The price list of your life
Every number we have worked out on this site, in one list. Most expensive first.
| Per year | What it is | Sources used | Check it |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5,180 | Estimate annual mileage: odometer readings and trip planning The Math | U.S. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency | Check it |
| $5,003 | A year of driving, line by line The Math | Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Energy Information Administration, National Association of Insurance Commissioners, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | Check it |
| $4,759 | The first 33 minutes of your working day are worked for the car The Math | U.S. Census Bureau, Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, Internal Revenue Service | Check it |
| $3,287 | The cost of smoking: what a pack a day adds up to in a year, and what it could grow into over 30 years The Math | Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, U.S. Department of the Treasury, Congressional Research Service, Federal Trade Commission, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Internal Revenue Service, Smokefree.gov, National Cancer Institute | Check it |
| $2,917 | The used car borrower pays 17,000 dollars less and 1,600 dollars more The Money Burner | Experian, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System | Check it |
| $2,917 | Your credit score, as arithmetic instead of folklore From Zero to Not Broke | myFICO, Fair Isaac Corporation, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Government Publishing Office, United States Code, Experian | Check it |
| $2,160 | Coworking day pass vs membership: compare actual use Compare and Switch | Federal Trade Commission | Check it |
| $1,826 | Broke because five dollars does not matter Broke Because … | our own calculation only | Check it |
| $1,644 | What a home-cooked portion actually costs Cheap Life, Good Life | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | Check it |
| $1,166 | The subscription audit: twenty minutes that hurts in three figures Compare and Switch | our own calculation only | Check it |
| $1,148 | Delivery fees: paying twice for the same dinner The Money Burner | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | Check it |
| $875 | Coffee versus investing: the 30-year math, and the number everyone leaves out The Math | Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress | Check it |
| $791 | The streaming stack: the bill nobody ever decided on Compare and Switch | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | Check it |
| $736 | Pay it down or put it away? The arithmetic is clearer than the argument From Zero to Not Broke | Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | Check it |
| $720 | Gym membership vs pay per visit: compare actual use Compare and Switch | Federal Trade Commission | Check it |
| $696 | Your phone bill: 1,359 dollars a year that renews itself Compare and Switch | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | Check it |
| $626 | Packed lunch vs buying lunch: calculate the real saving Cheap Life, Good Life | U.S. Department of Agriculture, MyPlate | Check it |
| $588 | Your gym membership: the most expensive way not to work out The Money Burner | California Legislative Information | Check it |
| $420 | Overdraft: the loan you never applied for, at a rate no lender may advertise The Money Burner | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System | Check it |
| $362 | Is switching worth it? Work it out before you spend three hours on it Compare and Switch | our own calculation only | Check it |
| $360 | The cancel button, and the federal rule that was struck down before it took effect Compare and Switch | Federal Trade Commission, via the Federal Register (document 2026-04952), U.S. Government Publishing Office, United States Code, California Legislative Information | Check it |
| $313 | Powerball every week: what one play per drawing costs in a year, and what the odds really say The Math | Multi-State Lottery Association, powerball.com | Check it |
| $300 | Two years, one month, done - except that is a German rule Compare and Switch | California Legislative Information, Federal Trade Commission, via the Federal Register (document 2026-04952) | Check it |
| $261 | The water you already pay for, and then buy again Cheap Life, Good Life | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, WaterSense, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, New York City Department of Environmental Protection, release 19-053, U.S. Government Accountability Office | Check it |
| $188 | The account that charges you for not having enough money in it Compare and Switch | Bankrate, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation | Check it |
| $168 | The car insurance quote you have not re-run since you bought the car Compare and Switch | National Association of Insurance Commissioners, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | Check it |
| $120 | Annual vs monthly subscriptions: find your break-even point Compare and Switch | Federal Trade Commission | Check it |
| $65 | The membership fee is the least interesting number in warehouse club math Cheap Life, Good Life | Costco Wholesale Corporation, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc., filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Sam's Club, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service | Check it |
| $49 | Broke because it was on sale Broke Because … | Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Center for Microeconomic Data, Federal Trade Commission, via the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, National Retail Federation, with Happy Returns, U.S. Census Bureau | Check it |
| $15 | Measure appliance electricity use and calculate annual cost The Money Burner | Virginia Cooperative Extension | Check it |
| $1.62 | Unplugging everything saves you $1.62 a year The Money Burner | U.S. Energy Information Administration | Check it |
Adding these up gives you nothing: nobody has all of them at once, and some rule each other out. Pick the three that apply to you – that is your number, and it is in none of these rows.
Download as CSV · Amounts in whole cents, with source, retrieval date, and the address where you can redo each calculation.
How to cite this list: Broke by Choice: The price list of your life. Version 2026-10-03. https://brokebychoice.com/price-list/
Cite the version date, not the date you downloaded it: without it, nobody can tell later which version you meant.
The dataset behind this list is published under CC BY 4.0, all of it: the numbers, the column names, the row identifiers and the details about the dataset itself, and each row keeps its headline as part of the dataset – everything the CSV file holds, as far as we hold rights in it. You may reuse it, including commercially, as long as you name us as the source, link to the license, and say whether you changed anything. It does not cover the article texts themselves, the graphics, the logo, the brand name as a mark, the design of this page, or the rights in the third-party sources linked here.