Meaning & use
discretionary expenses
Last updated
“discretionary expenses” is a form of “discretionary expense”.
Meaning
nounplural
Costs that a person or business chooses to pay for and could skip if needed, such as entertainment, dining out or luxury items.
Grammar: Plural of discretionary expense; a single item is a discretionary expense.
Patterns
- cut discretionary expenses
- spend on discretionary expenses
When money got tight, the family cut discretionary expenses like streaming and takeout.
Her budget separates rent and bills from discretionary expenses such as hobbies.
Discretionary expenses usually fall first during a recession.
Word forms
| singular | discretionary expense |
|---|
Common combinations
- cut discretionary expenses
- They cut discretionary expenses to build savings.
- limit discretionary expenses
- The company agreed to limit discretionary expenses this quarter.
- track discretionary expenses
- A spending app helps you track discretionary expenses.
- monthly discretionary expenses
- His monthly discretionary expenses include gym fees and movies.
- discretionary expenses versus necessities
- Learn to tell discretionary expenses from necessities.
Synonyms and how they differ
- optional spending
- Optional spending is plainer and used in everyday conversation, whereas discretionary expenses is common in finance.
- non-essential costs
- Non-essential costs stresses that you do not need them, while discretionary expenses stresses that you choose them.
- wants
- Wants is a casual budgeting term set against needs, while discretionary expenses is the formal label.
- luxuries
- Luxuries suggests costly extras, but discretionary expenses can also include ordinary small treats.
Opposites
Word family
- discretion noun
- the freedom to decide for yourself
- discretionary adjective
- left to personal choice
- expense noun
- money spent on something
- expenditure noun
- the total amount of money spent
Commonly confused: discretionary expenses or discretionary vs. discreet?
discretionary expenses vs discretionary vs. discreet
Discretionary means optional or left to choice, while discreet means careful not to attract attention or reveal secrets.
Practice
To save for a deposit, they cut ___ such as dining out and new clothes.
Choose one answer.
Discretionary expenses are optional spending like dining out. Fixed costs, mortgage payments and tax bills must be paid and cannot easily be cut.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “discretionary expenses”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.