A family budget is different from a personal budget — multiple decision-makers, shared categories, and emotional pressures (kids, elders, social obligations). Here's a template tuned for the average urban Bangladeshi household.
The 12-category family budget
- Housing — rent / mortgage / repairs (25-30%)
- Utilities — electricity, gas, water, internet, phone (6-8%)
- Groceries — basic food + supershop (15-20%)
- Education — school fees, tutors, supplies (8-15%)
- Transport — fuel, ride-share, maintenance (5-8%)
- Healthcare — insurance + out-of-pocket (3-5%)
- Eating out / leisure — restaurants, OTT, outings (5-7%)
- Clothing & personal — apparel, salon, gym (3-5%)
- Gifts & social — weddings, Eid, family events (3-5%)
- Insurance — life + health + asset (2-4%)
- Savings & investments — emergency + goals + DPS (15-20%)
- Buffer — unexpected expenses (3-5%)
Concrete example: ৳80,000 monthly household income
- Housing: ৳22,000
- Utilities: ৳5,500
- Groceries: ৳13,000
- Education (1 child): ৳10,000
- Transport: ৳5,000
- Healthcare: ৳3,500
- Eating out: ৳4,500
- Clothing/personal: ৳3,000
- Gifts/social: ৳3,000
- Insurance: ৳2,000
- Savings: ৳12,000
- Buffer: ৳3,000
- Total: ৳80,000 ✓
Family-specific challenges
Social obligations
Weddings, milad, salam — these can blow your gifts category. Create a dedicated ‘Social Events’ sub-wallet and pre-fund it ৳3-4k/month so big-month spikes don't break monthly budget.
Elder care
If supporting parents, add a ‘Parents Support’ line — separate from groceries. Keeps both budgets honest.
Kid milestones
School admission years, exam fees, college applications — anticipate and pre-save.
Setting up in Moneybag (shared family)
- Both spouses sign into Moneybag with the same Google account, or each maintains their own and reconciles monthly.
- Create the 12 categories listed above.
- Set budget caps per category in Profile → Budgets.
- Mark recurring entries for fixed expenses (rent, school fees).
- Monthly family meeting (15 mins): review dashboard together, agree adjustments.
Should both spouses see all transactions?+
Transparency is healthier for finances and relationships. But if one prefers privacy on personal discretionary, mark those as a separate ‘Personal’ category not requiring spouse review.
How to handle disagreement on a category?+
Use 3 months of data. Emotional arguments fade in front of numbers. Adjust caps together with evidence.
What if income varies month to month?+
Budget against your lowest typical month. Treat extra income as bonus savings, not lifestyle inflation.
Ready to take control of your money?
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