Your Budget: What Did You Forget?

You sat down with your receipts, your bills, and your expense list and, ta-da! You made a budget that works perfectly for you! But wait… this budget’s not leaving you the savings room you expected. What’s going on here?

You might not have remembered to incorporate these three items in your budgeting plans:

Annual Payments: We can expect certain expenses to still drain our pocketbooks, but maybe not as often as once a month. Don’t forget to leave room in your budget for upcoming, irregular due dates on payments like property tax and car registration, or maybe a renewal of your passport. You need to anticipate your upcoming financial and administrative obligations, and plan your spending accordingly.

Your Social Calendar: You know that three of your friends are getting married this year: plan accordingly. No matter how frugal we live during the week, we need to be honest and admit that some weekends, we spend more on a fancy meal. If you know you have plans to see a movie with Mom or for a birthday dinner, budget for it. And remember, try to keep a healthy balance of your social expenses!

Emergency Spending: It’s highly advisable to take the time to save regularly each month, until you have enough saved to cover one month’s unemployment. It’s not loss of a job or sudden medical bills alone that you can categorize as an emergency, however; the need for car repair, bereavement airfare, and even pet veterinary bills can be hugely disruptive to your financial strength, unless you have a portion of your income ready for this moment.

To learn about more ways to improve your financial life, visit the Syncis blog at syncis.com/blog.