It’s time for more budget talk! Which I confessed in my last post to actually loving. Today,I want to open your eyes to some of the most common items that people forget to budget for. Everyone’s life is different. So you probably have some specific categories that get left out accidentally (like pet vaccinations or something). But these are very common items and expenses you might have forgotten to budget for.
I talked before about how when we are too detailed, we can fail at our budget. But the flip side is, there are many common expenses I see people leave off over and over again. That’s what today is about. It’s a good list, so let’s jump in.
10 Items You Might Have Forgotten to Budget For
1| Car/Auto License and Registration
Every July we get a bill from our country treasurer to pay our tags on our vehicles. It is no small amount. But it comes every year. And for 12 years we have taken that amount, divided it by 12 and have it set aside in our budget. It builds up throughout the year, and when we pay it in July, that little envelope (digital or cash) goes back to zero and starts over. As a result, though annoying, it’s never an expected expense. We pay it and move on.
This is one I see people miss all the time!
2| Christmas
Ok, so I almost just put gifts here. But Christmas deserves it’s own category. To be clear, I am a gift giver. It is my best self that gets to plan and think about the people I love in this way.
When Bret and I were engaged and planning our first budget for married life, we sat down and wrote out everyone we normally buy Christmas gifts for and how much we spend.
Annnnnd I fudged a little. Maybe more than a little. I was embarrassed by my own generosity. Ha! We divided our total by 12 and started setting the amount aside in a little envelope of cash every month. Cue Christmas shopping and LOTS of tears at the confession of what was actually my reality. Now we know. Now we plan. Knowledge and honesty are power here.
Be honest. Write it out and divide by how many months are left until Christmas. Either pull it out in cash or set it aside in a digital category. The best part is that when I see that perfect gift on sale for Bret in October, there is money already there, waiting for the right time.
Quick tip: As Christmas gets closer, I keep some this money in cash for when I’m out, and part in a digital envelope for what we buy online.
When the money is gone, that’s it. We also factor in all of our Christmas expenses here. Secret Santa parties, decorations, etc. If you buy a real tree. All the things.
Be exhaustive if you can. And no matter how small your budget is, you will know and be able to work within your own set parameters. Then Christmas spending is no big deal.
3| Miscellaneous Gifts
Most people who budget set up spending for birthday gifts. Great job! But what about baby showers and wedding showers? I like to think through my calendar and plan about how much I want to spend on average for one event.
For example, I bet we have 4-5 wedding showers (don’t forget hubs is a pastor). I take the amount I like to spend and multiply by 4 or 5. Same with baby gifts. And birthdays. Now just divide by 12 and set aside.
4| Annual Credit Card Fees
If you think credit cards are the devil, just skip this one. If you have a credit card with an annual membership fee, it is likely 50-100 dollars. You know the drill by now. Add em up, divide by the months left until they are due.
5| Yearly Memberships and Subscriptions
This literally just happened to us last month.
We have a Smugmug account for our photo backup storage. It’s a yearly subscription at 5.99 a month. I somehow have never budgeted for it. We just pay it every year, and it comes out of our savings. Not super smart or best practice. Because when we had the bill due in February it was $72.00 we didn’t really plan for. Boo.
Think through what subscriptions or memberships are only due annually. Amazon Prime is probably a common one. We are members of our local community center as our gym (ok, Bret’s gym ;-)) and it only gets paid once a year. Magazines might fall under this and hello Costco membership!
6| Contacts or Glasses
We have only been blessed with insurance for these our first few years of marriage. And we didn’t even know it until the last year. Oops.
We are those people who buy a closet of contacts like every 5 years. Which is an easy out of sight out of mind. Which is an easy $300. Whew. Gotta plan for that folks. (Ok, maybe every 2-3 years)
7| Auto Expenses
I feel like this is one most people budget for certain things but not others. Or maybe you use your emergency fund when the need arises.
But the common ones…Tires, Oil Changes, Misc. Repairs.
8| Enrollment Fees
Maybe this is just me. But Elliot’s school has a hefty enrollment fee every year. Maybe yours is sports for kids.
9| Pet Expenses
I joked earlier, because I’m a hold out on having a pet. Don’t get me wrong, I love dogs. But I just can’t think about adding another living thing to care for now. That aside. Annual pet expenses. Dog acting weird? Set some money aside each month and be prepared.
10| Stuff I forgot to budget for
Yes. This is the actual title of this post. But I have a real category in our budget with that title. I don’t put a ton in it. When those other things you forget about pop up, wouldn’t it be nice to have cash in a budget category that won’t tap into your savings or emergency fund? Because it’s inevitable that forgotten expenses arise. See Smugmug story above.
Well that’s it. Those are some the most repeated, common budget items I see people forget. Do you have any to add? Did you nod and go, “oops,” at any of these?
And read about the most common budgeting mistakes and think about your own budget plan!
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