My conclusions from my post yesterday are as follows. Excluding taxes and our homes, we spend the lion’s share of our money on vehicles, utilities, food, insurance and travel. It also appears that when it comes to vehicles, most of us stay loyal, buying multiple cars from the same manufacturer.
I was moderately surprised that nobody mentioned tuition to either their former schools or their children schooling. I don’t have kids, but I can only imagine what it cost to put a kid through school these days.
I would also assume that Apple probably makes everyone’s top 10 list if we extended it. I came up with this question as I was in the Apple Store yesterday, as I found myself spending another $650 on various stuff I probably don’t need but wanted. New AirPods, a credit card magnet wallet that attaches to my phone, and a new screen protector.
This new round of purchases made me wonder just how much of my hard earned money I’ve given to Apple over my lifetime. It made me think of all the Christmas presents, equipment for work, multiple phones, iPads and computers, let alone the Apple Store. It has to be approaching $100,000, if not more. That’s what prompted me to go through the mental exercise to see if I’ve given more money to other companies and who they are.
As for my top couple, three consecutive Cayenne purchases in a row made Porsche my top dog, quickly followed by my obsession with staying at Four Seasons resorts over the last 15 years before I bought my own hotel. Then I assumed that either Safeway or Whole Foods, who get the lion’s share of my food buying, would come in third due to 30 years of needing to fill my substantial belly. Then I remembered that Whole Foods is actually owned by Amazon, who has direct access to several of my bank accounts. I pretty much order from that company weekly.
I ended this mental exercise with a chuckle, realizing that I have spent a fair amount of money over the last year and a half on my newfound sipping tequila journey. It is possible that Clase Azul will continue to climb my list of favorite brands.
Thank you for joining me in this fundamental exercise. It’s very interesting to see which companies have our loyalties and, as a result, the most access to our wallets.
Picture below as a graphic, I found showing how Americans spend their money annually.
P.S. - By far my favoriRay Hollistere from Ray Hollister, who listed Chick-fil-A as one of the top three. Love it!
