21ST CENTURY CONSUMER Here’s a
statistical snapshot of the American consumer: Median income, at ＄ 40,816 per
household, is more princely than almost any nation’s, and many of us have the
stuff to show for it. But we also have record levels of credit-card debt, and we
make more trash than ever. And the typical family has only ＄ 71,600 in assets,
including equity in the family home. This list comes from recent government and
industry data. WHAT WE DO Jobs. Men work about 42 hours a week;
women, 36 hours. In 53 percent of married couples, both spouses work. TV. The
TV is on 7 hours and 29 minutes a day at home. Viewing ranges from 3 hours for
teens to 5 hours for women over 18. See advertising. The average American is
exposed to 247 commercial messages each day. Eat. 928 meals per year at home,
up from 917 a year earlier; 141 meals at restaurants, up from 139 the year
before. 10 million U.S. households (10 percent) were "food insecure," or did
not always have enough food to meet basic needs. Prepare meals. Families
spend 16 minutes to a half-hour a day; singles, 15 minutes or less. Buy more
stuff. The typical American spends about 3 hours a week hunting and gathering in
stores. Make music. 40 percent of households have two or more members who
play a musical instrument; 53 percent of households own an
instrument. Travel. 66 million pleasure trips; 17 million business trips--76
percent by auto, 18 percent by air, the rest by train, bus, or ship. Typical
trip length: 1 to 2 nights. Favorite activity: shopping. Make messy. Each
American generates 4.46 pounds of municipal waste per day, 66 Percent more than
in 1960. Think about getting rid of stuff. 101 million adults have used
items--worth an estimated $87 each—that they’d like to sell. Volunteer. 56
percent of American adults donate 3 1/2 hours each week to nonprofit
groups. WHAT WE OWN Houses. 67.7 percent of American households own
a home. About 1 percent have no bathroom, while 38 percent have 2 or
more. 2.3 million people, or 1 percent of the U.S. population, are likely to
experience a spell of homelessness at least once during a year. Wheels. 92
percent of households own autos or motorcycles; 60 percent have more than
one. The typical car is 9.4 years old and uses 548 gallons of gas a
year. Appliances. 99.8 percent of households have a refrigerator; 93 percent,
a microwave oven; 81 percent, a washing machine; 81 percent, a blender; 78
percent, an automatic coffee maker; 76 percent, a fan 57 percent, a dishwasheri
50 percent, an outdoor gas grill; 47 percent, a food processor；45 percent, a
garbage disposal；32 percent, room air conditioners；21 percent, a coffee grinder;
12 percent, a pulsating shower head; and 2 percent, an aromatherapy
machine. TV sets. We have 2.4 TVs per household. 60 percent of teens, 48
percent of schoolchildren, and 24 percent of toddlers have a TV set in their
bedroom. Computers.There are 1.2 per home for offline households, and 1.5 for
the 45 percent of households tied in to the Internet. Telephones. About
17 percent of households have more than 1 phone line. Cell phones. More than
105 million subscribe. Pets. We have 59 million cats, 56 million fish, 53
million dogs, 13 million birds, 6 million rabbits and ferrets, 4.8 million
rodents, and 4 million reptiles, on which we spend $23 billion
yearly. Allowances. Nearly half of all kids get an allowance. Average weekly
take: $5.82.