Am I the only one who feels like these “standard” monthly expenses lists that are posted everywhere are kind of out of touch? Every article or budgeting app spits out basically the same formula: rent, groceries, utilities, transportation, insurance, phone, etc. But isn’t it weird that barely anyone talks about the creeping number of subscriptions, random fees, and stuff like pet care, tech upgrades, or gifting/family support getting rolled into “miscellaneous”?
I’m starting to think that the real spending leaks don’t even show up in people’s public budgets. Even those “typical” numbers seem suspiciously low or high depending on where you live, if you have kids, or just how life goes in a given month. Does anyone actually track ALL their monthly outflows, including non-bills and irregular stuff? If so, what unexpected categories or expenses surprised you? And does the classic list actually help anyone anymore, or is it just a holdover from simpler times?
