Personal budget categories
Maybe you have a professional license or certificate that has to be renewed each year, or you pay once a year for season passes to see your favorite football team. If you own a vehicle, it's also important to account for the cost of renewing your vehicle registration. It could also include things like auto insurance premiums. This could be things like property taxes if you own a home (and don't pay them as part of your monthly mortgage payments). While easy to forget about, the bills that fall under this category can be substantial, so it's important to include them.
Budget for at least enough to cover your minimum monthly payment, and if you have enough to pay your entire balance each month, even better. Last but not least, don't forget to include credit card payments.
Trash pickup service (if you pay for one).The most obvious items here are utilities, like your electric, gas, and internet. This category covers a variety of things, but in essence, it refers to anything you get a recurring monthly bill for. You can also do things like cut coupons or use a credit card that rewards grocery spending to earn cash back on your shopping trips. But also know that this is a category where you can sometimes cut back if necessary. Whatever type of grocery shopper you are, account for your average monthly spend in this category. Other times I only go once every two or three weeks and buy the essentials, choosing to get by on cereal, lunch meat, and sandwich bread. For example, sometimes I go grocery shopping once a week and completely stock my shelves with anything I could want. Groceries are an area where we have a lot of control over our spending. If you have a car, include not just your car payment, but also your monthly allotment for gas. Do you have a monthly car payment? A bus pass? Maybe you rely primarily on rideshares, or live in the city and use a bike to get around. In this category, set aside the money necessary for getting you from point A to point B on a daily basis. This is another category that can mean vastly different things for different people, but the idea is the same.
For example, if you have a mortgage, include any private mortgage insurance (PMI), homeowners insurance, or property taxes that are lumped into that monthly payment. This should include your entire housing expense. Whether housing means a mortgage on a large home or splitting rent on a small apartment, factor in what you spend each month for a place to rest your head at night. Here, we cover the categories that every budget should include, regardless of individual circumstances and income.
#PERSONAL BUDGET CATEGORIES PLUS#
While one person may need to budget for a mortgage on a four-bedroom home and the car payment on a Tesla, the next may need to budget for one-fourth of an apartment they share with three friends, plus a bus pass to get around town. The tricky thing about budgets, however, is that they vary so much from one person to the next. No two budgets look exactly the same, but they should all include at least these six categories.īudgeting is a great tool to map out monthly income and allocate funds in a way that sustains comfortable and, ideally, happy lives.