How Much Should I Be Spending a Month?

Just paying for life’s basic necessities can get expensive. If you’re adding up how much you spend on housing, groceries, and other essentials, you might be unsure of what your monthly spending should look like.

If you’re wondering how much you should be spending per month, this article will help you take a closer look.

How much you should be spending per month

There’s no singular value you should aim for when evaluating your monthly spending. However, if you want to see how your spending compares to other people’s, it might be helpful to take a look at some averages.

According to Ramsey Solutions, here are the average amounts different households spend on monthly expenses:

• Single-Person Household: $4,716 per month
• Married Couples (No Kids): $7,391 per month
• Married Couples With Kids: $8,809 to $9,780 per month

Keep in mind that these are nationwide averages. Depending on where you live, your expenses could be much lower or much higher. If you have children, their ages can also have a major impact on how much you spend.

If you’re wondering how much of your income should be going toward necessities versus going toward wants, the 50/30/20 budget is a good reference. It’s a popular budget for beginners because it’s simple and easy to follow. According to the 50/30/20 budget, you should aim for the following:

• 50% of your money goes toward needs
• 30% goes toward wants
• 20% goes to savings and paying off debt

If you can make it so that less than 50% of your money has to be put toward needs, that’s even better.

How much you should be spending per month by category

If you’re trying to get a better handle on your money, it’s a good idea to look at how much you’re spending by category. From there, you can work to decrease spending in certain areas. 

It can help to have some general guidelines for how much you should be spending per month in each area if you want to get started with this method:

• Housing: 25% to 30%
• Transportation: 10% to 15%
• Food: 10% to 15%
• Utilities: 5% to 10%
• Medical/Healthcare: 5% to 10%
• Debt: 10% to 20%
• Savings: 10% to 20%
• Miscellaneous: 1% to 10%

Now, let’s take a closer look at each category and what it includes.

Housing: 25% to 30%

When you think of paying for housing, your mind probably goes straight to your mortgage or rent payment. That’s a big part of paying for housing, but it’s not the only thing. 

If you own your home, the cost of housing could include repairs, maintenance, property taxes, HOA fees, and homeowners’ insurance. If you rent, it may include renters’ insurance.

Transportation: 10% to 15%

If you work from home or rarely need to travel, the transportation portion of your budget may be relatively small. However, if you have a long commute or are constantly driving your kids to and from activities, you may end up spending more.

Your transportation budget may include car payments, car insurance payments, and vehicle maintenance. If you take public transit, you’ll need to factor in the cost of public transit passes.

Food: 10% to 15%

This portion of your budget includes groceries and dining out. Some people prefer to track groceries and dining out separately. If you’re looking to save money, slashing your grocery budget may not be feasible. However, if you dine out a lot, going out less often may help you save.

Utilities: 5% to 10%

The cost of utilities may include bills for water, electricity, gas, trash service, sewer service, and internet. Unless you have a living arrangement where you pay a flat rate for utilities, this cost is likely to vary from month to month. Utility costs tend to go up in the summer and winter.

Medical/healthcare: 5% to 10%

This is another area of your budget that can vary widely. Your medical and healthcare spending may include some or all of the following:

• Health insurance premiums
• Medical co-pays
• Cost of prescriptions
• Cost of over-the-counter medications
• Gym memberships
• Wellness apps

Even if your medical and healthcare spending is fairly steady, an unexpected medical emergency may significantly increase costs.

Debt: 10% to 20%

With the cost of living increasing as much as it has, more people are relying on debt to get by. So if you have credit card debt, consolidation loans, or other kinds of debt, you’re not alone.

It’s generally wise to put 10% to 20% toward debt payments. If you’re trying to lower your debt quickly and you have a surplus of money one month, it’s not a bad idea to pay even more toward it.

Savings: 10% to 20%

Most experts recommend putting 10% to 20% of your income toward savings. That may include your emergency fund, your retirement account, your savings account, or a similar account for saving money.

Miscellaneous: 1% to 10%

You’ll always have some expenses that don’t fit neatly into a category. Generally, miscellaneous expenses shouldn’t make up more than 10% of your budget.

How to create a budget spreadsheet

Setting a budget is important, but so is making sure you stick to that budget. A simple budget spreadsheet can help you track your cash flow and see how closely your actual spending follows your budget.

Here’s how to do it:

• Open up a new spreadsheet and title it “monthly budget” or something similar
• Create an “income” column where you list all of your income sources
• In the column to the right, type the amount of money that came from that income source this month
• Put a “total” cell at the bottom so you can add up your total income
• Create a column for each expense category and include the total amount you’re budgeting for each one
• Put a “total” cell at the bottom so you can add up total expenses
• Create a column with the amount you actually spent on that category this month
• Subtract your total expenditures from your total income to determine your cash flow

Most spreadsheet apps will let you color-code sections and customize your budget spreadsheet to your liking. 

Need help tracking your spending?

Tracking your spending might seem like a small step, but it lays the foundation for better financial control. When you have access to the right tools, keeping track of your money becomes a lot simpler.

That’s where Grant Cash Advance might be able to help. We help customers access cash advances of $25 to $500 when needed, and we also offer an array of budgeting tools to help you track spending right from your phone.

Getting started with us just takes a few minutes, and it’s free to sign up. Create your account with us today!