10 Things You May Have Forgotten to Budget For

I've written before about the importance of budgeting. In fact, one of the biggest disruptions in maintaining a budget is the appearance of an unexpected expense. To help you prepare for these before they happen, I've decided to put together a list of ten things that you might have forgotten to include in your budget so that you can think of the best way to incorporate them.

Without further adieu you might have forgotten to budget for:

1. Big once a year payments. These could be things like car insurance payments, gym membership payments, club dues, homeowners association fees, magazine or website subscriptions, or dues for professional organizations.

2. Birthdays. Don't let the cost of birthday gifts crush your finances. Consider setting up budgeted amounts to spend for everyone you may have to buy a gift for in the upcoming year.

3. Christmas and other holidays. It always amazes me just how much money we spend on Christmas and holiday presents. Use your budget to start saving early and say good buy to maxed out credit cards in December.

4. Anniversaries. Maybe budgeting for one will actually motivate you to remember the date and not wind up in the doghouse this year.

5. Vacations. It's important to have fun with your money and I am a big believer in vacations. But they can be expensive. So start budgeting for them as soon as possible. You'll be surprised at how fast you can save up for a vacation if you are motivated to do it.

6. Personal Savings. I include both short term saving and retirement savings in this category. If you haven't set your savings automatically withdrawn from your paycheck then you should definitely be budgeting to save as much as possible each month.

7. The emergency fund. This is a fund of about 3-9 months worth of living expenses. That you use to support yourself in emergencies. If yours isn't fully funded then budget in monthly contributions until it is.

8. Big sporadic purchases. Things like new furniture or a new computer. They only come up once in a while but when they do they hurt.

9. New Car. A new car can cost a lot. I'd really recommend using your budget to start socking away new car money as soon as possible.

10. House. Why yes, you can even use your budget to start saving money for making a down payment on a house.