Budget Categories List for Beginners (With Examples)

By Cedar & Ledger

The hardest part of a first budget is often the blank page: what do you even call the lines? Too few categories and everything lands in "other." Too many and you stop filling them in. A short list of plain categories, grouped the way money actually leaves your account, is enough to start.

The amounts below are a made-up example to show the idea, not a recommended budget. This is general information, not financial advice. Your categories and numbers will look different.

Quick checklist

• ☐ Start from the full list below
• ☐ Cross out anything you never pay
• ☐ Merge small lines that don't need their own row
• ☐ Keep savings as its own category
• ☐ Add one "other" line, and only one
• ☐ Aim for about 10-16 categories to start
• ☐ Put a planned amount next to each one

The steps below walk through each one.

Step 1: Start from a full list

Here's a common set of budget categories, grouped so it's easy to scan:

• Home: rent or mortgage, utilities (power, water, gas), renter's or home insurance
• Getting around: gas or transit, car insurance, car upkeep, parking
• Food: groceries, eating out and coffee
• Bills and debt: phone and internet, subscriptions, minimum debt payments
• Savings: emergency fund, money for yearly costs (car registration, gifts, renewals)
• Personal: personal care, clothing, fun and hobbies
• Giving and gifts: birthdays, holidays, donations
• Other: small things that don't fit anywhere else

Step 2: Cross out what you never pay

If you don't have a car, the whole "getting around" group might be one line: transit. If your rent includes utilities, drop utilities. Fewer lines you actually use beat a long list you skip.

Step 3: Merge small lines

If something is under about $20 a month for you, it may not need its own row. Parking can go under gas, coffee under eating out, streaming under subscriptions. You can always split a line later if it gets big.

Step 4: Keep savings as its own category

Savings is a line you plan, not whatever is left at the end. Even $25 counts. If you have yearly costs, a separate "yearly costs" line (a sinking fund) keeps them from becoming surprises; Sinking Funds Explained shows how.

Step 5: Add one "other" line

One "other" line catches the odd purchase. If it keeps getting big, look at what's in it and give the repeat items their own category.

Step 6: Aim for about 10-16 categories

That's enough to see where money goes without making the budget a chore. Here's a made-up example with 16 categories on $2,600 a month take-home pay:

Step 7: Put a planned amount next to each one

Use last month's bank and card statements to fill in realistic numbers, then compare what you actually spent at the end of the month. How to Make Your First Budget walks through that in about 30 minutes, and How to Track Spending Without an App helps fill in the "actual" side.

Common snags

• Thirty categories on day one. Start small and split later.
• No savings line. Leftovers rarely happen on their own.
• A huge "other." Give repeat items their own row.
• Category names you won't remember. Use plain words like "Groceries," not "Food 2."

A free sheet to start with

Paper works. If you'd like a sheet that does the math, the free Starter Budget Sheet (pay what you want, $0 is fine; Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice) has one monthly income line and room for up to 16 categories with planned, actual and the difference for each, plus a summary tab with what's left and a chart by category (details). It comes with 12 example categories you can rename or type over, and it doesn't connect to your bank or plan by paycheck. If you'd rather plan paycheck by paycheck, the Paycheck Budget Planner ($7) lays the plan out per paycheck (details).

Honest note: I make these templates as Cedar & Ledger. The Starter sheet is free; I'd earn only if you later buy a paid one. General information only, not financial advice.

Try the free 50/30/20 budget calculator →

Related template: read about the starter budget template

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