The table compares the monthly spending of an average Australian household in the years 1991 and 2001, measuring in Australian dollars
Overall, family expenditure on all categories increased noticeably, whereas there were downward trends in the figures for clothing and transport in the given years. While the highest upward trend was observed in the expenditure on communal bills, such as electricity and water, food was the dominant category in both years.
In 1991, food recieved the highest fraction of the common household expenditure per month, dominating with 155 AUD – significantly higher than that of the second-ranked category, housing, which was allocated 95 AUD. Meanwhile, the figures for bills, namely electricity and water, and transport were relatively close proximity to each other, 75 and 70 dollars respectively, while the least amount of a typical Australian family’s monthly spending channaled to clothing, making up only 30 AUD of the total 675 AUD expenditure. The remaing money was spent on other services and goods, with 250 AUD.
In the next decade, food still stood at the leading level in a common family in Australia per month with only a 5 dollar increase. However, housing wanned its rank, despite increased similarly to 100 dollar, while the figure for bill, electrcity and water, surpassed housing as following the highest category, with increase of 45 dollar by 2001. By contrast, there was a downward trend in the expenditure on clothing and transport: the former was responsible for only 20 dollars of families monthly spending, while 45 dollars was channeled to the latter every month.
As for the total expenditure of an ordinary Australian family, this figure grew from 675 dollars to 715 dollars between two years. Meanwhile, other goods and services accounted for 270 dollar of this expenditure.