non-discretionary income

Meaning

1. 1noununcountablefinancebusiness

   The part of your income that must be spent on essentials such as housing, food, taxes and bills.

   Grammar: Uncountable: say 'non-discretionary income', not 'a non-discretionary income'.

   Patterns

   • spend non-discretionary income on something
   • non-discretionary income falls/rises
   • have little non-discretionary income

   After rent, utilities and loan payments, most of their non-discretionary income was gone.

   When food prices rise, families have less left over because more of their income is non-discretionary.

   Economists watch how much non-discretionary income households must commit each month.

Common combinations

spend on non-discretionary items

They spend most of their pay on non-discretionary items like rent and insurance.

non-discretionary spending

Non-discretionary spending rises when fuel and food get more expensive.

a large share of income

Housing takes a large share of their non-discretionary income.

cut non-discretionary costs

It is hard to cut non-discretionary costs without moving house.

Synonyms and how they differ

essential spending

A plainer everyday phrase for the same idea; it is less precise and not normally used in financial reports.

committed expenditure

Used in budgeting for money already promised, such as rent or loan payments; it overlaps but can include non-essentials.

Opposites

Word family

discretionary income noun

Money left after essentials, which you can spend or save as you choose.

discretionary spending noun

Spending on things you want rather than things you need.

disposable income noun

Income left after tax; it still includes money needed for essentials.

Commonly confused: non-discretionary income or disposable income? non-discretionary income or discretionary income?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “non-discretionary income”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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