I am curious what categories others use in their budget forecasting. At first I had too many items and have consolidated somewhat and wondering what others do.
Currently we have
Mandatory 'predictable" items - these are ones where we can't reduce & know the amount
- mortgage
- health insurance
- school expenses
- property tax
- groceries
- cable, internet, phone
- utilities
- insurance
- gas/car maint
Mandatory "unpredictable"
- health above insurance premium
- home maintenance
Discretionary - things we could cut back on if we needed to
- travel
- HSA contribution
- shopping
- car sinking fund
- gym memberships
- eating out
- entertainment
- kid spending
- charity
- spending cash
How do you categorize things so you can project spending going forward?
Currently we have
Mandatory 'predictable" items - these are ones where we can't reduce & know the amount
- mortgage
- health insurance
- school expenses
- property tax
- groceries
- cable, internet, phone
- utilities
- insurance
- gas/car maint
Mandatory "unpredictable"
- health above insurance premium
- home maintenance
Discretionary - things we could cut back on if we needed to
- travel
- HSA contribution
- shopping
- car sinking fund
- gym memberships
- eating out
- entertainment
- kid spending
- charity
- spending cash
How do you categorize things so you can project spending going forward?