Food and shelter are two essential items in every household budget.

Reducing your spending in either category will go a long way towards freeing up cash to reach your other goals.

CNBC crunched the numbers, and we can give you an idea of what your food and housing expenses should look like if you make $50,000 per year. 

Check out this video to get an idea of what your expenditures should look like every month.

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Disclosure: NBCUniversal and Comcast Ventures are investors in Acorns.