In every household book as an income-expenses tracker, all entries should be assigned a category. This enables a precise analysis of income and expenses. What recommended categories are there in a household book?
In a household book, the most important topics for categorization are: Living, Eating and Drinking, Communication, Transportation, Mandatory Contributions, Health, Leisure and Entertainment, Personal, Household and Garden, Banking, Pets, and Miscellaneous. The topics can be further divided into categories for detailed analysis if necessary.
My name is Marc and I have been keeping a household book since 2013. In this article, I want to show you the most important categories that you can use in your household book. At the end of the article, I will also show you exactly which categories I use in my household book.
Categories for a Household Book
Depending on the life situation, we have different incomes and expenses. I have organized the most important categories for a household book by topic:
Living:
- Rent
- Mortgage
- Operating costs (electricity, water, heating, garbage collection, sewer fee, household and building insurance)
- Renovation and maintenance
- Household equipment
Eating and Drinking:
- Groceries
- Eating out
Communication:
- Internet
- Mobile phone
- Postage and parcel fees
Transport:
- Car (purchase, repair, maintenance, tax, insurance)
- Fuel (gasoline, diesel, electricity, …)
- Parking and tolls
- Tickets for public transport
- Driving services (taxi, rideshares, private jet, …)
- Bicycle (accessories, maintenance, …)
Mandatory Contributions:
- Taxes
- Broadcasting contribution
- (Traffic) fines
Health:
- Doctor and treatment costs
- Health insurance
Leisure and Entertainment:
- Hobbies
- Vacation
- Going out
- Entertainment (Netflix, Disney, books, movies, …)
Personal:
- Clothing
- Education (books, audiobooks, courses, further education, tuition)
- Personal care (cosmetics, hairdresser, wellness)
Household and Garden:
- Household (furniture, appliances, garden supplies)
- Cleaning products
Banking:
- Bank fees
- Mortgage and interest payments
Pets:
- Pets (purchase costs, cages, toys, …)
- Vet and food
Miscellaneous:
- Miscellaneous: For all rare expenses for which having a separate category is not worth it
Not all categories are relevant for all people. Choose those categories for you that either occur regularly or in which significant amounts occur. For expenses that are very rare, unplanned and irregular, I have the category “Miscellaneous”.
The Categories of My Household Book
When I started with my household book in 2013, I used only a few categories to classify my expenses. Over time, the categories became more numerous and detailed. This allowed me to better understand where my money was going, and which sources of income were of particular importance.
Since I have been keeping a household book for many years now, my categories hardly change anymore. Here, I would like to share the list of my current expense and income categories with you:
Expense Categories:
- Groceries
- Eating Out
- Operating Costs
- Clothing
- Household
- Personal Care
- Education
- Communication
- Transportation
- Car
- Fuel
- Vacation
- Health
- Business
- House
- Electronics
- Banking
- Insurance
- Taxes
- Miscellaneous
Income Categories:
- Employment
- Business
- Family
- Other Income
Which Categories Do You Use?
The categories shown above already cover a large part of typical daily life. Which categories do you use in your income-expense tracker? Let me know your categories in the comments.
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