Having the right categories is essential to a well-functioning budget. And while it’s not always possible to anticipate every expense that may come your way, it is possible to plan for them.
Budget Categories You Don’t Want To Overlook
Consider including these 28 categories in your budget to be prepared for anything life throws your way.
1. Birthdays
Including a ‘birthday’ category in your budget is a good way to save for birthday gifts, parties, dinners, and any other birthday-related expenses that come up throughout the year.
Choose to save throughout the year in a birthday sinking fund or add to your budget as needed.
2. Christmas
Christmas can be a big expense for many families, and unfortunately, even sending some into credit card debt. Saving a small amount of money each budgeting period can help offset holiday costs at the end of the year.
3. Clothing
A clothing category can ensure you always have money set aside when you need new socks, shoes, work clothes, or even a summer wardrobe refresh.
4. Debt Payments
As annoying as it is to give some of your income away to your debtors, your debt payments must be a priority in your budget. Try budgeting extra funds in with your minimum payments to help you pay off debt more quickly.
5. Dining Out
Dining out can quickly bust your budget. Still, if you love going to your favorite restaurant, try incorporating it into your budget for guilt-free meals.
6. Entertainment
Don’t overlook entertainment – plan for date nights, concerts, sporting events, and overnight trips ahead of time.
7. Food
Groceries are likely one of your highest expenses. And while there are many ways to reduce your grocery spending, simply planning for a specific amount in your food budget is a great first step.
8. Gifts
Planning ahead for weddings, baby showers, graduations, etc., is a great way to protect your budget.
9. Giving
Whether you tithe regularly or have specific causes you like to support, adding a line item for ‘giving’ into your budget is a good way to give without stressing yourself out.
10. Goals
Building your financial goals into your budget is a great way to keep you motivated and on track to reaching your goals.
11. Home Maintenance
Nothing busts your budget like unexpected home emergencies. If you don’t currently have an emergency fund, you’ll want to add home maintenance to your budget yesterday.
12. Household
You may already include household items in your grocery category, or you may prefer to keep a separate category for household products like toiletries, toilet paper, tissues, etc.
13. Housing
For most, housing costs like rent or mortgage payments are their largest expense, so, of course, you’ll want to prioritize them when preparing to avoid coming up short.
14. Insurance
Whether it be homeowners, life, disability, etc., being properly insured is important. Be sure to budget for your various insurance premiums.
15. Investing
Are you paying yourself each month? A good way to do so is by adding an ‘investing’ category into your budget.
16. Kids’ Stuff
Sure, we love our kids, but they sure do cost a lot! Sports fees, yearbooks, school pics, dances, music lessons, the list goes on and on. Create a ‘kids’ stuff’ category in your budget to cover all the random kid expenses so they don’t derail you during the year.
17. Medical Expenses
Medical expenses can be astronomical. Create a ‘medical’ sinking fund and budget a specific amount to contribute each month to offset medical bills and related expenses.
18. Miscellaneous
Regardless of how meticulously you plan your budget, you will inevitably incur random expenses that don’t seem to fit in any particular category. Put some money aside each month for these ‘miscellaneous’ charges.
19. Personal Care
Haircuts, beauty treatments, massages, gym memberships, or any other like services you pay for can be budgeted for in your ‘personal care’ category.
20. Personal Spending
The best thing about budgeting is that it removes any guilt and shame from spending. There is nothing wrong with spending money on yourself – just put it in your budget!
21. Pets
Treating our sweet furkids like family often means a long list of expenses for things like food, treats, vet bills, pet insurance, toys, grooming, and more. Staying prepared with a ‘pet’ category can save your budget.
22. Savings
Having money aside in savings helps you handle any emergencies and other unexpected expenses that may come your way. Saving a small amount each budget period will help you grow your savings over time.
23. Subscriptions
These days it seems we have multiple subscriptions. These various charges can be easily overlooked and throw a wrench in your budget.
If you find yourself often forgetting to budget for your multiple subscriptions each month, try lumping them all together in a ‘subscription’ category.
24. Transportation
Fueling your vehicle, paying for parking, or riding public transportation…it doesn’t matter how you get there; it just matters that you budget accordingly.
25. Utilities
Utility bills can vary substantially from month-to-month and during different times of the year. Using past bills to estimate current utility bills when budgeting is a helpful way to plan for fluctuations.
26. Vacation
Budgeting for bills is important, yes, but so is budgeting for vacation! Plus, building vacation costs into your budget fa in advance allows you to break up the financial burden over a period of time instead of having to come up with all the cash at once.
27. Vehicle Maintenance
A broken car may mean missing work, so don’t let a car maintenance issue create financial problems for you.
Add a ‘vehicle maintenance’ category to your budget and move the money to a sinking fund each month to prepare for any mechanical issues, accidents, or inspection costs.
28. Vehicle Payment
Much like housing costs, vehicle payments can eat up a good chunk of your monthly budget. Be sure you’re prioritizing them before planning for less important costs in your budget.
How To Create a Monthly Budget You Can Actually Stick to
Budgets do not need to be scary and overwhelming. Instead, they are really quite simple; it is we who tend to over-complicate them. Follow this simple guide to creating a budget that actually works. How to Create a Simple Monthly Budget You Can Actually Stick to
3 Ways To Budget Your Fluctuating Income
Do you have an irregular income that makes it difficult to set a monthly budget that works? You know you need a budget, but every time you sit down and try to set one up, you probably get discouraged because of your fluctuating income, right? Here are three ways to nail budgeting when your income fluctuates. 3 Ways to Create a Budget With an Irregular Income
How To Create a Bare-Bones Budget During a Financial Crisis
When your finances are in crisis mode, it often calls for you to deviate from your normal budgeting routine and adjust your budget accordingly to protect you during uncertain financial times. One of the first steps to take is to create a bare-bones budget, here’s how to do it…How to Create a Bare-Bones Budget in a Financial Emergency
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