21 common monthly expenses to include in your budget

Edited by: Brad Hanson
• Updated •6 min read
This date may not reflect recent changes in individual terms.
Two women sit on the couch with an open laptop, discussing finances.Image: Two women sit on the couch with an open laptop, discussing finances.

In a Nutshell

Monthly expenses can include items like rent, groceries and entertainment. While these expenses may be fairly easy to remember when budgeting, others might be easily forgotten. Here’s what else you might want to include in your monthly budget.
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Budgeting can be a great tool to work toward more financial freedom in the future, as well as to improve your financial situation in the present.

If you’ve budgeted before, you might already know to budget for monthly expenses like groceries, rent and other housing costs. Perhaps you’ve even used budgeting formulas, such as the 50/20/30 budgeting rule, which splits your finances into three main categories.

  • Essentials: 50% of your income
  • Savings: 20% of your income
  • Wants: 30% of your income

However, if you’re using a more nuanced formula, as you might with this online budget calculator, there are plenty of other small monthly expenses that might be all too easy to forget about.

That’s why we’ve compiled this list of monthly expenses to help you remember what to include in your budget.

  1. Rent
  2. Groceries
  3. Daily incidentals
  4. Irregular expenses and emergency fund
  5. Household maintenance
  6. Work wardrobe and upkeep
  7. Subscriptions
  8. Guests
  9. Travel expenses
  10. Memberships
  11. Prescriptions
  12. Pet care
  13. Bank account fees
  14. Parking
  15. Car registration
  16. Entertainment
  17. Birthdays
  18. Holiday gifts
  19. Charitable contributions
  20. Labor union dues 
  21. Child care

1. Rent

The first and possibly biggest monthly expense to consider is your rent or mortgage payment. Be sure to allocate a portion of your monthly income not only toward paying your rent or mortgage but also toward associated housing expenses like:

  • Water
  • Electricity
  • Gas
  • Sewage
  • Internet
  • Cable
  • Security systems
  • Trash 
housing-expenses-to-budget-forImage: housing-expenses-to-budget-for

2. Groceries

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Americans spent between $424 and $1,309 on food each month in 2022. Depending on your income, this can represent a significant monthly expense. 

To help keep food costs in a reasonable place, be sure to include this monthly expense in your budget.

If you struggle to afford food each month, you can also check local food banks and charities or see if you may qualify for food stamps through the Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program (SNAP). 

3. Daily incidentals

It might not seem as if you’re spending much money on small expenses like the occasional coffee or drink with friends. However, it’s still wise to include these costs in your budget. You can start by tracking your daily incidental spending for a few months. Then total your costs — and include an average spending amount in your monthly budget. 

4. Irregular expenses and emergency fund

It might feel difficult to budget for one-off expenses that you don’t know about in advance, but it’s still a good idea to have some money set aside for them in a savings or emergency fund. Emergencies happen, and having money budgeted for them can help alleviate some of the stress when the unexpected occurs.

Don’t forget to budget for irregular expenses you know about in advance — like a wedding or college fund. Even if you can only occasionally set aside money, you may be grateful for it in the future.

5. Household maintenance

Household maintenance is another living expense to consider. Consider possible expenses, like …

  • Household cleaners
  • Car wash costs
  • Replacing or repairing damaged appliances
  • Cleaning old or purchasing new furniture
  • Annual HVAC services
  • Gardening or landscaping work
  • Snow removal services
  • Pool maintenance

6. Work wardrobe and upkeep

If your workplace requires a certain wardrobe — like a suit or non-slip shoes — then budget for purchasing and maintaining these items. This can include budgeting for dry cleaning or shoe repair services.

7. Subscriptions

It’s possible to overlook subscriptions to music services, streaming services and online publications, so be sure to include them. Remember that you should also budget your phone and data usage to make sure your plan isn’t too costly for your needs.

8. Guests

If you have family or friends visiting you each summer or for the holidays, you may spend extra money at those times. This can include extra spending on groceries, laundry, transportation or entertainment when showing them around town.

You may want to account for this extra spending in your budget by putting a small amount of money away each month, even during the months you’re not going to have any visitors.

9. Travel expenses

You’ll want to budget for trips you take to visit family and friends. How much you budget depends on how you’ll be traveling, where and for how long. Figure out where you’ll be traveling and determine what the gasoline/train/flight costs will be. Also, be sure to budget for lodging and food.

Regarding vacations, you may find it easier to create a separate budget entirely because there are many more costs associated with longer trips.

10. Memberships

You might have to pay monthly fees if you’re a member of a gym or yoga studio. Remember to include these expenses in your budget. If you’re a gym member, you may also want to track how often you go. This can help you determine if your membership is worth the cost.

11. Prescriptions

If you have regular prescriptions, you may want to include these in your monthly budget. You may also want to budget for the costs of common medications like Tylenol, Advil and Claritin.

12. Pet care

Pets can be an important part of our lives, so be sure to budget for them. This can include planning for veterinary costs like vaccinations and checkups, as well as monthly costs like grooming and pet food. You can also budget for toys, waste bags, bedding, collars and leashes.

13. Bank account fees

Your bank may charge fees for low balances, ATM withdrawals, account maintenance and overdrafts. Include these costs in your budget. Tracking these fees can help you see where you can save money each month. You may even find that switching to a different bank will result in fewer fees.

14. Parking

Parking is another monthly expense that might be easy to forget about. If you’re commuting to work, you might have to pay for parking now and then, or perhaps you’ve signed up for a monthly parking plan at your job or at a parking structure. Include these expenses in your budget.

15. Car registration

Some people might budget for gasoline costs but forget to budget for car registration. In some states, car registration can be hundreds of dollars, so you’ll want to account for it in your budget.

16. Entertainment

It may feel difficult to budget for entertainment because these expenses might be irregular or spontaneous. One method is to itemize all your living expenses, determine how much money you have left over, and set aside a portion for entertainment. If you don’t use your entire entertainment budget each month, you can save the extra money or roll it over to the next month.

However, don’t feel as if you can’t give yourself a healthy budget for entertainment. Saving money might feel too restrictive if you don’t allow yourself to spend on fun items as well.

17. Birthdays

Even if you prefer your birthday celebration to be more modest, you might want to spend some money on a cake or a nice bottle of wine. You can also keep some money in the budget for friends’ birthdays — whether for buying gifts or spending a fun night out together. 

18. Holiday gifts

Holidays may sometimes feel taxing because of the financial strain from gift-giving. If this resonates with you, you may be able to make holidays less stressful by budgeting for gifts in advance. Estimate how much you typically spend on gifts around the holidays, and then divide by 12: that’s how much money you’ll want to put away each month.

You can also choose to spend your holiday gift budget on experiences instead — like taking your family on a vacation to make memories together.

holiday-giftsImage: holiday-gifts

19. Charitable contributions

If you’re altruistically inclined, feel free to make room in your monthly budget for a charitable donation. Make a list of your favorite charitable or religious organizations you may want to donate to monthly or annually.

20. Labor union dues

You might not pay much attention to this budget item if your dues come out of your wages, but if they don’t, you might want to include them in your budget. You can include them as an additional expense or subtract them from your income.

21. Childcare

If you work full-time, you might need to pay for day care, a babysitter or some other form of childcare. Remember to budget for any fixed monthly expenses as well as possible variable expenses. For example, some day care facilities might require you to reapply to enroll each year, and applications may come with a fee. If you pay child support or alimony, you can also budget for it within this category.

What’s next: Review your budget monthly

Once you make a budget of all your monthly expenses, review it from month to month. You may find that your expenses change or that you find new ways to cut back and save additional money.

Paying your bills on time can also help you build your credit in some cases. A good credit score can help you in the future. 

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