Double-counting Budget Module (consumption) expenses?
The Budget Module itemizes certain expenses that appear to be acccounted for in Housing and Special Expenditures, in particular. For example . . . computers, day care, education, furniture, gifts, hobbies, medical expenses, vacations, vehicles.
Documentation indicates that consumption is defined as "all expenditures by the household other than housing, special expenditures, taxes, and insurance premiums."
Is the Budget Module supposed to be limited to the consumption expenses as defined above?
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If those items don't get listed as special expenditures, you should list them in the budget. Remember consumption is a yearly value and day care etc. are typically monthly.
Add the item as special expenditures and check the consumption number, then remove them and check again. You should see the the consumption number is higher after removing the special expenditure.
I don't understand the answer. The question was, Why does an annual budget include items that by definition are "consumption expenditures"? I follow the math, i.e. you have to "spend it" somewhere ie. whereas mortgage payments and property taxes are "spent" on that "page", if you haven't included these items in "special", then you are not "spending" them and could theoretically under-budget.
But doesn't this fly in the face of your definition? At the very least, to avoid confusion, shouldn't the Budget Module be defined better as e.g. consumption plus "something"?
And what does annual vs monthly have to do with it? That confused me even more.
TIA