The advent of the Internet, and the related products and services that we buy, on average represent more than $1,000 per person/per year, according to a study in the New York Times. College tuition plus room and board have increased more than 500% since 1980 to $20,435 according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Health insurance has more than doubled between 1984 and 2009, to $5,049 per single insured person.