Nibud category layout

In Spendle, a category layout is available that aligns with the methodology of Nibud (the Dutch National Institute for Budget Information). This layout makes it straightforward to distinguish between fixed expenses, living expenses and reservations.

What must be paid every month is fixed. What is certain to come, reserve for. What you can choose is discretionary. Moving money is not an expense.

Structure: group and group type

Each category has two properties:

A group that reflects the household area (Housing, Transport, Food, and so on).
A group type that indicates which budget category the category falls into.

Income group types

Group type	Description	Examples
Regular income	Fixed, recurring income	Salary, Benefits, Pension, Allowances
Incidental income	One-off or irregular	Tax refund, Profit distribution, Gifts

Regular income forms the basis for the monthly budget. Incidental income is less predictable.

Expense group types

Group type	Description	Examples
Fixed expenses	Fixed, recurring obligations	Rent, Mortgage, Energy, Health insurance, Phone
Reservation expenses	Non-monthly but predictable expenses	Clothing, Holidays, Furnishings, Maintenance
Household expenses	Variable daily expenses	Groceries, Fuel, Dining out, Drugstore
Other necessary expenses	Additional fixed costs	Healthcare deductible, Childcare, School
Non-essential	Discretionary expenses	Outings, Hobbies, Gifts, Dining out
Reservations	Setting aside for later	Savings, Investments, Contingency
Debts	Repayments and debt-related	Repayment, Interest costs, Fines

As an alternative group, Living expenses is available, bundling daily and discretionary expenses instead of the separate Household expenses and Non-essential groups.

Fixed expenses are difficult to change in the short term. Household expenses and non-essential expenses generally offer the most room to reduce spending. Reservations and reservation expenses build a buffer for non-monthly or unexpected costs.

Other

Group type	Description	Examples
Transfers	Internal transfers	Cross-posting, Internal, Balance correction

Transfers are not real income or expenses, but movements between own accounts.

Groups

Within each group type, categories are organized into groups:

Housing — Rent, Mortgage, Energy, Water, Local taxes, Furnishings
Transport — Car, Car insurance, Fuel, Travel costs, Bicycle, Parking
Food — Groceries, Restaurants
Healthcare — Health insurance, Dentist, Healthcare costs
Insurance — Contents insurance, Home insurance
Communication — Phone, Internet, Television, Subscriptions
Education and childcare — Education, Childcare
Clothing — Clothing
Household — Bank charges, Personal care, Hairdresser, DIY, Miscellaneous
Leisure — Sports, Hobbies, Holidays, Going out, Gifts, Pets

A group can contain categories with different group types — Housing contains both fixed expenses (Rent, Energy) and reservation expenses (Furnishings), for example.

Loading the template

For new administrations, the Nibud template is loaded automatically. For existing administrations, the template can be applied retroactively — see Update categories to Nibud layout for the steps.

The group type can then be checked per category via the category details. The dropdown also includes the classic layout (Fixed / Variable / One-off) for those who prefer it.

Budgeting by group type

In the budget overview, grouping by group type is possible. This gives the Nibud overview directly: how much goes to fixed expenses, what is the monthly living expense, and are sufficient reservations being made? Nibud’s guideline is: less than 50% fixed expenses, approximately 30% living expenses and 10–20% reservations.

Classic layout remains available

The original layout with group types Fixed, Variable and One-off remains available in the dropdown. Existing administrations do not need to be converted. Both layouts can be used side by side.