By Christi Posner
Fixed expenses, savings expenses, and variable costs are the three categories that make up your budget, and are vitally important when learning to manage your money properly. When you’ve committed to living on a budget, you must know how to put your plan into action.
Once you’ve created your budget and you’re ready to take it off of the paper and play it out, you will need to divide it into three categories. First, learn the difference between fixed, variable, and savings costs, and then grab 3 different coloured highlighters and begin going through your budget, line by line.
Fixed Expenses – Definition, Examples and Lists
The definition of fixed expenses is “any expense that does not change from period to period,"such as mortgage or rent payments, utility bills, and loan payments. The amounts may vary slightly, which may be the case with utilities, but you know they are due on a regular basis. Here is a list of categories to include in your fixed expenses:
- Mortgage(s)
- Rent
- Property taxes (if paying monthly)
- Strata fee / condo fee
- House / tenant insurance
- Utility bills (cable, cell, electricity, water, etc.)
- Lease / car loan payment
- Vehicle insurance (if paying monthly)
- Life / Disability / Extended health (or other) insurance
- Bank fees
- Debt payments for your debt repayment plan
Savings Expenses – How to Save Money and What to Save For
Learning how to save money is as simple as first figuring out what expenses you need to save for, and then simply getting the money out of your hands. There are two types of savings categories that you need to save for, irregular expenses and goal-oriented savings.
Irregular Expenses – How to Budget Your Money Properly
Irregular expenses are costs that come up throughout the year, that you need to budget your money properly for or else you’ll find yourself reaching for a credit card when those expense comes up. You must save for these expenses in advance, and not feel guilty when you spend the money. Consider it “planned spending.” Examples of irregular expenses include:
- Property taxes (if paying quarterly or annually)
- House insurance (if paying annually)
- Vehicle insurance (if paying quarterly or annually)
- Clothing & shoes (if you shop once or twice per year)
- Health expenses
- Vet bills
- Gifts
- Vehicle maintenance
Goal-Oriented Savings – Save for Retirement, Education, Down Payment, Trip or Emergencies
If you have a goal of saving for retirement, education, a down payment on a home, a trip or for emergencies (which should absolutely be a goal), make sure you have included these goal-oriented savings in your budget.
Simply figure out how much you need to save, when you need to save it by, and divide by the number of months you have left until that date. This will indicate how much you need to save each month. These types of savings are not meant to be touched until that event happens.
Variable Costs – Definition and Examples
The definition of variable costs can differ, but we like to define them as anything you can buy in a store (for example groceries, gas, or coffee) or expenses that are within your control. You can decide how much and if you will spend on these items. Here is a list of what you can include in your variable expenses category:
- Groceries
- Personal care items (drugstore)
- Fuel / public transportation costs
- Parking
- Clothing & shoes
- Daycare
- Work lunches & snacks
- Eating out
- Entertainment
- Tobacco / alcohol
- Lottery
- Babysitting
- Sports & recreation, other hobbies
- Hair care / salon services
- Magazines / newspapers / books
- Children’s lessons and activities
| As another way to help making budgeting simpler and more fun, we've created a personal budget template that guides you through the budgeting process. It lets you know what "normal" expenses would be for your financial situation, and once you're done, it can review your budget and look for dozens of ways to help you improve it or save money. |
Extra Expenses – Are They Fixed, Savings, or Variable Costs?
If you find an extra expense in your budget and you’re not sure if you should put it under the fixed, savings, or variable costs, simply ask yourself these questions:
- Does this expense occur often, regularly and not change? (Fixed)
- Do I buy it from a store? Can I control how much I spend on this? (Variable)
- Should I be saving for this item in advance? (Savings)
Sometimes expenses will fit into more than one category and if that happens, you can choose where you feel the cost belongs in your budget.
How Will Fixed, Savings and Variable Costs Help Me Learn How To Budget My Money Properly?
Separating your budget into fixed expenses, savings expenses, and variable costs will help you organize your bank accounts and manage your money properly. If you’re ready to start saving, paying all of your bills on time and spending within your means, then learn the next step, how to set up your bank accountsand put your budget into action!
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