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43 Examples of Variable Expenses

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Variable expenses are expenses that change over time such that they are more difficult to budget and predict. This can be contrasted with fixed expenses that are fully predictable and constant. The following are common examples of variable business and personal expenses.

Business

In the context of business, a variable expense is most commonly an expense that rises with production levels. Variable expenses also include strategic initiatives such as a project that is expensed. Variable expenses can be contrasted with overhead such as the cost of your HR team that doesn't change with your business volumes or strategy.
Advertising
Bad Debt Expense
Commissions
Components
Consulting
Cost of Goods Sold
Delivery
Direct Labor
Electricity
Foreign Exchange Loss
Freight
Inventory
Marketing Expenses
Materials
Professional Fees
Strategic Initiatives
Subcontracts
Supplies
Taxes
Travel Expenses
Some types of taxes such as property tax are typically a fixed expense. Income tax tends to be highly variable according to income and expenses.

Personal

Personal variable expenses includes costs that are discretionary, unpredictable, one-time, unusual or that go up and down according to usage. These can be budgeted for with categories such as contingency and discretionary.
Appliances
Bedding
Clothing
Disasters (e.g. Flood Damage)
Electronics
Energy & Fuel
Entertainment
Eye Care
Food
Footwear
Furniture
Haircare
Home Furnishings
Internet & Communications
Luxuries
Medicine
Out-of-pocket Medical
Repair
Restaurants
Toiletries
Travel
Utilities
Vacations
In many cases, it is possible to convert a variable cost into a fixed cost. For example, insurance that covers medicine. It is also common for services to offer fixed rate pricing such as a streaming media service that offers entertainment for a fixed monthly fee.

Expenses

This is the complete list of articles we have written about expenses.
Apartment Things
Business Expenses
Consumables
Discretionary
Fixed Expenses
Food
House Things
Household Expenses
Personal Expenses
Spending
Supplies
Taxes
Variable Expenses
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Expenses

The definition of expense with examples.

Business Expenses

A list of common types of business expenses.

Travel Expenses

A list of common travel expenses.

Personal Expenses

A list of categories of personal expenses.

Discretionary Expenses

The definition of discretionary expenses with examples.

Household Expenses

A list of common household expenses.

Spending

The basic types of spending with a list of examples for each.

Fixed Expenses

A list of common fixed expenses including business and personal examples.

Examples of Current Assets

A list of the common types of current asset.

Cost Reduction

A list of common cost reduction techniques.

Business Benefits

An overview of business benefits with examples.

Overhead Cost Examples

The definition of overhead cost with examples.

Actual Cost

An overview of a common project metric.

Administrative Costs

An overview of administrative costs with examples.

Organizational Change Examples

An overview of organizational change with examples.

Price Analysis

An overview of price analysis for purchasing and procurement with examples.
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