Fasten your seatbelts: The monthly cost of transportation in America may shift your budget's gears!

Answer:

$13,492 per year. That's 16.5% of total spending!

Questions:

• Does the amount surprise you? Explain.
• What costs are likely considered transportation spending?
• If your transportation costs increase, how might that affect the rest of your budget?

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the Numbers: (BLS)

“Average annual expenditures for all consumer units … were $81,905 … On average, consumer units spent $27,790 on housing … which was 33.9 percent of total average annual expenditures. The next largest shares of total expenditures were transportation (16.5 percent), food (13.0 percent), and personal insurance and pensions (12.4 percent).”

Breakdown of the $13,492: vehicle purchases $5,023, gasoline and other fuels $2,503, other vehicle expenses $4,765, and public and other transportation $1,199.

About the Author

Dave Martin

Dave joins NGPF with 15 years of teaching experience in math and computer science. After joining the New York City Teaching Fellows program and earning a Master's degree in Education from Pace University, his teaching career has taken him to New York, New Jersey and a summer in the north of Ghana. Dave firmly believes that financial literacy is vital to creating well-rounded students that are prepared for a complex and highly competitive world. During what free time two young daughters will allow, Dave enjoys video games, Dungeons & Dragons, cooking, gardening, and taking naps.

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