There’s no doubt that the average American lives beyond his or her means, according to Forbes.com
Lauren Sherman reported recently that Americans spend $1.33 for every dollar earned, according to the Census Bureau. They carry an average of $8,700 in credit card debt per household, according to the Federal Reserve. And 4.79 percent of American credit cards were delinquent at the end of 2008.
And they might not even be saving despite the fact that the economy is in recession. Even though in December 2008, Americans saved nearly $80 billion more than in the previous month, according to the Commerce Department, they might not be putting away more cash each pay period at all. That $80 billion is likely much smaller when subtracting money saved because of sold assets, such as stocks.
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And what where the Americans spending on?
Smart Phones
From Apple’s iPhone to Blackberry’s Bold, smart phones continue to increase in popularity. From November 2007 to November 2008, the number of smart phones purchased increased from 13 million to 24 million. That translated to a sales increase of 53% from $2.7 billion to $4.1 billion in the same period, says Port Washington, N.Y.-based market research firm NPD
Videogames and Consoles
Consumers today desire affordable escapism, and videogames fall into that category. Two top-selling games–"Madden NFL ’09" and the "Wii Fit"–sold 5 million units combined in the third quarter of 2008, according to NPD.
and
Gym Memberships
Just because you’ve been let go doesn’t mean you have to let your appearance go. That’s the sentiment many Americans are taking on this year, as total gym memberships are estimated to increase by 4% in 2009, according St. Louis, Mo.-based market research firm Stifel Nicolaus.
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