Reader, Julie, had a great question about budgets. She wrote:
I’m hoping to set up my household expenditures on Quickbooks soon. Do you have a good workable list of categories that you use in all of the tracking you do? I realize mine will be specific to my needs, but was looking for a good list to help me get started.
~Julie
Since I know some of you set out to tighten up as part of your resolutions, I thought I’d share how I break down my categories. I expanded my list a little to try to catch most of life’s expenses {obviously I don’t have daycare costs or a gym membership, etc.}. Take a look at my list and then fill out the monthly budget tracker so you can start tracking your budget. If you need an extra nudge, print it and place it somewhere prominent like on your fridge or bathroom mirror so it’s a constant reminder.
Food/Toiletries
- Groceries
- Eating out
- Toiletries
- Laundry Supplies
- Cleaning Supplies
- Pet Food/Treats
Home
- Mortgage
- Rent
- Property Taxes
- Household Repairs
- HOA Dues
- Homeowner/Renter’s Insurance
Utilities
- Power
- Water
- Heating
- Trash
- Phones
- Internet
Vehicle
- Gas
- Car Insurance
- Tires
- Oil Changes
- Maintenance
- Parking
- Repairs
- Registration
Medical
- Insurance Premiums
- Co-pays
- Dentist
- Specialists {eye doc., orthodontist, etc.}
- Medications
Activities
- Sports Fees {to play and attend}
- Date Nights
- Movies
- Girl’s Night
- Concert Tickets
- Vacations
Misc.
- Gym Memberships
- Christmas
- Gifts {birthday/anniversary/wedding}
- Hair Cuts
- Babysitters/Daycare
- Cable/Netflix
- Student Loans
- Life Insurance
Savings
- Retirement
- Investing
- Emergency Savings
- General Savings
- College Fund
Giving
- Tithing
- Charities
What did I miss? What categories do you use? How do you track your expenses?
Starting from scratch? Check out my post on How to Create a Budget You Can Stick With.
Happy saving!
~Mavis
Jannette Bradley says
I am just starting to use envelopes and I like to use this interactive pdf from Green path. It’s fun to adjust the budget with it as you need to from month to month. for instance, we got a little bonus in the second February check.
I can easily add that to the incoming funds and adjust the amounts in my spending categories or just wonder where the heck the extra money went come here;)
Give it a try
http://www.greenpath.com/sites/default/files/pdf/GP_InteractiveBudget_web.pdf
Marybeth says
My categories are as follow:
Charity
Groceries
Takeout
Clothing
Cars
Mortgage
Utilities
Medical
Haircuts
Entertainment/Vacation
Blow Money (my husband and I get a small amount every month that we can do whatever with. No questions)
Pet care
Gifts
School
Insurance
Household/tools/garden
College fund
Savings
It has changed over the years but this is how it sits right now. It works for us. As you said people have different needs then we do. My kids are teenagers so no daycare for me. Certain categories the money rolls over from month to month.
gina says
Oh, girl after my own heart!
You missed car payment, because if you’re like me, we don’t have one!
Mavis Butterfield says
Ooops. You’re right though, we don’t have one.
Sue says
I used to divide my expenses up into many different categories when I used an online spreadsheet. Then I decided to revert back to a paper ledger. Since most of them have 8 columns and I need one for “date” and one for a brief description, there were six columns left for actual expense categories. I came up with these six and they have worked for me for several years now. If I really need to know how much I spent on some sub-category, looking through the descriptions usually can help me narrow down what I’m looking for. But for the most part, it works fine with me to have these general categories:
Food (includes restaurant as well as groceries)
Household — pets, cleaning, general office stuff, kitchen supplies, postage, utility bills, dump fees, subscriptions.
Homestead — stuff related to taking care of the property — building materials, garden supply, outdoor tools and equipment.
Transportation — vehicles and their care and feeding, including tolls, bicycle gear, etc.
Personal — clothes, books, gifts, donations.
Business — I’m self-employed so I track business expenses.
Sometimes something might seem to fit in more than one category, and I just pick one. (I am a one-person household, so “household” and “personal” can have some overlap. I have a particular interest in reducing my transportation costs, which is why I made that its own category. If I had a major life hobby that I wanted to know what I was spending on it, I’d make that its own category instead.
Pretty simple, but it works for me!
Sue
Teckla says
I had a line for subscriptions, although my goal is to eliminated them entirely as they expire. I also added Petty Cash just for this year because I had a feeling money was slipping through the cracks and wanted to see exactly what I was buying with whatever miscellaneous money I was carrying around. I used to draw $100 a month, then after I retired I dropped that to $50 and now I’m only pulling that about 4 times a year. I’m a one person household and had never really tracked that before. I’ve been working to spend only on real necessities and it’s paying off! I pay most bills online, still write checks for groceries (usually twice a month) and use a credit card for major purchases, although I try to pay it in full each month except for the 2 I’m working to pay off. When the debt is gone I’ll reevaluate and take some more steps. I really appreciate all the good ideas you all share. Very encouraging!
I also have my line items grouped in somewhat different categories but they work for me.
Brianna says
I have a ‘kids clothing’ semi annual budget for my kids. They are still growing fast, so they are constantly needing shoes and basics. Plus the hubby has ‘work uniforms and necessities’ annually.