In the world of escorting, it's easy to focus on the money you get from clients, forgetting about the other expenses that you may incur. Seeing those $100 bills is enough to get anyone excited, especially when you may have a list of things you'd like to buy a mile long. But, some of that money has to be allocated to the expenses you incur to become an escort. While it's easy for industry outsiders to overlook escort expenses, they do add up quickly and are significant issues in one's budget.

As an escort, you should have created a budget that tells you how much money you need to make each week or month. That budget should include basic living expenses, incidental costs that are bound to come up and expenditures related to business. Escorts should attempt to predict their expenses and track them as they occur, so they know how much money they must make in order to make a profit.

Some expenses are very obvious within your budget. However, others may eat up your profit without you even realizing they are there. Here are the top 10 expenses you may incur as an escort:

1. Website: Whether you are a web-savvy pro or rely on others to make you look good online, your website will be a cost that is part of your escort business. A domain name starts at $10 per year, and you may purchase several domain names to ensure that other escorts can't copycat you with a similar site and name. For instance, you might purchase SexySue.net and SexySue.info to go with SexySue.com – this way you will limit someone else's chances of acquiring your domain and imitating you. Then you will need to pay to have your site hosted on a server, where everyone with an Internet connection will be able to see it. Hosting starts at $5 per month. With your domain name and hosting costs, you're already looking at $100ish per year. Design of your site, its content and special features such as direct email links, photo galleries, newsletters and tracking information will cost extra. Furthermore, if you require someone to update the site for you regularly, their fees will be added to your expenses.

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   Other marketing: Although your website is a major element in your marketing campaign, you can't rely on it alone. Many escorts pay to be included in online escort directories. Typically, directories charge per month for regular or premier-type listings. Some escorts choose to advertise in the yellow pages, if they live in metropolitan areas, especially, and these charge annually. Large cities have adult-oriented entertainment magazines with special sections for escort advertising, which usually charge by the month or by the issue. There are several other avenues that escorts may include in their marketing strategies. However, each of these methods charge differently and may become difficult to keep track of. Some advertising contracts renew automatically, unless you're on top of your renewal date and request to cancel your agreement. These expenses add up quickly, and you should be attempting to weed out less-than-effective marketing options, in order to save your money.

3. Photography: Many escorts choose to do their own photography, which saves them a lot of money. However, don't think that doing your own photo work means there is no cost associated with the process. While you can always use your own point-and-shoot camera or iPhone camera, a higher quality device will capture you in better ways. To do professional-looking photos of yourself at home, you will also need a sturdy tripod and a couple of bright lamps. If you have the funds available to go to a professional, remember that not only will you be charged a sitting fee, but you will also have to pay for your digital images, which may run $100 or more for a CD of pictures. High-end photographers charge much more for images, and any special effects you request will be an additional cost.
4. Incall: If you maintain an incall, this is a major expense for your business. If you rent your incall, you must make your monthly payments to your landlord. Owning your incall may require you to pay monthly mortgage payments and property taxes at the end of the year. Clients like coming to an escort's incall because it feels much like visiting someone at her home…so you must incur the cost of decorating it as such. You must have a quality bed, with newer linens. Additionally, maintenance costs may eat up your budget if the bathroom sink faucet breaks or the roof leaks, for example. However, having an incall may be considerably cheaper than working from a hotel room all of the time. Hotels generally charge higher rates for their rooms than renting a small studio apartment full-time costs.
5. Lingerie: While you may have some great knickers in your lingerie drawer already, escorts have to budget in several hundred dollars (or more) each year for their fancy undies. Clients expect for escorts to have new(er) bras, panties and other lingerie items for their encounters. And, once a client has seen one sexy outfit, he wants to see another and another. Escorts may reduce their lingerie budgets by buying pieces that can coordinate together to make new looks, without having to have so many items. For instance, if an escort's lingerie is mainly black and red, the items may be interchanged regularly to create new outfits. However, clients sometimes snap bra straps, rip bikinis and tear stockings in their over-zealous ways of handling an escort. As a result, escorts have to replace items on a regular basis, causing their expenses to increase.
6. Clothing and accessories: Many escorts fail to budget in their clothing purchases when they think about escort industry expenses. But, these costs are huge additions to your regular escorting budget. Clothing that you would wear on dates with clients and use as cover-ups when you're headed to an encounter should definitely be included in your list of expenditures. Shoes, jewelry, handbags and other accessories that make your outfits pop should also be listed as expenses. Your clients expect you to show up wearing classy, designer duds. If you could wear any old thing to an encounter, your clothing might not be an acceptable expense. But, in reality, it's much like a uniform, and uniforms are traditionally considered work expenses.
7. Travel costs: Although you may prefer for clients to come to your incall, many of the them want you to come to them. (It's more convenient for them, so that's what you must do.) But, when you quote your client a rate for his encounter, you must also factor in what it will cost you to get to him. Depending on your transportation capabilities, you may have to pay cab or bus fare to get to his part of town. If you drive your own vehicle, you must pay for fuel to get to a client's location. (And, fuel costs are continually rising, which makes travel even more expensive than previous times.) However, your travel costs aren't through, yet. Often, on your way to a client, you may have to pay a toll to cross a bridge or use the freeway or interstate. Once you get there, you may be charged a parking garage fee. If you choose to park along the street, if it's available, you will have to feed a meter, possibly. Even if your client is near to you in the city, it could easily cost you $50 to get to him, which takes a significant bite out of the fee he pays for your time.
8. Health care: Most escorts visit the doctor for regular check-ups…often quarterly. However, insurance will rarely pay for more than one well-woman examination and pap smear per year, unless there is a proven health problem. So, any visits about your "woman issues" with respect to escorting must be paid 100-percent out of your pocket. This can become quite expensive. An office visit with a pap smear culture may cost well over $200. When an escort has three or four of these per year, the cost exceeds $600 easily and may reach $1,000 (or more), depending on the clinic and region. Other health care costs to treat colds, allergies and the flu may also rack up the expenses, too.
9. Professional assistance: Every year, escorts have to pay taxes, just like everyone else in the real world. But, paying taxes as a self-employed freelancer can be difficult. Between figuring out the income, allowable expenses, deductions and credits, it's a confusing task. Escorts hire professional tax accountants or tax preparers every year to help them sort out their finances and determine what they owe Uncle Sam. Often, escorts consult with a professional in order to make quarterly tax payments, too. In order to receive this professional help, escorts pay for an accountant's time. An accountant bill for the entire year may range from $200 to $1,500 or much more, depending on the complexity of an escort's books. Other professionals such as attorneys or mental health consultants may contribute to an escort's expenses, too.
10. Sex-related items: For each encounter, an escort must have several condoms available for her client. And, while condoms, themselves aren't terribly expensive, they do add up over the course of a month or a year. Escorts often buy condoms in bulk, in different varieties and in fun options. Some condoms may never get used by clients, creating waste. Other sex-related expenses include lube. Flavored, colored, water-based and silicone-based options must all be available for clients. Lube can get expensive, especially when escorts purchase smaller, more convenient sized bottles to take to outcalls. Escorts sometimes leave lube behind accidentally, which increases costs by having to purchase more. And, clients often expect their escorts to have a steady supply of fun sex toys and accessories for them to try out. Escorts may find bargains as they shop for devices to use during encounters, but the costs add up, regardless. Even purchasing one sex toy per month at the rate of $30 adds up to $360 per year.

Throughout your encounters and attempts to attract clients, you will likely incur even more expenses than mentioned here. You can set up an initial budget that is somewhat flexible and allows for the addition of other expenses. But, as you document new, ongoing expenditures, incorporate them into your regular budget so you have a clear understanding of your finances.

Keeping your escorting and personal budgets separate is also important. Utilize your profits as money that you may use to build your business, and set an income for yourself to use to pay personal bills and living expenses. Remember that your income is not equal to your profits. Your income should be a lesser amount taken out of your profits, ensuring you have money to invest back into your success as an escort.