what is a variable expense

A variable expense is an expense that changes in cost and occurrence, and may be higher or lower from one month to the next. These expenses are more difficult to plan for, as they can vary depending on several factors, such as unforeseen events and discretionary spending. Examples of variable expenses include groceries, movie tickets, and gas. Variable costs are costs that change as the quantity of the good or service that a business produces changes. They are the sum of marginal costs over all units produced and can also be considered normal costs. Variable costs are sometimes called unit-level costs as they vary with the number of units produced.