The Cost of the American Dream

THE REAL COST OF THE AMERICAN DREAM Entitlement in the U.S.A Tife, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness- ideals that paved the way to the "American Dream." This freedom to attain prosperity, once gained through Juse the right amount of sweat and determination, has now evolved to a sense OL entitlement which cannot be maintained without plenty of debt. 000 WHY ARE AMERICANS NOT ACHIEVING THE DREAM? 2014 American Consumer Stats: $11.68 TRILLION $8.5 TRILLION $1.2 TRILLION $854.2 BILLION 12 Total Debt 3.7% increase from 2013 10 Mortgages National Student Debt 4. Credit Card Debt In 2012, the average American household spent: $16,887 $8,998 $6,599 $3,557 $3,556 $2,605 $1,736 Housing Transportation Food At home: $3,921 Away from home: $2,678 Other Health care Entertainment Apparel and Services After the 2008 financial crisis, credit card debt peaked in January 2009 U.S. DEBT FELL QUICKLY In 2010, Total credit card debt was lowered as delinquent loans were written off, not paid off FOOD, SHELTER AND CLOTHING ARE NOT NEARLY ENOUGH Americans spend a lot of money of consumers spend more than $100/month on cellphones 21% spend more on their phone than on groceries 59% 13% spend more than $200/month on cellphones In 2011, Americans spent more than $61 BILLION ON PETS Average $500 per household Each week, the average American spends That is $1,092 per year $20 ON COFFEE Compared to work commute: $1,476 per year Average per week $37 Average per year 66% prefer to buy lunch rather $1,924 than bringing it from home Purchase of lottery tickets has gone up every year since 1965 chances of with one ticket is 1 in 175 million ing | $66.5 BILLION IN 2011 67% of Americans who have gym memberships waste about $468 a year by not using them Gym membership costs on average: $39 per month HOW TO AFFORD YOUR OWN AMERICAN DREAM: * Make good work ethic a priority. * Be frugal- even when you don't have to be. * Make saving the rule- not just an option. Don't fall into the debt trap! Realistic expectations keep the dream alive and the dreamer happier! Presented by: topaccountingdegrees.org Sources: bis.gov/news.release/pdf/cesan.pdf businessinsider.com/people-spend-more-on-phones-than-food-2012-9 nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-card-data/average-credit-card-debt-household/ huffingtonpost.com/tara-reynolds/mass-mutual-student-debt b_2806510.html usnews.com/news/articles/2013/05/22/americans-spend-61-billion-on-pets-annually consumerist.com/2012/01/20/most-american-workers-spend-more-than-1000year-on-coffee/ usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2014/03/24/20-ways-we-blow-our-money/6826633/ money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2013/01/02/the-heavy-price-of-losing-weight washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/04/23/which-states-have-the-highest-levels-of-student-debt/ pewsocialtrends.org/2012/02/09/young-underemployed-and-optimistic/3/#chapter-2-young-adults-in-the-u-s-labor-market/ DEVELOPED BY N NOWSOURCING U.S. Dollars in Trillions $51,442