating away from home in 2009, and $2,700 in 2008. According to 2007 data from the U.S. Census, the average consumer unit spent $777 on meat, poultry, fish and eggs, $387 on dairy products, and $600 on fruit and vegetables. The remainder, about $1,200 was spent on "other food."

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Housing and Transportation
The typical consumer unit spent $16,100 on housing in 2009. This represented a drop from 2008, when typical American households spent $17,100. Americans cut back drastically on transportation in 2009. Spending in this category dropped about 11 percent from approximately $8,600 to approximately $7,600 between 2008 and 2009.

Clothing, Healthcare and Entertainment
American households spent an average of $1,700 on clothing in 2009, down from $1,800. Entertainment expenditures dropped from 2,800 to 2,693. Health-care costs were the only category of spending to see an increase, from 2,900 to 3,100.

Personal Insurance and Pensions
The typical U.S. household socked away approximately 5,500 in 2009, down from 5,600 in 2008. According to Census data available for the year 2007, families earning less than $70,000 per year put away about $2,300, on average, for retirement. Families earning more than $150,000 socked away an average of more than $18,000.

A Warning About Averages
• When talking about money, there is no upper limit to the values. There are a few people worth billions of dollars, and many who would describe themselves as middle class. These do not "cancel each other out." The existence of high earners and heavy spenders means that averages are typically skewed toward higher expenditures and earners. Averages, therefore, often do not present the typical experience. Families earning less than $70,000 in 2007 spent an average of $34,100, according to the U.S. Census. Among families earning more than $150,000, annual expenditures topped an average of $126,000.