 Budget Categories Category A category is a group of similar things. Similar means alike or the same. Budgets have categories like housing, food, and utilities. Clothing Another common budget category is clothing. Clothing means the clothes people wear. Clothing includes things like shirts, pants, skirts, and pajamas. Transportation Transportation is a way to move from place to place. Common forms of everyday transportation are cars, buses, and motorcycles. Transportation is also a budget category. Food Food means the plants and animals people eat. You eat food to give your body energy. Everyone needs to eat food. You should plan for food expenses in your budget. Housing Housing is a place where people live. Common types of housing include houses, apartments, and condominiums. Housing is a fixed monthly budget expense. Utilities Utilities are services. Electricity, telephone, and garbage collection are utilities. If you live in an apartment, utilities are sometimes included in your rent payment. Medical Many people have medical expenses. Medical means services or care from a doctor, clinic, or hospital. Medical costs may change each month and are a variable expense. Recreation Recreation means the things you do for fun. If you have extra money, you can budget for recreational activities like going out to dinner or to the movies. Percent A percent is a part of a 100. Sales discounts, like 25% off, and sales tax, 9.5%, are calculated using percents. Budgets use percents to show how much money you spent. Decimal Decimals are used to separate numbers. A decimal is a period and is commonly used between dollars and cents. Or to show numbers as fractions. 9.5 equals 9.5. Fraction A fraction is a number less than one. If you divide something by four, the pieces are called quarters. It is written as the fraction one-fourth, which means one of four. The end.