Think about each of these categories. Calculate your monthly expenses for each category below, and complete the following table. It might help you to think about items on a weekly basis and then multiply by 4 to calculate a monthly budget amount. Remember, if you are not comfortable with sharing real numbers, you can do this as a hypothetical experience with realistic estimates.

Budgeted Category	Examples	Budgeted Amount
Housing	Rent or mortgage payment	$
Food	Groceries, lunches, coffees, dinners out, etc.	$
Transportation	Gas, auto care, parking, tolls, etc.	$
Basic utilities	Phone, electricity, water, Internet, etc.	$
Insurance	Health, auto, home, and life insurance	$
Child care	Day care, babysitting, college tuition, etc.	$
Travel	Airfare, hotels	$
Entertainment	Sporting events, dinners out, movies, and memberships	$
Personal care	Haircuts, massages, etc.	$
Savings	General savings, saving for car, college, wedding, etc.	$
Other		$

Step 3: Categorizing Needs, Wants & Savings (15 points)

Based on the 50/30/20 strategy, expenses can be needs or wants. However, some categories may not easily fit in with needs or wants. For example, daycare may be a need, but babysitting for date night may be a want. For each category, break down the total budgeted (in Step 2 above) into needs and wants.

Budgeted Category	Budgeted Amount (Step 3)	Amount toward Need	Amount toward Want
Housing	$	$	$
Food	$	$	$
Transportation	$	$	$
Basic Utilities	$	$	$
Insurance	$	$	$
Child care	$	$	$
Travel	$	$	$
Entertainment	$	$	$
Personal Care	$	$	$
Savings	$
Other	$	$	$

Step 4: Calculation of Needs, Wants & Savings (12 points)

Sum your category totals below:

Transfer those subtotals for the categories in the following table.

	Sub-Total
Needs	$
Wants	$
Savings	$