The Average American

[Archivist]

I know that this is a world-wide forum, so I apologize to those who are not American for posting a topic that is limited to the US.

I happened upon these statistic on the internet:

• The average American household is about $131,000 in debt.
• The average American spends $69 a day.
• The average American has $34 in their pocket.
• The average American watches 33 hours of TV a week.
• The average American reads just four books a year.
• The average American works 34.4 hours per week.
• The average American is 17 pounds overweight.
• The average American spends 116 minutes a day, or about two hours, on social media.
• The average American spends five hours a day on their cell phone.
• The average American consumes 11 alcoholic drinks a week.
• The average American exercises just 17 minutes a day.
• The average American has less than $1,000 in savings.
• The average American makes about $48,000 a year.

Of course this would include Christians, since the majority of Americans identify themselves as being Christian. Is this really the life we want to be living? So much debt, so little savings, so little time devoted to such activities as exercise and reading but so much time spent on social media.

Thoughts?

BTW, the full article can be found here: Average in America is a prison—here’s what it looks like and how you can break free

 

[bhsmte]

I know that this is a world-wide forum, so I apologize to those who are not American for posting a topic that is limited to the US.

I happened upon these statistic on the internet:

• The average American household is about $131,000 in debt.
• The average American spends $69 a day.
• The average American has $34 in their pocket.
• The average American watches 33 hours of TV a week.
• The average American reads just four books a year.
• The average American works 34.4 hours per week.
• The average American is 17 pounds overweight.
• The average American spends 116 minutes a day, or about two hours, on social media.
• The average American spends five hours a day on their cell phone.
• The average American consumes 11 alcoholic drinks a week.
• The average American exercises just 17 minutes a day.
• The average American has less than $1,000 in savings.
• The average American makes about $48,000 a year.

Of course this would include Christians, since the majority of Americans identify themselves as being Christian. Is this really the life we want to be living? So much debt, so little savings, so little time devoted to such activities as exercise and reading but so much time spent on social media.

Thoughts?

BTW, the full article can be found here: Average in America is a prison—here’s what it looks like and how you can break free

How one lives, is really up to each person, don't you think?

If you don't like the above trends, no one is forcing you to live this way, are they?

 

[Archivist]

How one lives, is really up to each person, don't you think?

I never said otherwise.

If you don't like the above trends, no one is forcing you to live this way, are they?

I'm not living this way.

 

[bhsmte]

I never said otherwise.



I'm not living this way.

Does other people living differently, bother you?

 

[RDKirk]

I know that this is a world-wide forum, so I apologize to those who are not American for posting a topic that is limited to the US.

I happened upon these statistic on the internet:

• The average American household is about $131,000 in debt.
• The average American spends $69 a day.
• The average American has $34 in their pocket.
• The average American watches 33 hours of TV a week.
• The average American reads just four books a year.
• The average American works 34.4 hours per week.
• The average American is 17 pounds overweight.
• The average American spends 116 minutes a day, or about two hours, on social media.
• The average American spends five hours a day on their cell phone.
• The average American consumes 11 alcoholic drinks a week.
• The average American exercises just 17 minutes a day.
• The average American has less than $1,000 in savings.
• The average American makes about $48,000 a year.

Of course this would include Christians, since the majority of Americans identify themselves as being Christian. Is this really the life we want to be living? So much debt, so little savings, so little time devoted to such activities as exercise and reading but so much time spent on social media.

Thoughts?

BTW, the full article can be found here: Average in America is a prison—here’s what it looks like and how you can break free

Such median averages tend to be useless. For instance, the "average" US state exports a 50 tons of pineapple, has 5,000 square miles of desert, and has 50,000 square miles of Arctic tundra.

More useful would be to know the modal average of each of those factors.

 

[Archivist]

Does other people living differently, bother you?

I have simply thrown out a topic for discussion. What bothers or does not bother me is irrelevant.

 

[mama2one]

never planned to be average...ha

never wanted cell phone but when we became parents, husband said I needed one for emergency and gave me one for Christmas

not one you can swipe, doesn't take pics as that broke, have 300 min plan and have only used 300 min one time
no one has my number except husband

same phone since 2010

so can't imagine being on phone 5hr/day

 

[Glaucus]

33 hours a week on TV is about 5 hours a day, then another 5 hours on the phone, another 2 hours on Facebook or whatever, another 7-8 hours a day at work....sorry but you run out of time. Can't cook, sleep, commute.

 

[sfs]

Such median averages tend to be useless.

I doubt they're medians either. The median American has less than 1 drink per week, for example.

 

[GodsGrace101]

I know that this is a world-wide forum, so I apologize to those who are not American for posting a topic that is limited to the US.

I happened upon these statistic on the internet:

• The average American household is about $131,000 in debt.
• The average American spends $69 a day.
• The average American has $34 in their pocket.
• The average American watches 33 hours of TV a week.
• The average American reads just four books a year.
• The average American works 34.4 hours per week.
• The average American is 17 pounds overweight.
• The average American spends 116 minutes a day, or about two hours, on social media.
• The average American spends five hours a day on their cell phone.
• The average American consumes 11 alcoholic drinks a week.
• The average American exercises just 17 minutes a day.
• The average American has less than $1,000 in savings.
• The average American makes about $48,000 a year.

Of course this would include Christians, since the majority of Americans identify themselves as being Christian. Is this really the life we want to be living? So much debt, so little savings, so little time devoted to such activities as exercise and reading but so much time spent on social media.

Thoughts?

BTW, the full article can be found here: Average in America is a prison—here’s what it looks like and how you can break free

I agree. I just happened upon this.
We're spending our children's future.
I remember a time when you had to have the cash if you wanted to buy something.

Then stores started with lay-away plans.
Then credit cards came along and that was the end of reason.

Most kids that get out of college have at least a debt of 100,000$ to pay back, and how with such little work opportunity these days.

Oh. And don't even get me started on social media!
By the next generation our kids will be speaking in SMS and will not be able to hold a conversation.

 

[rjs330]

What a blessed country we are!

A large amount of debt like that is obviously due to the cost of housing. Although I did read somewhere that the average American is 10,000 in debt regarding credit cards or basic loans not related to housing.

I think the ease of obtaining credit has both helped and harmed us. Helped in the sense of allowing us to increase our standard of living, but harmed us due to the problems that debt brings. I also think that has driven up costs as well. If we didn't have such ease of access to credit then the cost of things would HAVE to go down otherwise we wouldn't be buying the product.
If we only purchased what we could afford at the time we wouldn't purchase as much.

 

[dqhall]

I know that this is a world-wide forum, so I apologize to those who are not American for posting a topic that is limited to the US.

I happened upon these statistic on the internet:

• The average American household is about $131,000 in debt.
• The average American spends $69 a day.
• The average American has $34 in their pocket.
• The average American watches 33 hours of TV a week.
• The average American reads just four books a year.
• The average American works 34.4 hours per week.
• The average American is 17 pounds overweight.
• The average American spends 116 minutes a day, or about two hours, on social media.
• The average American spends five hours a day on their cell phone.
• The average American consumes 11 alcoholic drinks a week.
• The average American exercises just 17 minutes a day.
• The average American has less than $1,000 in savings.
• The average American makes about $48,000 a year.

Of course this would include Christians, since the majority of Americans identify themselves as being Christian. Is this really the life we want to be living? So much debt, so little savings, so little time devoted to such activities as exercise and reading but so much time spent on social media.

Thoughts?

BTW, the full article can be found here: Average in America is a prison—here’s what it looks like and how you can break free

I do not feel sorry for someone earning $48,000 a year not having more than a $1000 in savings. I do not think they counted real estate equity, stocks, bonds, annuities, business ownership, IRA accounts or pensions. If you are working legally, you pay into Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, That is savings, unless politicians cut these programs.

If I read about a family in Liberia living on less than $5.00 a day, that is poverty. The world median income in 2013 was about $10,000 a year.
Worldwide, Median Household Income About $10,000

 

[RDKirk]

What a blessed country we are!

A large amount of debt like that is obviously due to the cost of housing. Although I did read somewhere that the average American is 10,000 in debt regarding credit cards or basic loans not related to housing.

I think the ease of obtaining credit has both helped and harmed us. Helped in the sense of allowing us to increase our standard of living, but harmed us due to the problems that debt brings. I also think that has driven up costs as well. If we didn't have such ease of access to credit then the cost of things would HAVE to go down otherwise we wouldn't be buying the product.
If we only purchased what we could afford at the time we wouldn't purchase as much.

Credit cards came into vogue for most Americans in the latter 70s. Prior to that time, for instance, it took property ownership to get an American Express card.

Easy credit was only one of the ploys by government and banks to hide the fact that the US economy actually tanked in the early 70s.

 

[Archivist]

I do not feel sorry for someone earning $48,000 a year not having more than a $1000 in savings. I do not think they counted real estate equity, stocks, bonds, annuities, business ownership, IRA accounts or pensions. If you are working legally, you pay into Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, That is savings, unless politicians cut these programs.

If I read about a family in Liberia living on less than $5.00 a day, that is poverty. The world median income in 2013 was about $10,000 a year.
Worldwide, Median Household Income About $10,000

Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are not savings. All three are facing insolvency without significant cuts. And I doubt that someone making $48,000 has much money in real estate equity, stocks, bonds or IRA savings.

 

[GodsGrace101]

I do not feel sorry for someone earning $48,000 a year not having more than a $1000 in savings. I do not think they counted real estate equity, stocks, bonds, annuities, business ownership, IRA accounts or pensions. If you are working legally, you pay into Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, That is savings, unless politicians cut these programs.

If I read about a family in Liberia living on less than $5.00 a day, that is poverty. The world median income in 2013 was about $10,000 a year.
Worldwide, Median Household Income About $10,000

How LOW do you want us to go?

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Nothing terrible about those statistics, except their general inaccuracy. Consider the debt figure, given without consideration of average net worth, which is around $93,000.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

• The average American household is about $131,000 in debt.
• The average American spends $69 a day.
• The average American has $34 in their pocket.
• The average American watches 33 hours of TV a week.
• The average American reads just four books a year.
• The average American works 34.4 hours per week.
• The average American is 17 pounds overweight.
• The average American spends 116 minutes a day, or about two hours, on social media.
• The average American spends five hours a day on their cell phone.
• The average American consumes 11 alcoholic drinks a week.
• The average American exercises just 17 minutes a day.
• The average American has less than $1,000 in savings.
• The average American makes about $48,000 a year.

Thoughts?

I've highlighted (in green) the only statistic of any real importance. The rest are interesting trivia but largely meaningless.

 

[Glaucus]

I agree. I just happened upon this.
We're spending our children's future.
I remember a time when you had to have the cash if you wanted to buy something.

Then stores started with lay-away plans.
Then credit cards came along and that was the end of reason.

Most kids that get out of college have at least a debt of 100,000$ to pay back, and how with such little work opportunity these days.

Oh. And don't even get me started on social media!
By the next generation our kids will be speaking in SMS and will not be able to hold a conversation.

College probably taught them that the dollar sign goes behind the number, not after it, and that unemployment is at an all time low.

 

[GodsGrace101]

College probably taught them that the dollar sign goes behind the number, not after it, and that unemployment is at an all time low.

Along with some other theories...
!!

 

[Archivist]

I've highlighted (in green) the only statistic of any real importance. The rest are interesting trivia but largely meaningless.

The younger generations are going to spend their lives paying into Social Security and Medicare, both of which are heading towards insolvency because the older generations are draining the system. Where their time comes to retire both will be reduced to means testing. Meanwhile they won’t have personal savings like previous generations did because they are graduating college with huge student debt. The other stats are largely meaningless? Overweight, not exercising, spending too much time on social media? I wouldn’t call that meaningless.