Family Budget Categories Amounts

I have a ton of budget posts talking about how great a budget is, how it can free you from feelings of financial guilt.  I even posted my family’s actual budget.

But that’s me, and it’s not you.  It’s so hard to just stare at a bank paper and then try to make a budget out of it — one that you can live by.  The living by it is the thing that you need to emphasize.  There is NO REASON to make a budget that you literally can not do.  Check out my post about advice for that one.

First off, I thought this post that shows a lot of different advice on budget percentages.  I compared it to my own budget, and it comes out pretty similar.

Our own budget is pretty hard to do because our income varies so much.  Do the rest of you have pretty consistent income, or does it vary a lot?

For us, it’s really important to have a good budget that allows all our needs (and a few wants), so that we can flux when the income is high (put money in savings because we’re not over-spending) and stay strict to the budget during lean times (and possibly withdrawing from savings).

For us — ours looks like this:

• Mortgage & HOA 29%
• Utilities (which includes cell, water, trash, internet, TV (Netflix, Electric) 10%
• Insurance (includes car, life and health) 21% {sigh}
• Charity 10%
• Health Savings 3%
• Groceries 15%
• Household needs 1%
• Gas 5%
• Dating 2%
• Personal Money/Allowance 3%
• Wiggle Room 1%

I did a deep dive into this when I initially wrote this post in 2016, but the numbers are fairly the same — I’ve noted below if they’ve changed.

Let’s dive into a few ways to save in each of those areas:

Mortgage & HOA 29%

Most people say to keep your home under 30% of your budget, but I have to be honest that when we lived in California it was closer to 50%.

Of course, make sure you have:

• A good mortgage rate
• Use an insurance broker to make sure you’re getting the best rate on your homeowners insurance.

Utilities (which includes cell, water, trash, internet, TV (Netflix, Electric) 10%

Sure, you can not use your A/C or heat, or limit showers to 5 minutes — but this category often just “is what it is.”

I do think it’s smart to call your cell phone or internet provider now and then, maybe try to cancel and see if there’s a better plan they can offer you — but sometimes you’re on the best rate.

Man, when we had cable TV I bet this was more, but we really like to pick a couple of streaming services and rotate among the ones we like.

I think a lot of people get stuck always having Netflix, when we have a few through our cell phone bill and then rotate among Max, Apple TV and Netflix to always have something new to watch.

I love what my dad and I had to say about streaming services in this podcast (he’s an economics professor).

Insurance (includes car, life and health) 21% {sigh}

Health insurance can really tackle a family. I know this percentage is higher than it is now.

We actually switched to using a healthshare which lowered this a LOT.

We also have a couple of young drivers on our car policies which raised those a bit (not to mention a tiny accident).

Again, make sure you’re using a broker to make sure you have the right pricing…

BUT, if lowering your health insurance bill might help, check out these posts:

• Is a Health Share Right for You? Discover If You’re a Good Fit.
• Zion Healthshare Reviews & Why Left Liberty Healthshare
• Finding a HealthShare for Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
• How Does a Healthshare Work? with Heather Eden from Zion Healthshare
• Using a Direct Primary Care Membership with Dr Bradley Shumway

Charity 10%

We give 10% of our income to various charities. There’s a lot of good our dollar bills can go to elsewhere.

Health Savings 3%

We USED to put money into an HSA each month towards healthcare. We aren’t allowed to do it anymore because, currently, you can’t use an HSA with a Health Share. It’s annoying, and I’m sure groceries has gobbled this line item.

Groceries 15%

The more teens we’ve had I’d guess this number is a bit higher.

Shop the ads, try to coupon, try to pick meals that are cheaper. We all know how to save on this one, it’s just that beans and rice doesn’t really satisfy….

Household needs 1%

This is stuff like clothes, fixing small things around the house….

We contribute to a “household improvement” fun with some of our excess cash each month that is sitting there for big things — like a new roof, etc.

Gas 5%

Gas really just is what it is. Plus the price seems to vary quite a bit. We try to combine trips and use the most gas-efficient car as often as we can.

Dating 2%

Now that we don’t have little kids at home we don’t date as much but as I’m looking at this category we should. We should date more, it will save us from the cost of a divorce lawyer. 🙂

Personal Money/Allowance 3%

We each get a little money to just use on our own, and we do pay our kids (under 18) allowance each month. Instead of giving them money time to time to do things with friends we give them a lump sum once a month they can budget.

Those are life skills they’re definitely going to need soon!

Wiggle Room 1%

I tend to fund the month (because we pre-fund our budget) a little over what we ACTUALLY need in the budget.  I feel a little less tight that way.

And somehow, when I feel less tight I think I spend less.

But, that’s me.  You’ll have to decide if you just want to fund that account to the dollar.

Again, I think it’s SO important to be honest about what we’re spending.  It’s important to be honest with YOURSELF and I’m happy to share with you what we spend.  Between my data and the %’s listed in that post above, it should give you a great idea for yourself.

Make a budget, it will free you.

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