Budget Categories: 75 Expenses To Include

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If you’ve ever tried to get your finances under control, then you’ve almost certainly tried to make a budget. And while you know that budgeting is a great way to control your spending, it’s often easier said than done.

Perhaps the easiest way to get started is to create budgeting categories — which include fixed and variable expenses — that work based on your spending.

Fixed Expense Categories 

You can break down any budget into fixed and variable expenses. Fixed expenses are those that don’t change from month to month. You typically know how much they cost every month. You might even pay them on or around the same time.

Examples of fixed budget categories include:

• Housing: If you rent, your housing costs may be limited to your monthly rent and renters insurance. If you own a home, housing may include your mortgage payment, property taxes, home repairs, homeowners association dues, home security system fees and more.
• Home services: If you regularly pay for things like lawn care or pest control, these fall under fixed expenses. They may not be essential, however, meaning you could shave off some spending if needed.
• Food-at-home or groceries: The average household spends $6,053 a year on food at home ($504 a month). Everyone has to eat, but it’s generally best to separate groceries from dining out. While basic groceries are a need, eating at restaurants may be better categorized as personal spending (with varying costs).
• Utilities: Utilities generally include electricity, gas and water. It may also include trash collection, sewage, recycling, phone, cable and streaming services. Utilities can also be considered variable if they change significantly throughout the year. 
• Insurance: Health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, long-term care insurance, auto insurance, renters insurance or homeowners insurance usually cost the same each month.
• Child-related costs: Some things — like tuition fees — can be considered fixed expenses. If you pay child support, that should also fall under this category.
• Debt payments: Debts — like personal loans, credit cards and student loans — are mandatory. In most cases, payments are the same every month. The exception is if you pay more than the minimums due to try to pay off what you owe sooner.
• Subscriptions and memberships: While costs may go up from time to time, most streaming services, gym memberships and the like fall under the fixed expenses budget category.
• Savings or investments: Depending on how you prioritize saving and investing, this could be considered a fixed expense. Again, this is only the case if you put the same amount every month toward these budgeting categories — like if you have autopay set up.

Keep in mind that your fixed budgeting categories might vary a little. Whereas one person might have 12 essential budget categories, someone else might only have six. Once you add in variable expenses, that number is likely to grow — but again, it depends on your goals, priorities and needs.

Variable Expense Categories 

Variable expenses are those that fluctuate from month to month, or even from week to week. While certain expenses — such as your mortgage — probably don’t change and are, therefore, easy to budget for, variable expenses can get a bit tricky.

Here’s a budget categories list of all variable expenses you’re likely to encounter. As you go through this list, remember that certain budget categories and subcategories might not apply as much to you as others. You can include any that do apply when creating your personalized budget.

Food

• Dining out
• Takeout or delivery
• Cafe runs
• Extra snacks or impulse buys at the grocery store

Transportation 

• Gas
• Bus fare
• Other public transportation (excluding monthly passes)
• Auto repairs and maintenance
• Tolls
• Parking fees
• Rideshare services
• Vehicle registration

Household Goods

• Furniture
• Toiletries 
• Household decor
• Cleaning products
• Tools

Personal Spending or Personal Services

• Haircut or salon visits
• Clothing
• Shoes
• Date night
• Weekend events
• Concerts
• Movie or game nights
• Personal care products
• Shopping
• Electronics
• Entertainment 

Healthcare Costs

• One-time medications
• Unexpected hospital bills
• New glasses or contacts (if not covered by vision insurance)
• Vitamins and supplements

Education and Childcare

• School supplies
• Books
• One-time school administrative fees
• Babysitting fees
• Toys
• Kids clothes
• Daycare (may be temporarily fixed)
• Summer camp
• Lessons (swimming, piano, horseback riding, etc.)
• Packed lunches for school
• Allowance (may be fixed)

Savings and Debts (May Be Fixed)

• Emergency fund savings
• Savings for big-ticket items
• Retirement savings
• Investments
• Health savings account (HSA) contributions
• Debt payments (beyond the minimums)

Donations and Gifts

• Birthday gifts
• Wedding gifts
• Baby shower gifts
• Anniversary gifts
• Other holiday gifts
• Charitable donations
• GoFundMe donations
• Community or religious donations

Pet Expenses

• Pet supplies
• Pet food (may be fixed)
• Veterinarian costs
• Pete medication (may be fixed)
• Grooming services
• Insurance (may be fixed)

Miscellaneous Expenses

• Self-improvement courses or books
• Counseling fees
• Travel expenses (including things like airfare, hotels, baggage fees and vacation activities)

How to Personalize Your Budget 

You might not need 100 budget categories to get your finances in order. It’s entirely plausible that you’ll do just as well with a simplified budget categories list.

For example, you could break your budget down into simplified fixed expenses like:

• Housing
• Food (may include all food)
• Insurance
• Debt payments
• Savings
• Utilities
• Education or childcare
• Monthly subscriptions

Keep this list to the essential expenses if possible.

You’ll probably want a list of variable expenses, too. This can include anything you generally spend money on during the day, week or month — but with varying costs. Try to keep this list to non-essentials or things you want (rather than need).

Other Ways to Personalize Your Budget Include:

• Track your spending: You can do this manually or with a free or low-cost budgeting app. Track your spending for a few months using receipts and bank/credit card statements. Jot down everything you typically spend money on to see which budgeting categories to include.
• Create a “Miscellaneous” category: If you have many one-time or uncommon expenses, consider creating a separate budget category for them. This Miscellaneous category can include a set budget amount to cover anything you might have missed.
• Set aside a little extra: It never hurts to have some extra cash just in case. This should be separate from your emergency fund, which should ideally cover 3 to 6 months’ worth of living expenses (though it’s okay to start small).
• Create your personalized budget together: Do you have a friend or partner who’s also trying to get better at budgeting? Take some time to sit down together and create your own budget categories and subcategories. Having someone do this with you can also keep you accountable with your spending.

Using Your Budget Categories 

Creating budget categories is only half the battle — you’ll also want to use them effectively. Here are a few tips:

1. Know When It’s Time to Make Changes

No budget is perfect or meant to last forever. If your income or expenses have changed, that’s a good time to adjust your budgeting categories.

2. Automate Savings

Whether you consider saving to be a fixed or variable expense, automating can ensure you save more consistently. You can also automate debt payments. Just make sure the money doesn’t come out before your paycheck goes in.

3. Use Budgeting Tools or Apps

These can help you track your spending, monitor your top budgeting categories, identify any problem areas (such as overspending) and stay on track financially.

4. Consider Following a Common Budgeting Rule

There are quite a few out there — like the 50/30/20 budget rule and the 70/20/10 budget rule. Each one works differently and prioritizes spending and saving in different ways. Try out a few to see which best aligns with your needs and personality.

5. Cut Costs If It Makes Sense

If you’re struggling to make ends meet, or you find yourself overspending in certain budget categories, see if you can lower costs anywhere.

This might be as simple as cutting down on dining out or canceling your Netflix or Hulu subscription. Minor changes can be fairly easy to implement, but be careful not to go overboard or you might end up overspending again.

The Bottom Line 

When it comes down to it, budgets are extremely personal and take time to get right. A big part of creating an effective budget is including the correct categories. Of course, your list of budget categories may not look exactly the same as the one above. Maybe you don’t have any debt, meaning you don’t have to include that on your list. Or perhaps you don’t have children, meaning childcare isn’t an expense for you.

Ultimately, it’s your budget. And while there are some guidelines that can help improve your budget, the only real rule is that it has to work for you.

Erin Gobler contributed to the reporting in this article.

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