Expense

The breakdown of monthly household expenses spent by Australian families in 1991 and 2001, a ten-year period, is presented in the table.

Overall, the mean of Australian expenditure showed an increase throughout the year with 40 AUD, while electricity and water bills jumped almost twofold.

In 1991, food as a single item peaked as the most allocated one to purchase, 155 monthly, followed by clothing with 30 AUD. Electricity and Water, Housing, and Transport became the three items with just under a hundred dollars to spend by Australian. Total money of 675 dollars was spent on non-essential goods and services.

By 2001, wearable items and transportation had shown a 30% decrease. In contrast, about two times of money had been allocated to pay for electricity and water bills. Furthermore, Australian families had spent 5 more dollars to buy food and rent, being also the items with the lowest incline compared to the rest.