You’re no slouch when it comes to budgeting. Every month, you sit down with your favorite beverage (some are stronger than others) and track all your income and expenses. Heck, you even have a spreadsheet. So, why, then, are you staring down at a bill you weren’t expecting?
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That bill is probably related to something you don’t experience every day. You know to budget for groceries, rent, utilities and car payments because if you don’t, your world will get very uncomfortable, very quickly. But what about the expenses that don’t come up regularly? They can fall to the wayside until it’s time to take a bite out of your savings.
Fortunately, once you know what they are, you can start building them into your budget. GOBankingRates has some of the irregular expenses you should put into your regular planning.
Home Maintenance
You’ve walked past your home so many times that you haven’t noticed that your shingles have seen better days, until suddenly, one falls off. And that gutter sagging under the weight of so many leaves one day just up and quits — requiring a total replacement. Rotting wood in the basement. Leaky pipes. Ants showing up to the kitchen when they’re decidedly uninvited — there are so many home maintenance needs that come up when you least expect them, always at the most inconvenient time.
These issues could carry a price tag in the hundreds, even thousands of dollars, so you should prioritize socking money away into an emergency fund, preferably in a high-interest savings account, that can help defray the costs. You can also ameliorate some of those costs early on by hiring a home inspector to find small fixes now that could become major lifts later on.
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Vehicle Registration Fees
There are some car-related costs that you’re very much aware of, like your monthly car payment, insurance and gas (can’t forget the gas). Registration, not so much. Why would you be, given that you only need to renew yours every year or so? However, it’s an expensive slip of the mind: If you’re pulled over, you risk a ticket that could be several hundred dollars.
The cost of renewing your registration varies from state to state, and you might need to spend several hundred dollars for a multiyear renewal. In some states, a one-year renewal could cost you around $120, while a two-year renewal could double that cost. And in some states, you won’t be able to renew your registration if you haven’t settled all your toll fees and tickets.
Your best bet is to put a notice about your forthcoming renewal into your calendar about a month before its due, so you can factor any related expenses into that month’s budget.
Medical Bills
You take care of yourself, but you can’t take care of everything — from that person with the horrible flu who didn’t stay home like a civilized person to the effects of gravity when you take a tumble off a curb. You end up in the ER, wishing you were an extra on “The Pitt” instead of walking out with a cast and a bill that, even after insurance kicks in, might put you back in with skyrocketing blood pressure.
Emergency room (or maybe urgent care stay), meet emergency fund. If you haven’t started one or focused on building it up, now is the time.
Taxes
Like April showers and flowers returning in the spring, tax time is pretty consistent on the calendar. You’re always generally prepared for it — and besides, your income taxes come out of your paychecks. Ah, but property taxes don’t. And there’s no real universal season when they all come due; it varies from state to state. You’d be wise to look up when your state is expecting your property tax money and slipping those dates onto your calendar and your budget planner alike.
Charitable Causes
Your heart isn’t made of stone: You see a fundraiser for an animal rescue group or someone’s medical care, and you immediately want to contribute. Without thinking twice, you give money. A beautiful gesture that you’ve unfortunately forgotten about when you go to pay your other bills and find yourself short. This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t contribute to causes that move you — quite the contrary. If you don’t want your bleeding heart to bleed your wallet dry, you’d be wise to set aside a monthly budget to use for donations.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 5 Items You’re Almost Definitely Forgetting To Budget For
