17 Expenses You're Forgetting to Budget For - The (mostly) Simple Life (2024)

The whole point of budgeting is to plan for all of your expenses so that you don’t get caught off guard. There are some things that don’t happen veryoften, and it’s easy to forget them in your budget.

We stick to a tight budget, so it really throws off the system if we forget to plan for an expense. It might not even be that we can’t afford it, it’s just that we were planning for our money to be used somewhere else.

If you keep overspending each month, it might be because you’re forgetting to budget for some important expenses.

I made up a list of items that could be missing from your budget and shouldn’t be.

Sidenote: One of the very best things you can do to start getting a handle on your finances is track your spending! You can download and print my free spending tracker printable and take action today!

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17 ExpensesYou’re Forgetting to Budget For

Emergencies

You know I can’t start without mentioning that you need to have an emergency fund.

When you have money saved for emergencies, unexpected events like a job loss or illness are so much less stressful. And let’s face it, emergencies happen. You need to plan for them instead of be surprised by them.

I prefer to have a minimum of six month’s worth of expenses saved in our emergency fund. If you’re just started out, aim for three month’s worth of expenses and go from there.

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Haircuts

This one gets me every time.

I don’t get my haircut regularly, and it almost always throws of my budget for the month. It’s not that we can’t afford it, it’s just that I have all of our money allocated to other places. I never remember to plan for it.

Luckily, we just have to deal with the cost of my hair appointments. I’ve been cutting Austin’s hair since we got married with a set of clippers. I’m getting pretty good too 🙂

PetCosts

Pets are expensive. Totally worth it, but expensive.

We actually have a mini savings account for Mozzie that we put money into each month ($30-40/month!). We dip into that money to pay for grooming (every other month), kibbles, treats, vet visits, heart-worm and flea meds (man, that stuff is pricey), and anything else he needs.

Even with all the money we save for him each month, we still needed extra earlier this year when he had to have X-rays on his knee. We were worried he was going to need surgery which would have cost a huge chunk of money.

To add pet costs to your budget, look back at the past six month or year. Estimate how much you spent on grooming, vet visits, and food. Divide that into a monthly amount to save so you have the money when you need it. I like to round everything up so that I know we have enough.

Summer Activities

Summer always ends up being more expensive than the rest of year. There are so many things to do, like go to the beach, see the big new movies coming out, or enjoy a day at the water park.

And we don’t even have kids. When I was growing up we went to all kinds of camps and activities which I’m sure weren’t cheap. Plus, a lot of people go on some kind of vacation over the summer.

Don’t forget to budget for fun summer activities. You could break up the cost and save all year round or just make sure you have enough room in your budget to pay for these things as they come.

Car Registration / License Renewal

We have to renew the registration on our car every year, which is always around $100.

This year I get the special birthday present of also needing to renew my drivers license. Why do drivers license photos always turn out so bad?

Medical Costs

Insurance doesn’t cover everything y’all!

Our insurance has a super high deductible so we have to be ready to pay for almost everything.

Make sure you know your co-pays and deductibles and have some money set aside to pay for whatever medical costs come up.

Holiday Extras

Besides the presents that you normally buy at Christmas, holidays can include extra costs that you forget about:

Food: We like to buy fancy foods for special meals at the holidays. Plus, with more family gatherings, we usually need to bring a dish to share with everyone.

Decor: If you’re big into decorating for each holiday, you may be spending more than you realize.

Entertaining: We always throw a Christmas party (it’s a gingerbread house making competition and it’s awesome) so I make sure to add the costs for that into my Christmas budget.

Presents: I know I said presents already, but did you include gifts for teachers, mail people, co-workers…

Travel: We spend more money in gas to travel around West Michigan to see family at the holidays. Travel could be a big extra expense to plan for if you’re going to a different state for the holidays.

Related Posts:

16 Ways to Simplify Your Life Today (in 30 minutes or less)

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And now for the big list of other things you might be forgetting to add to your budget 🙂

Sports Fees & Equipment

Oil Changes

Babysitter

Subscriptions

Clothing & Shoes for Adults and Children

Wedding Gifts

Vacations

Annual Insurance Payments

Charitable Giving

Car Repairs

⇒ What are the expenses you’re forgetting to budget for?