The Office For Nationasl Statistics in the UK has released some fascinating information about how spending has changed in the recent.
It's easy to think that every business type is affected in roughly the same ways but these figures show that's just not true.
Overall weekly household expenditure has dropped from £471 in 2008 to £455 in 2009.
Transport - £58.40 (down from £63.40)
Recreation and culture - £57.90 (down from £60.10)
Housing fuel and power - £57.30 (up from £53.00)
Food and non-alcoholic drink - £52.20 (up from £50.70)
Restaurants and hotels - £38.40 (up from £37.00)
Household goods and services - £27.90 (down from £30.10)
Clothing and footwear - £20.90 (down from £21.60)
Communications - £11.70 (down from £12.00)
Alcohol and tobacco - £11.20 (up from £10.00)
Education - £7.00 (up from £6.20)
Heath - £5.30 (up from £5.10)
Miscellaneous goods and services £35.00 (down from £35.70)
Other £71.00 (down from £84.60)
These totals are interesting since it shows that despite consumers cutting back, certain areas are seen as essentials.
You'd expect that to be the case with food and power where prices can fluctuate and distort the trend, either exageratting or compensating for a volume change.
Restaurants and recreation costs are both a) surprisingly high to my mind and b0 have proven to be more robust than I would have expected.
What do you think?
How do you feel these averages compat=re against your own experiences, both in terms of the overall levels and where you've cut back or spent more.
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