Ideally, you’ll want to build an emergency fund that’s earmarked for unexpected expenses, as well as saving in a retirement account such as a 401(k) or IRA. This often-overlooked (or dare we say, underfunded?) home budget category is arguably the most important - it can really set you up for financial health down the road. Saving, Investing, & Debt Payments (10-20 percent) If you don’t have a separate budget category for insurance, remember to include your health insurance premiums here, too.
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Households may also factor in their “connectivity” expenses, like cell phone bills and internet expenses. Utilities generally include your gas, electricity, water, and sewage bills. This category covers all the expenses that keep your essential household services up and running. If this is a bigger part of your budget than the national average, you might want to put some of your non-essential food expenses (like gourmet foods or wine) into one of the non-essential categories below.
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Many budgeters include grocery shopping and dining out in this category (e.g., restaurant meals, work lunches, food delivery, etc.) Whether you’re grocery shopping and cooking at home or sampling the local culinary scene, you’ll need to account for food expenses. Typically, this budget category includes car payments, registration and DMV fees, gas, maintenance, parking, tolls, ridesharing costs, and public transit. Regardless of your location or lifestyle, everyone needs to get from point A to point B. For most budgeters, this category is by far the biggest. This includes everything from rent or mortgage payments to property taxes, HOA dues, and home maintenance costs. The amount you pay to have a roof over your head constitutes a housing cost. You can adjust up or down to fit your actual take-home pay. Here’s a list of essential home budget categories based on an average budget of $3,564 per month. If you live anywhere else, you’ll have a bit more to work with, but we’ll use that as our average. For people who live in California, your actual take-home pay is about $42,768 after taxes, or $3,564 per month.
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Assembling your home budget categoriesĪll monthly budgets start with your disposable income - the amount of money you take home from your paycheck after taxes, retirement savings, and other deductions.Īccording to the US Bureau of Labor, the current American salary in 2024 is $53,490 per year, but that’s before taxes. It also offers suggestions for how much of your income you can contribute to each category. This guide reviews a list of budget categories found in a basic household budget. Once you’ve identified your basic budget categories, you can start allocating your spending based on your own individual financial circumstances. The first step involves breaking down your regular expenses into budget categories to get a clear picture of your spending patterns (including areas where you tend to overspend).
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A solid budget can help you take control of your finances and use your money with real purpose, so you have enough to pay your bills, grow your savings, and still enjoy life today. A budget is really just a plan for your money.