Why templates from abroad do not fit
In short: templates from the UK or the US know no health insurance franchise, no pillar 3a and no tax bill that arrives the following year. In Switzerland most residents pay taxes themselves instead of through payroll – without a category for it, the bill becomes a hole in the budget.
A good list separates what is paid separately: basic and supplementary health insurance, net rent and service-charge advance, cantonal and federal tax. The average adult premium in 2027 is CHF 488 a month – too big to hide in a lump sum.
The 15 groups
| Group | Typical categories |
|---|---|
| Income | Net salary, 13th salary, bonus, child allowances, AHV/pension/IV benefits |
| Housing | Net rent, service-charge advance and settlement, electricity, heating, mortgage interest, amortisation |
| Health | Basic insurance, supplementary insurance, franchise and co-pay, dentist, glasses, pharmacy |
| Insurance | Personal liability, household contents, legal protection, life insurance |
| Mobility | GA, Half Fare, regional pass, leasing, car insurance, vehicle tax, motorway vignette |
| Communication | Mobile, internet and TV, Serafe, streaming |
| Groceries & household | Groceries, drinks, household items, cleaning, waste bag fees, pets |
| Children | Daycare, after-school care, lunch club, school supplies, camps, braces |
| Personal | Clothes, hairdresser, personal care, further education, gifts, donations |
| Leisure & holidays | Restaurants, going out, sport, culture, holidays, ski pass |
| Taxes | Cantonal and municipal tax, federal tax, church tax, dog tax, military exemption tax |
| Pensions & savings | Pillar 3a, pension fund buy-in, emergency fund, savings goals, ETF plan |
| Finance | Bank fees, card fees, consumer loan, interest, maintenance paid |
| Side income | Self-employed AHV contributions, material, workspace, travel |
| Transfers | Between own accounts, credit card settlement, cash withdrawal, TWINT top-up |
The group everyone forgets: transfers
The most important group for a correct budget is not an expense. If you pay your credit card from your salary account, every purchase shows up twice – as items on the card statement and as one lump debit on the account. Cash withdrawals, TWINT top-ups and transfers to savings work the same way.
Keep these rows as transfers and out of spending, and you see real costs. Count them, and some months look as if you spent twice as much – the fastest way to stop trusting your own numbers.
How detailed should it be?
Too coarse hides the levers: «Insurance» as one line will not show that your supplementary cover got more expensive. Too fine makes the upkeep a chore. What works: detailed for fixed costs you can change, coarse for everyday spending.
Twenty-five to thirty-five categories are plenty to start. A family needs the children group, a single person does not; retirees have pensions instead of salary. Starter profiles that show only relevant categories save the clean-up.
The full list, ready in Excel
The household budget for Excel contains all 111 categories with stable keys, 8 starter profiles – including one for people new to Switzerland – and over 400 Swiss merchant rules, in English, German, French and Italian. CHF 49 once, no subscription.
The BudgetHub app uses the same groups, so moving from Excel to the app later keeps your structure.