My best friend and his wife just bought a new home in Brooklyn Heights. We were discussing it the other night and he had remarked how crazy he was that the thing he was spending more money on then anything else in his entire life, he looked at for about 20 minutes before deciding to buy it. For the fast paced NYC real estate market this is not un-common as great apartments (especially in Brooklyn Heights) go fast. This is a good chart that gives perspective on not only your home purchase, but what else people spend their money on.
In the context of the current healthcare debate, even if you combine the insurance section and the healthcare section on this chart its still less then transportation and pales in comparison to housing. It gives an interesting perspective on what the most important topics should be for public discourse around government regulation and intervention.
via hiten
