Non-essential spending or spending that is not automatic

• A. Consumer durables
• B. Total revenue
• C. Discretionary expenditure
• D. Income elastic demand

Answer: (C)

Non-essential spending, or discretionary expenditure, is money spent on goods and services you can choose to do without. It isn’t automatic; households decide whether to make these purchases based on their finances and priorities, and they can cut back when income is tight or confidence is low. This kind of spending covers things like holidays, dining out, or luxury items—goods and services that aren’t required for basic living.

The other terms don’t specifically describe this idea. Consumer durables are long‑lasting goods and can be essential or non‑essential depending on context, but they aren’t a label for non-essential spending itself. Total revenue is a business measurement of income, not a type of consumer spending. Income elastic demand relates to how demand changes as income changes, not to the nature of non-essential spending.