Budgeting well is a bit of an art that requires several months, if not a year or more, to perfect. To have a comprehensive budget that allows you to always have money available for your expenses, you need time to keep track of all of the regular and irregular expenses you have.
My own budget includes categories like homeschool, Amazon yearly fees, and annual license plate tabs, just to name a few, but as time goes on, I add other categories to cover expenses that don’t come often or that I just don’t think about. Here are some other expenses you might want to consider adding to your budget:
Kids’ Allowance
When your kids are little this may not cost you much, but when they’re older, this expense will need its own category. I currently budget $50 a month for my three kids, but that will likely go up soon. (My kids earn allowance based on the chores that they do.)
School Supplies
If you have several kids, the cost of school supplies can add up quickly, even if you hit the back to school sales. Some schools make you buy a pack of back to school supplies directly from the school rather than buying your own. This can run $60 to $100 per child.
Family Fun Money
If you and your family like to hit an amusement park or go to a museum or out to eat, create and fund a family fun money category.
Electronics Replacement Fund
In this category, you could save money for items like computers, iPads, cell phones, gaming devices, etc. We all need computers, but most of us don’t put aside money regularly to replace one. At $500 to $1,000 or more, computers aren’t big-ticket items like cars, but if you haven’t budgeted for this expense, it can wreck your monthly budget when you must pay to replace your computer.
Library Fees
Borrowing from the library is free, but if you’re like me and too busy (or forgetful), you may find yourself facing hefty library fines. Our library charges .25 cents per day that each item is overdue. This year, I’ve probably paid over $30 in library fees. Ouch!
Random Acts of Kindness
Last year, I was called upon four times to bring meals to those in need. Some were easy, and I could create a meal based on foods I already had on hand, but a few of the meals I had to make were for people on special diets, including one who needed vegan food.
The random acts of kindness category could cover these meals as well as treating a friend to lunch or giving money for a co-worker’s party or get-well gift. If you are asked to buy something from a Boy Scout or Girl Scout you know, you can pay for the item out of this category.
Lawn/Garden Care
When we first bought our house after decades of renting, we didn’t have this category. We soon found that we’d need to set money aside as lawn and garden care expenses can add up quickly! You might pay for seeds, mulch, a garden hose, and big-ticket yard equipment like a lawn mower, leaf blower, chainsaw, etc.
Passport Renewal
Sure, you only need to renew every 10 years, but by the time you add in the postage, photo, application fee, etc., you’re looking at $175 per person in your family. For our family of five, that is over $800 to renew all of our passports.
Insurance Deductible
If you have a $500 or $1,000 or $2,500 deductible, it’s nice to have the money set aside when you’re in a car accident or have an emergency in your home. The event that caused you to have to use insurance likely is already stressing you out. It’s nice if you don’t have to worry about finances and where you’re going to find the money for the deductible.
Family Photos
Once you have children, you may want to pay for professional family photos, and those aren’t cheap. You’ll likely need to budget $100 or more for having your kids’ photos professionally done each year. Don’t forget to also set aside money for the kids’ school pictures.
Car Replacement Fund
So many of us work hard to pay off our vehicle loans and then automatically divert the money that was previously used for a car payment to something else. If you’re smart and want to live debt free, once you’re done paying your car payment, put the money you previously used on your car payment into an account earmarked for a car replacement fund. The next time you buy a car, you’ll be able to do so in cash.
Pet Emergency Fund
Pet insurance is available, but it doesn’t always provide the best coverage. A better bet is to put aside a certain amount of money as soon as you get your new pet. If you set aside $50 a month, by the time you’ve had your pet for 5 years, you’ll have amassed $3,000. That is a nice cushion to cover unexpected pet medical expenses.
Professional Fees
Our budget was constantly being disrupted by my husband’s work expenses. When he has to go to a conference, he pays out of pocket and then gets reimbursed, but that process can take four to eight weeks, so we started a fund to cover these expenses. Other professional fees you may have include license renewal, annual membership dues, and business lunches.
Hobbies
Depending on your hobby, you may spend enough that you need a separate line item in the budget for this. A person who likes to hunt or fish will need to set aside money for a license as well as supplies. A knitter will need money for yarn.
Booze/Wine
For some people, nothing feels better at the end of a long day than a glass of wine. Or, if you like to entertain frequently, you may find you need to set aside money for alcohol each week. If you like to unwind with co-workers at a bar after work, that tab can add up quickly.
Hurricane Supplies
If you live in an area where hurricanes are a threat, you’ll want to have money aside for water, non-perishable food, lumber if you need to board up your windows, etc. If a hurricane is threatening to hit your area, how nice would it be to already have the money set aside in your budget for just such an issue? That is at least one less thing you need to worry about.
Glasses
Now that we have optical insurance, we usually pay less than $100 per person for an eye exam and glasses. However, when we didn’t have optical insurance, we routinely had to pay $1,500 to $1,800 for the three vision-impaired members of our family to get eye exams and glasses and/or contacts. You can bet we set aside a significant amount of money each month to prepare for these expenses.
Black Friday Sales
Some people wait until Black Friday to buy the household supplies they need such as new pots and pans, bedding, slow cookers, etc. This is a great time to buy because the prices can be so low, but if you don’t have the cash to pay for the items and have to pay on credit, you’re really not saving money. Make a line item in the budget for this and be proud of all the money you saved thanks to your savvy shopping.
If your budget routinely comes up short each month, the reason just may be because you’re forgetting a few of these categories.
