21ST CENTURY CONSUMER Here's a statistical snapshot of the American consumer: Median income, at ＄ 40,816 per household, is more princely than almost any nation's, and many of us have the stuff to show for it. But we also have record levels of credit-card debt, and we make more trash than ever. And the typical family has only ＄ 71,600 in assets, including equity in the family home. This list comes from recent government and industry data. WHAT WE DO Jobs. Men work about 42 hours a week women, 36 hours. In 53 percent of married couples, both spouses work. TV. The TV is on 7 hours and 29 minutes a day at home. Viewing ranges from 3 hours for teens to 5 hours for women over 18. See advertising. The average American is exposed to 247 commercial messages each day. Eat. 928 meals per year at home, up from 917 a year earlier 141 meals at restaurants, up from 139 the year before. 10 million U.S. households (10 percent) were 'food insecure,' or did not always have enough food to meet basic needs. Prepare meals. Families spend 16 minutes to a half-hour a day singles, 15 minutes or less. Buy more stuff. The typical American spends about 3 hours a week hunting and gathering in stores. Make music. 40 percent of households have two or more members who play a musical instrument 53 percent of households own an instrument. Travel. 66 million pleasure trips 17 million business trips--76 percent by auto, 18 percent by air, the rest by train, bus, or ship. Typical trip length: 1 to 2 nights. Favorite activity: shopping. Make messy. Each American generates 4.46 pounds of municipal waste per day, 66 Percent more than in 1960. Think about getting rid of stuff. 101 million adults have used items--worth an estimated $87 each—that they'd like to sell. Volunteer. 56 percent of American adults donate 3 1/2 hours each week to nonprofit groups. WHAT WE OWN Houses. 67.7 percent of American households own a home. About 1 percent have no bathroom, while 38 percent have 2 or more. 2.3 million people, or 1 percent of the U.S. population, are likely to experience a spell of homelessness at least once during a year. Wheels. 92 percent of households own autos or motorcycles 60 percent have more than one. The typical car is 9.4 years old and uses 548 gallons of gas a year. Appliances. 99.8 percent of households have a refrigerator 93 percent, a microwave oven 81 percent, a washing machine 81 percent, a blender 78 percent, an automatic coffee maker 76 percent, a fan 57 percent, a dishwasheri 50 percent, an outdoor gas grill 47 percent, a food processor；45 percent, a garbage disposal；32 percent, room air conditioners；21 percent, a coffee grinder 12 percent, a pulsating shower head and 2 percent, an aromatherapy machine. TV sets. We have 2.4 TVs per household. 60 percent of teens, 48 percent of schoolchildren, and 24 percent of toddlers have a TV set in their bedroom. Computers.There are 1.2 per home for offline households, and 1.5 for the 45 percent of households tied in to the Internet. Telephones. About 17 percent of households have more than 1 phone line. Cell phones. More than 105 million subscribe. Pets. We have 59 million cats, 56 million fish, 53 million dogs, 13 million birds, 6 million rabbits and ferrets, 4.8 million rodents, and 4 million reptiles, on which we spend $23 billion yearly. Allowances. Nearly half of all kids get an allowance. Average weekly take: $5.82. ranks first in number of pets owned by the Americans.