Home Is Where the Heart Is — and Also Most of the Expenses

iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — For American homeowners, their house is probably the biggest asset they have. However, it is often the biggest expense in their budget.

A survey released this week by the non-profit Employee Benefit Research Institute shows home and home-related costs are the biggest expense for folks over the age of 50, accounting for 40 percent to 45 percent of their household budgets.

A 2011 analysis of some 5,000 households shows people ages 65 to 74 spent an average of $18,720 on home and home-related expenses, while those 75 to 84 spent $14,732.

Home-related expenses include mortgages, property taxes, homeowner’s or renter’s insurance, rent, utilities, home repairs, home furnishings, housecleaning supplies, housekeeping and laundry services, gardening, yard supplies and yard services.

Sudipto Banerjee, a research associate for the institute and author of the new report, tells USA Today the dollar amount people spend on home expenses decreases with age, but the share of the household budget remains about the same because their overall spending tends to decline, too.

And it’s no surprise that health expenses take up a larger percentage of a household budget as people age.  The survey found households with one member between the ages of 50 to 64 spent eight percent of their total budget on out-of-pocket medical expenses, an average of $4,176 in 2011. Those 85 and older spent 19 percent of their budget, an average of $6,603 that year.
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