'Cash for Clunkers' Runs Out of Gas - WSJ.com

If you're looking to benefit from the 'cash for clunkers' program, time is running out as the one billion dollars allocated for rebates runs out.

http://mobile2.wsj.com/device/article.php?CALL_URL=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124898886526095011.html?
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Free Annual Credit Report

Have you checked yours lately? There are a lot of companies claiming to provide a free credit report, and they even have ads with catchy tunes on the radio and TV. The FTC has some information about how to get your free credit report here:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt156.shtm

And the official free credit report site is here:

http://www.annualcreditreport.com/

Average Household Spending

This chart from the Department of Labor shows how much the average "consumer unit" (consisting of 2.5 people) spends in a year. Healthcare doesn't seem to take up much of the budget ($2853, or 4.5% of pre-tax income), compared to dining out ($2668, or $222 per month) or paying people to entertain us ($2698). Cutting out the eating out and entertainment would help the health of our savings accounts tremendously. As another benefit, less dining out would probably help our health and get that healthcare spending down even further.

The chart does show how much house and car payments impact us. This average household spends 41% of pre-tax income on housing and transportation.

The chart doesn't break out how much of that $63,091 in pre-tax income ends up going to taxes, but does show total spending of $49,638. I would guess about $5,000 for Social Security and Medicare, and a comparable amount for state and federal taxes, leaving very little for savings.

http://www.visualeconomics.com/how-the-average-us-consumer-spends-their-paycheck/