It basically guides you through the process of creating a budget and suggests spending amounts for every budgeting category listed above based on your income and family size. As you fill out the budget spreadsheet with your living expenses, it warns you if you are exceeding the guidelines in any area of your budget, and visually shows you how your spending falls into these guidelines. It also visually compares your spending in each category to these guidelines so that you can see how you're doing.

To make budgeting easier, we've now built these budgeting guidelines into an Excel Budgeting Calculator Spreadsheet.Īs you enter your living expenses, the interactive spreadsheet will calculate all the guideline numbers for you. In these cases, you will most likely exceed the suggested maximum guidelines for Food (if you live in the North) or Housing (if you live in Toronto or Vancouver). If you live in Canada's far north or in a city with extremely high home values, you may have to cut back more than an average Canadian would in certain categories in order to afford your higher living costs. Spending more in one category may mean that you'll have to cut back in another category to make your budget balance. Life is all about choices, but you can't choose the maximum amount in all spending categories. The guidelines are only recommended ranges. You may also notice that if you spend the maximum amount in every category, you'll exceed 100% of your income. Please know there is nothing wrong with exceeding this limit as long as your budget balances (your expenses don't exceed your income). However, if you have young children in daycare, take nice vacations, tithe, or have hobbies or recreational interests that aren't cheap, you'll quickly exceed the suggested maximum for this category. The guidelines suggest you spend 5 - 10% of your income in this category. The category in these guidelines that people will most commonly exceed is the Personal & Discretionary expense category. Don't rely on credit for these unexpected expenses. If finances aren't strained in your household, you can choose to be more relaxed and exceed the guidelines in areas as long as you're doing two things: 1) you're not spending more than you earn, and 2) you're allocating some money towards savings (savings are absolutely necessary for life's many unexpected expenses. These guidelines are designed for someone who really needs to put together a tight budget. Then you’ll have a little extra available when you need it.Įntertainment / recreation / tobacco/alcohol / eating out / gaming / hair cuts / hobbies Plan to save money for expenses that don’t occur every month, as well as for your future. Many people find that their budget is quite tight because their monthly debt payments are closer to 25% of their net income. Health care premiums / specialists / over-the-counter Phone / cell phone / gas / cable / internet Mortgage / taxes / strata / rent/ insurance / hydro If you have expenses such as high debt payments, childcare, school expenses or giving, you will need to reduce your spending in other areas to accommodate these higher expenses.īreakdown of Cost of Living Budgeting Categoriesīus / taxi / fuel / insurance / maintenance / parking To use these budgeting guidelines, start by developing your budget with the money you have available after government deductions from your pay cheque, but before voluntary deductions like RRSPs, pensions or other savings. Based on your income, family circumstances, and the part of the country you live in, your allocations may be very different. Below are some guidelines to give you a general idea and provide you with a starting point for your budget.

Many people often wonder how much of their income they should spend on their home, vehicle, groceries, clothes, etc. Budgeting Percentage Guidelines for Living Expenses | How Much to Budget for Cost of Living in Canada

Household budget items