{"id":15966,"date":"2024-09-02T09:30:05","date_gmt":"2024-09-02T16:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/?p=15966"},"modified":"2026-04-02T08:03:56","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T15:03:56","slug":"us-discretionary-spending-up-colorado-and-utah-lead-in-financial-well-being","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/us-discretionary-spending-up-colorado-and-utah-lead-in-financial-well-being\/","title":{"rendered":"US Discretionary Spending Up: Colorado And Utah Top All Other States In Financial Well-Being"},"content":{"rendered":"

Contrary to cautionary tales involving high inflation and economic headwinds, spending is picking up steam across the U.S. Beyond our traditional love of retail therapy<\/a>, the pandemic and subsequent prioritization of present satisfaction have strongly influenced people\u2019s attitudes toward buying. The so-called YOLO spending behavior \u2014 which stands for \u201cYou Only Live Once\u201d \u2014 is increasingly popular among consumers, particularly well-off, younger crowds.<\/p>\n

At the end of the pandemic, non-discretionary spending in the U.S., including housing and other essentials, rose by 22% in 2022 compared to 2018. Consumer spending on nonessentials had a significantly higher growth rate of 32%. Americans spent an average of $12,000 on discretionary items \u2014 largely involving food and recreation \u2014 accounting for 23% of their total spending budget. Meanwhile, inflation rates fluctuated from 2.9% in 2018 to a peak of 9.1% in 2022 and have since decreased to 3.3% in 2024.<\/p>\n