Expense categories for a family: a list that does not balloon
A working list of expense categories for a family: 8–15 top-level, subcategories by decisions, without 80 labels in the first month.
An overly detailed category tree is a common reason to quit tracking. At the start a family needs 8–15 top-level labels; subcategories appear where there is a decision fork.
Fixed vs variable
Housing, connectivity, minimum debt payments — almost fixed. Food, cafes, transport, entertainment — variable. The split helps see what can actually be cut in a bad month.
Needs / wants
The same baskets as in the 50/30/20 method: not necessarily separate folders in the app — it is enough to agree which items are “needs” and which are “wants.”
Starter list
- Food / groceries
- Home and utilities
- Transport
- Connectivity and subscriptions
- Health
- Cafes and delivery
- Kids / school
- Clothes
- Entertainment
- Gifts and holidays
- Debts and loans
- Savings / goals
Subcategories
Add a subcategory when a decision appears: “groceries at home” vs “delivery,” “gas” vs “taxi.” Do not split “food” into 12 shelves in the first week.
Irregular and annual
Car insurance, vacation, school, and policies blow up the month if you do not spread them. Create a separate item or savings jar and set aside a share each month.
CTA
Set up the tree in the Mini App: 8–12 top-level categories and one subcategory where you already argue about spending.