[insane_dreamer]

that may be what "mandatory charges" means to you, but it's not what it means in economic data.

mandatory charges are "mandatory" in the sense you are "mandated" by the gov to pay them; besides taxes these include social security contributions (some countries have more such "contributions"). The are no mandates (laws, regulations) that require you to pay for housing, food, education, etc.

[cloverich]

disposable vs discretionary income perhaps?

[insane_dreamer]

yes

I think the confusion is that _colloquially_ we refer to "disposable income" as meaning the money we can spend on things we want after we've covered all the essentials.