List of monthly bills
The bills most households pay, grouped the way they show up on a bank statement. Tick the ones you have and send them to your tracker in one go, then fill in the amounts and dates.
Housing
Usually the biggest line, and usually due on the 1st.
Utilities
Variable bills. Enter a typical high month so the forecast errs safe.
Phone & internet
Fixed amounts, but promo prices expire. Note the end date.
Transport
The second-biggest category for many households.
Insurance & health
Check which premiums come out of your paycheck already.
Debt
Enter at least the minimum payment so due dates are never missed.
Family
Subscriptions & memberships
Small individually, large together. See the subscription tracker.
Savings you treat as a bill
Paying yourself first works best when it has a due date.
The bills people forget
The monthly list is the easy part. The ones that cause trouble arrive once or twice a year and aren't on anyone's mental list: six-monthly car insurance, vehicle registration, property tax, annual memberships, domain or software renewals, and the water bill in cities that charge quarterly. Put each on the tracker with its real frequency and they'll appear in your cash flow forecast in the right month, or smooth them out with the sinking fund calculator.
Sources for finding what you actually pay: your last three months of bank and card statements, the autopay list in your bank's app, and the subscription pages of the Apple App Store, Google Play and PayPal.
Questions people ask
What are the most common monthly bills?
For most households: rent or mortgage, electricity and gas, water, phone, internet, car payment and insurance, health insurance, credit card and loan payments, and subscriptions. Groceries and fuel are not bills but are regular outflows worth planning for.
What bills are fixed and which are variable?
Fixed bills cost the same every time: rent, loan payments, most insurance, phone plans, subscriptions. Variable bills change: electricity, gas, water, credit card balances. Plan variable bills at a typical high amount.
Which bills are not monthly?
Common non-monthly bills are car insurance (often every six months), vehicle registration, property tax, homeowners or renters insurance paid yearly, water billed quarterly, and annual memberships. Spread them out with a sinking fund.