A budget category key sets the tone of what’s worthy of your hard-earned income.
How do I do this?
Print out this FREE budget category key, put in into your budget binder and let’s get started categorizing your expenses.
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I believe that having a KEY like this helps you keep this consistent.
Working on this organization system for my budget was mostly about simplifying my budget categories when tracking my spending.
In your budget, you may have one umbrella item titled “TRANSPORTATION” instead of breaking it down into smaller categories such as:
- Car payment
- Auto insurance
- Fuel
- Maintenance and repairs
- Licensing fees
- Public transportation
- Uber/taxi
Creating categories will give you powerful insight into where your money is going and spending areas that may need to be addressed.
I have a highlighter color for every single category I have so that it’s easy to spot when tracking my expenses.
Here are some budgeting categories that I highly recommend to help organize your budget.
Income
This includes any inflow of money.
Examples include:
- Employment income
- Bonus
- Tax refund
- Child support
- Side hustle
- Investment income
- Child support
- Money gift
Utilities
We all have bills to pay and these are the necessary services which you need for your daily living.
Examples:
- Electricity
- Water and sewer
- Internet
- Netflix
- Cable
- Phone
- Natural gas
- Water heater
- Trash
Savings
Money you stash away for any short-term or long-term goals.
Examples:
- Short-term savings (vacation, gifts, Christmas)
- Investments
- Retirement
- Children’s future
- College
- Wedding
- Retirement
Housing
When you have a home, you’re not only paying for rent/mortgage. There are other expenses involved.
Examples:
- Rent/mortgage
- Property taxes
- Home maintenance
- Home insurance
- HOA fees
Transportation
These are costs associated with paying to physically get from point A to point B.
Examples:
- Car payment
- Car insurance
- Uber/taxi
- Fuel
- Public transportation
- Parking
- Licensing fees
- Maintenance & repair
- Car wash
Debt
Any sort of money you owe to anyone becomes a liability.
Examples:
- Credit card
- Interest
- Student loans
- Lines of credit
- Car loan
- Funds borrowed from friends/family
- Medical bills
Food
Everyone needs to include this as a budget category. The difference is the amount. Some people spend the most money here, others are extreme coupon-ers. This category is definitely the biggest problem area for most of us when it comes to budgeting.
Example:
- Groceries
- Organic food
- Eating out
- Coffee
- Date night
Personal care
This category can vary for many of us.
Examples:
- Nails
- Hair-cuts
- Toiletries
- Laundry supplies
- Clothes
- Shoes
- Medication
- Health insurance
- Décor
Fun
You need some sort of balance while budgeting. Budget in things that bring you joy!
Examples:
- Magazine subscriptions
- Parties
- Trips
- Bowling
- Theatres/Movies
- Concerts
Business/Education
Costs of operating your business or education can add up
Examples:
- Courses
- School supplies
- Business trips
- Self-development courses
- Membership fees
- Advertisements
- Freight/delivery
Child care
Children are expensive. Include anything here that is for your child.
Example:
- Allowance
- Daycare
- Child support
- Diapers
- Formula
- Babysitter
Giving
Our generation sometimes get so caught up in their busy lives that they forget to give back to the community. Finding a charity to donate to that is close to your heart is important, it will make you feel good about what you are doing and no matter how small the amount it that you are giving, you will make a difference.
Examples:
- Tithe
- Charity
- Donation
- Helping a friend/family
Miscellaneous
Anything not already mentioned and don’t really fit in your original categories.
Examples:
- Pet care
- Random expenses
- Unexpected expenses
Are your budget categories working for you?
For example: Putting Netflix under Utilities works better for me than a separate “Entertainment” category.
There are no rules here, do what works for YOU in your Budget Category key!
Make sure YOU understand it and are getting the information you need to make better changes in the future when it comes to your budget.
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What budget categories am I missing? Let me know down below!
