Background

The Swedish Consumer Agency began calculating household expenses in the mid-1970s in response to demand from the public, consumer counselling services, authorities and other organisations. The first calculations were published in 1978 in the Swedish Consumer Agency brochure ‘Household Expenses: An Aid to Your Finances’ (Hushallets kostnader, en hjälpreda för din ekonomi). Since then, the calculations have been adjusted to address consumption trends and general standard trends in society. Descriptions and methods for this are documented in the report ‘Reasonable Living Expenses’, covering calculations by the Swedish Consumer Agency (Skäliga levnadskostnader, beräkningar av Konsumentverket). These calculations are updated on a regular basis.

Each year, the Swedish Consumer Agency calculates costs for reasonable consumption of some of the most common household expense categories. What constitutes reasonable consumption and common expense categories changes over time. The cost calculations must therefore be adjusted to account for factors such as the population's changing needs and activities, and the standard consumption trends in society.

The expense categories for which calculations are performed account for approximately one third of total household consumption. The calculations cover both individual and common household costs and focus on a basic need for goods and services required to live a decent day-to-day life in today's society, regardless of household income. This is neither subsistence level nor excessive consumption, but rather a reasonable standard of consumption. The costs cover both day-to-day expenses and some savings to be able to replace durable goods. The Swedish Consumer Agency's calculations do not include differences in consumption due to cultural differences, illness or disability.

One major expense for households is housing costs, but these are not included in the Swedish Consumer Agency's cost calculations. It is hard to define what constitutes reasonable housing costs. They can vary greatly due to factors such as location and type of dwelling and are largely individual. Moreover, there are no cost calculations for medical and dental care, transport, childcare, home help services, holidays, hotel/café/restaurant visits, education, presents and so on.

Cost calculations are performed for different reasons, such as to satisfy the Swedish Consumer Agency's commission to provide underlying data for the government's decision on the national standard within income support. Another reason is that the Swedish Consumer Agency has been tasked with supporting municipal budget and debt counselling under the Social Services Act.