In this inaugural report, researchers from the JPMorgan Chase Institute analyzed proprietary data from JPMorgan Chase & Co. to determine how income and consumption fluctuate on a monthly and a yearly basis. Drawing from detailed transaction information for nearly 30 million customers, we constructed a unique data asset of 2.5 million account holders. We examined income and consumption habits on a transaction-by-transaction basis between October 2012 and December 2014 to draw conclusions about fluctuations in earning and spending among U.S. individuals.