Most Forgotten Expenses

I've helped a lot of clients with their budgets.

I see the same expenses being forgotten again and again. Here are the top 5:

1. FUN MONEY

This might seem a little counterintuitive. When you're trying to cut back and save money (or pay off debt), your first thought might be to cut everything fun. In theory this is a good idea. But, in reality it doesn't work. You'll most likely get so discouraged because you feel like you can't spend any money and completely give up. I know - I've done it.

You need to include some fun money in your budget. It doesn't have to be a lot. But something that is yours and you can blow it on whatever you want. Same goes if you've got a partner/spouse.

2. CAR MAINTENANCE

Cars are expensive and take a lot of work to maintain. Oil changes, tire rotation, licensing, registering, etc...

The problem is these aren't monthly expenses. You only register your car once a year and probably only need oil changes every few months. Because of this it can be easy to forget to include this on your budget.

3. HOLIDAYS/SPECIAL OCCASIONS

It's no surprise, but these come around every single year. Christmas is always December 25 and Thanksgiving is always at the end of November. Yet we often forget to plan for them because they aren't monthly.

Or... maybe we plan for gifts, but forget about the cost of decorations, food, parties, etc...

4. MEDICAL EXPENSES

If you don't have health insurance through work, this category is definitely important. Even if you have health insurance taken out of your paycheck, there can still be a lot of medical expenses. Think about co-pays for regular office visits, prescriptions, dental cleanings, or new contacts/glasses.

If you do have insurance through work and have an FSA or HSA, you might not need this in your monthly budget, but you want to make sure you have enough in those accounts to cover your medical expenses for the year.

5. ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS/FEES

Think Costco, Netflix, or even gym memberships. We live in a world of memberships and subscriptions. Sometimes these are monthly, but often they are only paid once a year. It's easy to forget the annual ones.

The solution to planning for these expenses is to create sinking funds. Include these expenses in your monthly budget and set aside some money every month...so when it's time to pay for them you've got money ready.

You can see our sinking funds for 2024 here:

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Categories: : BUDGETING