$1.57 for a lighter. That’s the only thing I bought from China last week.

With a trade war going on, I started to wonder: how much do I actually buy from China? So I decided to track all my purchases for a week and find out.

A Week Inside the Santora Household

I made no effort not to buy from China or to buy American in general. I only looked at the “made in” after I bought each item.

Turns out, I don’t buy much from the Middle Kingdom.

That barbecue lighter was my only purchase. Even if tariffs went to 500%, it would make very little difference to me.

In fact, I was surprised how little I buy from abroad.

I spent about a dollar each on some chips from Canada and a bar of German chocolate with almonds (yum). But the grand prize went to India — $50 for vitamins.

Every other cent I spent was on an American product or service.

What I Actually Spent Money On

When you consider where my money goes, this makes a lot of sense. Almost all my spending goes to two things: housing and food (both groceries and eating out).

Housing doesn’t come from abroad (although some construction materials may). Very little food comes from abroad either, and almost none of it from China.

China mostly sells us manufactured products. And because I already have the goods I need, I seldom buy any new ones.

Moving Away from China

For many years, China was our biggest trading partner. But now, they’ve been supplanted by Mexico. Canada is close behind China, and has actually passed China at certain points in recent years.

My spending is a lot like most Americans.

The biggest expense for Americans is housing, followed by transportation, food and insurance. Almost none of that money goes to China.

For the odd manufactured item like a lighter, we can go elsewhere. It’s a pretty simple object — I’m sure Mexico can make them.

Electronics are a little harder. But already, India and Vietnam are muscling in on China’s business.

Wrap-Up

This trade war could be a lot less important to Americans than the media says. Most of us don’t actually buy much from abroad in the context of our total budgets.

Our purchases from China are an even smaller fraction of our spending. In a $30 trillion economy, Chinese imports count for just 1.5%.

In time, we’ll probably make a deal with China. But until then, the average American isn’t likely to suffer much financially.

Most of what we need, we make ourselves.

How much have you bought from China recently? Leave a comment and let us know!

More on markets:

Markets Are Overreacting to Tariffs

As Tariffs Hit, Lower Interest Rates Could Cushion the Blow

Why We Must Ban Chinese Robots

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