![Social Image Average Consumer Annual Expenditure](https://www.kitces.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Social-Image-Average-Consumer-Annual-Expenditure-150x150.png)
The personal finance space has no shortage of tips to managing your spending, from bag lunches in lieu of eating out at work to home-brewed coffee instead of the morning Starbucks routine. Yet the reality seems to be that in so many situations, we dig ourselves a tremendous spending hole because of our big purchases, and then worry tremendously about the small stuff trying to make up the difference. If you really want to change your financial reality for the better, though, it's the big stuff you really need to focus on - where you live, and what you drive.