The two graphs below depict how American locals transformed their spending on seven distinct sectors in the years 1996 and 1996.
At a glance, the expenditure on food and cars played a dominant role over the three decades, ranking first and second position in the total proportion, while the least amount in 1966 was spent on computers compared to books in 1996.
With a closer look, food had the highest amount of expenses initially, amounting to almost a half. Spending on cars came second in the list, at just above one fifth. Nonetheless, their positions reversed after 30 years. The proportion of cars spending boosted nearly double from just under a quarter to 45 percent, surpassing food expenses, which declined to only 14 percent. Additionally, the lowest expenditure took place in books, from 6 percent to an insignificant minority.
Moving to the remaining categories, the expenses on restaurants and computers both was seen a notable growth, from 7 percent and 1 percent in 1966 to 14 percent and one tenth in 1996. By contrast, the figures for petrol and furniture almost remained unchanged.