Payroll tax cut continues – and that means…more laundry detergent

Thanks to the economic madness, the government had been taking less money from our paychecks — 2 percent less to be exact. That meant more cash in our pockets. The tax break was all set to expire but – whew! – Congress extended the deal for the rest of 2012.

If you earn $56,000, that means you’ll get to keep $1121 the government would have in other years collected. 

We took all income levels, calculated how much the tax will put back in your paycheck, and matched it up with a financially equivalent good or service on which someone earning your salary spends each year.

Use it to look into someone else’s lifestyle. Or the future of your own – as you might be cutting costs when the break expires with the year.

 

If you earn You’ll put in your pocket this year: The average person earning that income tends to spend that amount each year on:
$35,779             $716 car repairs ($606) cereal ($128)
$47,197 $944 half a year’s worth of restaurant meals ($2,043 for 12 months)
$50,097 $1,002 medicine ($342) alcoholic beverages ($338) fresh fruit ($212)
$56,039 $1,121 phone service ($1,190)
$61,926 $1,239 car insurance ($1,041) laundry and cleaning supplies ($141)
$102,752 $2055 clothing ($2249)