Budget Categories - How to tag your spending

I have just been using my YNAB (You Need A Budget www.youneedabudget.com) software to grab the bank statements and categorize last month?s spend, and also my lovely lady has just started back at work after number two son so we will now have a little extra money to consciously spend in our plan.

Now as I have been categorizing my spending as I have gone through life I would say they are different approaches which I try to describe below:-

1. The shopping list approach that list all possible spending and is a good place to start but not very helpful in figuring out where to save.
2. Then you have accounting mumbo jumbo of fixed and variable costs. Which I still struggle to get my head around when it come to relating my real life living costs to.
3. The we start to get more helpful in the NEEDs (Mandatory) versus WANTs (discretionary), what we view as a NEED is something that we must have to live so as Dave Ramsey calls it the four walls (something like food, shelter, clothing, utilities and transport) after that you have your WANTs (in the form of saving and fun money). [link http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2011/02/06/reader-story-how-to-find-budgeting-nirvana-with-mint-com/ Instead of Mint.com have a look at Money Dashboard,  WeHuHu and LoveMoney as they are focused on the UK market],  for more on Dave Ramseys check out http://www.daveramsey.com/tools/budget-lite/

It interesting that in the how to be happy videos it talks about spending the fun money on experiences and not things, as making memories make us more happy.

How To Be Happy (Finding Happiness)

I have tried various budgets? categories and these are the ones I have just updated to, the idea is to track the WANTs and area you want to keep an eye on at the top of your budget and then the things like paying the rent/mortgage which you have to do is low down and is a need. [for more details on wants versus needs have a read of http://www.fiscalfizzle.com/2009/06/needs-wants-budget/]:-

Categories & Tags
WANTS
cashMisc
personal
giftsFamily
giftsFriends
sports&cubs
entertainmentFunStuff
ONE-OFFS
holiday
xmas
lumpyIrregularStuff
DEBT
debt
SAVINGS
kids
longterm
emergency
NEEDS
food
rentOrMortgage
clothes
householdBills
diy&garden
carCosts
fuel
health
childCare
shoolCosts
misc
INCOME
incomeAvalibleTHISmonth
incomeAvalibleNEXTmonth

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/10/27/the-balanced-money-formula/

Next is Martin Lewis Shopping list approach to spending plan (Budget) [http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/Budget-planning] I have a copy of the original excel spread sheet he had if you prefer it to the on-line tool that is now offered, drop me a line.
HOME
Mortgage/Rent:
Buildings & Contents Insurance:
Bank Account Fee:
Overdraft Cost:
Council Tax:
Water Rates/Meter:
Gas
Electricityÿ
Oil
Household Maintenance:
Garden Maintenance
Cleaning Products/Cleaner
Home Phone
Internet
TV Licence
Mobile Phone

INSURANCE
Level Term
Mortgage Payment Protection
Mortgage Term
Pet
Travel
Gas & Plumbing/Boiler Cover

EATS, DRINKS & SMOKES
Food and Household Shopping
Eating Out
Coffees/Sandwiches/Snacks
Drinks for Home
Drinking Out
Smokes
Meals at work

TRANSPORT & TRAVEL
Breakdown Cover/Roadside Recovery
Rail/Bus/Coach/Taxi
Car Maintenance
Car Insurance
Car Tax
Parking
Petrol/Diesel

CARD & LOAN REPAYMENTS
Car Loan Repayments
Personal Loan Repayments
HP Repayments
Credit Card Repayments

SAVINGS & INVESTMENTS
Regular Savings
Lump Sum Savings
Mini Cash ISAs
Investments
Buying Shares
Pension Payments

FAMILY
Childcare/Play Schemes
Baby Sitting
Children's Travel
Laundry/Dry Cleaning
Nappies/Baby Extras
Pocket Money
School Meals
School Trips
Pet Food

FUN & FROLICS
DVD/Video Rental
IT/Computing (eg Anti-virus etc)
Hobbies
Pet Costs
Shopping for Fun
Big Days Out
Books/Music/Films/Computer Games
Cinema/Theatre Trips
Family Days Out
Satellite/Digital TV Subscription

HEALTH & BEAUTY
Fitness/Sports/Gym
Private Medical Insurance
Dental Insurance
Healthcare Cashplans
Beauty Treatments
Dentistry
Haircuts
Optical Bills
Complimentary Therapies

CLOTHES
New Clothes
New Children's Clothes
Work Clothes

EDUCATION & COURSES
Your Courses
School Fees
University Tuition Fees

BIG ONE OFFS
Christmas
Summer Holiday
Winter Holiday
Birthdays
Sofa/Kitchen/TV
Wedding Expenses
Funeral Expenses

ODDS & SODS
Regular Charity Donations
Tax & NI Provisions (self-employed only)
Newspapers & Magazines

Here is what I ended up with after customizing the long shopping list?

HOME
Bank Account Fee
Mortgage / Rent
Buildings & Contents Insurance
Council Tax
Water Rates / Meter
Water Softner
Gas Bill
Electricity Bill
Home Phone Bill & internet
Internet Bill
Mobile Phone Bill(s)
Cleaner
Garden Maintenance
Window Cleaner
repay tax
Other Home
HOME TOTAL

INSURANCE
Decreasing Term Assurance (R)
Level Term Assurance (R&G)
Private Medical Insurance
Travel Insurance
Other Insurance
INSURANCE TOTAL

EATS, DRINKS & SMOKES
Food & Household Shopping
Meals at Work
EATS TOTAL

TRANSPORT & TRAVEL
Breakdown cover
Car Maintainence
Car Insurance
Car Tax
Parking
Petrol / Diesel / Gas
Other Transport
TRANSPORT TOTAL

SAVINGS & INVESTMENTS
Zac's CTF
Theo's CTF
Other Savings / Investments
SAVINGS TOTAL

FAMILY
Childcare / Play Schemes
Baby Sitting
School related/support
Other Family
FAMILY TOTAL

ENTERTAINMENT
Eating Out
Kids Activities
Fitness / Sports / Gym
Big Days Out
Book / Music / Films / Games
Cinema / Theatre Trips
TV License
Other Fun
FUN TOTAL

BIG ONE OFFS
Cost of Christmas
Cost of Winter Holiday
Cost of Summer Holiday
Cost of Birthdays
Furniture / Furnishing / Fixtures
Household
Household Maintenance (DIY)
Other big one off things
BIG ONE OFF TOTAL

CLOTHES
Clothes and Shoes
Other Clothes
CLOTHES TOTAL

EDUCATION & COURSES
Tuition Fees
Subscriptions
EDUCATION TOTAL

ODDS & SODS
Cash
Health
Doctors Perscriptions
Dentistry
Haircuts
Optical Bills
Other Odds & Sods
ODDS TOTAL

YNAB default categories or tags as they are sometimes called:-

Charity
Tithing
Other

Food
Groceries
Restaurants

Home
Mortgage/Rent
Electricity
Garbage
Water
Phone & Internet
Maintenance & Repaire
House/rental insurance

Personal
Health Insurance
Life Insurance
Doctors, Dentist
Prescriptions, Medicine
Gifts
Misc

Recreation
His
Hers
Entertainment
Vacation

Transportation
Car Payment
Fuel
Car Insurance
Repairs & Maintenance

Savings
Retirement
Emergency Funds

I was using the following in YNAB but you can see they are very similar to the defaults for more ideas have a look at http://www.youneedabudget.com/forum/ynab-f38/care-share-your-categories-t13174.html

Child Costs
School
Other

Food
Groceries
Restaurants

Home
Bills
DIY
Household
Other

Personal
Bithdays
Clothes
Gifts
Health
Other
Sports, Clubs and Subs
Xmas

Recreation
Entertainment
Vacation

Savings
Kids
Retirement
Emergency Funds

Spending Money
Cash

Transportation
Car Costs
Fuel

And if there was ever a budget shopping list to put you off how about this from the UK government official financial advisors http://yourmoney.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/tools/budget_planner.html:-

Income
1. Pay (after tax)
2. State pension
3. Work / personal pension
4. Benefits
5. Tax credits
6. Child maintenance
7. Savings / investment income
8. Student loan / grant
9. Other financial support
10. Gifts
11. Rental income
Household bills
1. Mortgage
o Monthly payment
o Mortgage endowment etc.
o Life insurance
o Payment protection
2. Rent
3. Building / contents insurance
4. Council tax
5. Electricity
6. Gas
7. Water
8. Home phone
9. Internet / broadband
10. TV licence
11. Satellite / digital TV
12. Ground rent
13. Service charge
14. Home / garden maintenance
15. One-off items
Living costs
1. Food
2. Household shopping
3. Lunches / snacks
4. Take-aways
5. Alcohol at home
6. Cigarettes / tobacco
7. Mobile phone
8. Newspapers / magazines
9. Clothes & shoes
10. Hairdressing / beauty
11. Cleaning / laundry
12. Eye-care
13. Dental care
14. Medical costs
15. Medical / dental insurance
16. One-off items
Financial products
1. Bank interest & charges
2. Savings & investments
3. Pension contributions
4. Loan repayments
5. Loan payment insurance
6. Credit card repayments
7. Credit card insurance
8. Hire purchase payments
9. Life insurance
10. Income protection insurance
11. Critical illness insurance
12. Long term care plan
13. Financial / legal advice
14. Funeral plan
Family & friends
1. Children
o Childcare
o School costs
o Activities & clubs
o Toys & treats
o Pocket money
o Maintenance payments
2. Support for student children
3. Support for other relatives
4. Pets
o Food etc.
o Vet bills
o Insurance
5. Donations / sponsorships
Travel
1. Car / motor bike
o Fuel
o Maintenance & repairs
o Road tax
o Insurance
o Loan / finance agreement
o Loan insurance
o Breakdown cover
o Parking
2. Bus / tube / tram fares
3. Trains
4. Taxis
5. Air travel
Leisure
1. Birthdays
2. Christmas
3. Other festivals / celebrations
4. Meals out
5. Going out / social life
6. Music / film
7. Sport / gym
8. Lottery / gambling
9. Hobbies
10. Days out
11. Holidays
12. Travel insurance

In summary I think the fewer categories the better, as you will be able to tell what they are what you want to know is 'Is this money going to my daily living NEEDs?' or 'Is this guilt free FUN money to get the things I WANT?' Budgets (or should I say conscious spending plans) are very personal but I would suggest that you have a look at a few examples to see what will help you make money decisions.