Track and Tame Variable Expenses Month Over Month

Some categories behave and some never do. Give it a few months of variable spending against your targets, and this works out the average, high and low for each, flags the ones that always overshoot, and explains the behaviour behind it. You see the pattern instead of just the overspend.

I want to understand and control my variable spending. Here are my variable expense totals for the last {NUMBER_OF_MONTHS} months across these categories: {VARIABLE_SPENDING_DATA}. My budget target for each category is: {BUDGET_TARGETS}. Please: (1) calculate the average, minimum, and maximum spend per category, (2) identify which categories consistently exceed budget and by what percentage, (3) explain likely behavioural or seasonal drivers for the biggest variances, (4) suggest a realistic revised budget target for each overspending category using a 3-month rolling average, and (5) recommend one concrete tactic per problem category to reduce variability, such as meal planning, a spending cap app, or a cash envelope approach. Format as a table followed by a short action plan.