what constitutes a discretionary expense is subjective as such it may differ considerably among individuals and businesses 
for example a stable well established company could probably get away with slashing its advertising budget for a while if the need arises a new company facing hardship on the other hand would probably need to make cutbacks elsewhere being mindful that boosting exposure and getting its name out there is imperative to keeping the business afloat the same principle applies to individual consumers as well some people may only be able to afford a daily starbucks run when things are going well they may consider cutting out this expense when times are tough or if they re saving up for a big expense like a home or a car types of discretionary expensesas mentioned above discretionary expenses are any costs that a consumer or business wants rather than needs some common discretionary items include it s important to point out again that what defines a discretionary expense depends on who s doing the buying for instance buying a new car may be considered a want for one person but it may be considered essential for someone who has a long commute to work where driving is the only option 