100+ Budgeting Categories to Get You Started on Tracking Your Spending
By: Kyle O'Hagan
Tags: Budget, Saving Money, Budgeting, Save Money, Money

If you’re new to budgeting, you may be overwhelmed as to what budgeting categories you should include when setting it up. If you’re anything like me, there almost always seems to be a category that you forget about. This can often throw things off and prevent you from fully tracking where your money is going each month.

Well, The Saving Scientist has done all the hard work for you. I’ve gathered over 130 of the most common budgeting categories to make creating a budget simpler, more efficient and relevant to your needs. You simply pick those categories that are relevant to your monthly expenses, and omit those that aren’t.

Briefly, the budgeting sub-categories are divided into 10 major categories under which they fall:

Income Housing Utilities Transport Food Children Travel & Entertainment Insurance & Medical Debt & Savings Personal & Miscellaneous

Budgeting Category 1 // Income

Your income category would include any and all money received over a particular time period, whether monthly or weekly. This could include:

Salary

Bonus

Passive Income

Side Hustle

Reimbursements

Returned Purchases

Child Support

Gifts

Alimony

Tips

Interest Income

Rental Income

Tax Returns

Budgeting Category 2 // Housing

Probably our biggest expense is the roof over our heads — whether that is through paying a mortgage or rent. But there are some other budgeting categories that fit under this theme:

Mortgage/Bond

Rent

Levies/HOA Fees

Maintenance & Repairs

Renovations

Property Taxes

Home Security

Appliances

Parking

Garden & Lawn Services

Cleaner

Refuse Fees

Budgeting Category 3 // Utilities

Next up is are the variable, but necessary expenses to keep things running smoothly from month to month. These include:

Electricity

Gas

Water & Sanitation

Internet

Cable/Digital Satellite

Phone Contract

Recycling

Budgeting Category 4 // Transport

This is likely your second biggest expense, after your home. Getting to and from work is necessary, but comes with a bunch of additional expenses that sometimes we neglect to acknowledge:

Gas/Fuel

Repairs

Servicing & Maintenance

Public Transport

Uber

Lyft

Taxi

Car Wash

Car Loan Payments

License Registration

License Disc Renewal

Parking

Oil Change

Tolls

Roadside Assistance

Traffic Fines

Budgeting Category 5 // Food

And the third leg of the major expense tripod is food. We spend a lot of money satiating our appetites. Here are a few categories that fall under it:

Groceries

Dining Out

Fast Food (Order-In)

Uber Eats

Coffee Shops (think Starbucks/Dunkin Donuts)

Hosting Guests

Donations

Baby Food

Budgeting Category 6 // Children

So this category won’t apply to everyone, but if you do happen to find yourself with two-legged terrors running around the house, you might need to budget for the following:

School Fees

School Uniform/Clothes

Extracurricular Activities

Daycare/After-Care

Tutors

School Supplies

Child Support

Babysitter

Baby Necessities (think nappies and bum cream)

Monthly Allowance (for those pesky teenagers)

Toys

Birthday Gifts

Christmas Gifts (because all the little ones still believe in Father Christmas)

Budgeting Category 7 // Travel & Entertainment

Okay, so the fun part. What do we get to spend our money on that we actually enjoy? Well, does anything on this list sound familiar?

Flights

Accommodation

Gas/Fuel

Travel Snacks

Wedding Gifts

Baggage Fees

Travel Insurance

Souvenirs

VISA Fees

Seat Upgrades

Bus/Train Pass

Travel Itinerary Activities (think trips to the Louvre or the elevator ride to the top of the Empire State Building)

Movies

Theatre

Concert Tickets

Dining Out

Alcohol

International Data Roaming

Duty-Free Purchases

Budgeting Category 8 // Insurance & Medical

Ah, the stuff no one likes to pay for, but often becomes necessary when Murphy strikes. Insurance & Medical is a category that some feel makes sense to compromise on. But, in the long-run, it’s important to make sure you’re covered for the unexpected:

Health Insurance

Household Insurance (to cover for those pesky thieves)

Vehicle Insurance (to cover yourself when an a**hole decides to reverse into you)

Dental Insurance (to cover your pretty smile after you’ve eaten too much candy or drunk too much beer)

Renter’s Insurance (to cover for those secret house parties)

Life Insurance

Disability Insurance

Income Insurance

Dread Disease Insurance

Pet Insurance (to cover your furry family members)

Gap Cover (to cover those exorbitant doctor’s fees)

Health Insurance Loyalty Programs

Deductibles

Excess Payments

Out-of-Pocket Medical Expenses

Prescription Drugs

Over-the-Counter Drugs

GP Visits

Budgeting Category 9 // Debt & Savings

Why would I group debt & savings into one category. Because this is the category that deals with your financial freedom. Ideally, you want to be getting rid of your debt, while increasing your savings. They are so intimately tied.

Here are a few categories worth including in your budget:

Credit Card(s)

Student Loan(s)

Personal Loan(s)

Medical Debt

Health Savings Account

Vehicle Loan

Retirement/Pension

Emergency Fund

Discretionary Investment(s)

College Savings Fund (for them kids)

Budgeting Category 10 // Personal & Miscellaneous

Now that I’ve covered most categories that might apply to almost everyone, this last category is more personal (hence the name). Here is where you’d track spending in categories that are unique to your lifestyle. Some examples include (but you’re more than welcome to add more):

Bank Charges

ATM Fees

Financial Advisor Fees

Lawyer

Tax Professional

Tithing

Donations

Pet Food

Veterinary Visits

Gym Memberships

Magazine Subscriptions

Amazon Prime

Netflix

Hulu

Spotify/Music Subscription Service

Cleaning Supplies

Beauty Products

Household Supplies

Haircut

Final Thoughts on Budgeting Categories

Starting a budget is complicated enough without having to figure out which budgeting categories you should use. I hope that this list has been helpful in identifying those budgeting categories that are relevant for your lifestyle and needs.

Were there any budgeting categories that I missed out on? Let me know in the comments below, as I’d love to update the list as time goes on.

If you’re ready to start budgeting, consider downloading our free Financial Starter Pack and Budget Breakdown Workbook, which provides you with a simple budgeting template, worksheets to navigate your goals and financial metrics and, finally, a workbook that guides you through all the right questions to ask when setting up a budget.