Statistics Canada
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Household spending

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Household spending averaged $69,950 in 2007, up 3.3% from the year before. This increase was sharper than the 2.2% annual rate of inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Personal taxes accounted for 21% of the average household’s budget in 2007, while shelter represented 20%, transportation 13%, and food 10%. These shares changed only slightly from 2006.

Spending on personal taxes averaged $14,450; spending on shelter rose to $13,640, a 5.1% increase. A 10.6% increase in mortgage payments lifted shelter spending.

Households spent an average $9,400 on transportation, up 1.7%. A 6.9% increase in spending on gasoline and other fuels was offset by a 6.3% decline in average spending for automobile purchases.

On average, households spent $7,310 on food, up 3.7%, the fastest annual increase since 2002. Food prices measured by the CPI rose 2.7%.