The line graph demonstrate the percentage of total spending in five different categories from 1970 to 2010 in one city in Australia.
Overall, it is noticeable that the proportion of spending on food declined significantly over the 40-year period, falling from around 33% in 1970 to just 12% in 2010, making it the most dramatic change across all categories.
Looking at the decreasing categories, food accounted for the largest share of household expenditure in 1970, at 33%, but fell sharply and steadily over the next four decades, falling to just 12% by 2010. Similarly, clothing showed a moderate downward trend over the same period, falling from about 10% to 5%. Transportation, on the other hand, remained relatively stable, fluctuating slightly between 6% and 8% throughout the period.
Of the growing categories, health care spending showed the most visible increase: from about 7% in 1970 to 18% by 2010, becoming the highest spending category at the end of the period. Recreation showed a similar upward trend, growing steadily over the four decades from 11% to 17%. Notably, health care and recreation spending overtook food spending around 2000, with all five categories converging at around 13-15%, before beginning to diverge again in the last decade.