I get so tired of expenses popping up.

[my4littlebuffaloes]

It just seems there is a steady stream of random expenses that are always popping up. End of the year stuff, replacement back packs, there was a mix up for our vacation this summer, now we have to come up with an extra $200, then we forgot to plan for boarding the dog while we were gone, have to come up with that, the roof was over budget, hiking boots and scout pants for ds going to scout camp, stuff never ends.

I follow the Dave Ramsey plan and try to budget to the penny each pay period. I am finding though, that it isn't working very well. DR says you shouldn't have a misc category and everything should be accounted for. So many of these things are popping up after I have done the budget, and need to be paid for before the next pay period. I am a big planner and hate having surprises. A couple of pay periods this year I left a chunk of money in misc and I was a lot less stressed when stuff came up. As much as I can plan, with 4 kids in various schools and activities stuff seems to pop up all the time.

Does anyone else have this trouble?

[NewLeaf]

I am not doing the DR plan but we constantly have the misc. expenses popping up. Usually things for the kids. Can you start a "kid" budget category????

As far as your dog goes - we have that same problem every summer. I try to swap pet sitting w/friends. My dog is happier at home, even if he has to stay outside. And he doesnt come back with kennel cough or fleas. If I can't find a friend to swap pet sitting with I will pay a local teen or ask my bil. I bet a teen would love to make $100 and that would save you half. I have even had older teens (17 and 18 yrs) stay at my house and house/pet sit for a fee. Their parents trusted them and checked on them. And the teen loved it.

[CrazyCat]

There will ALWAYS be unexpected surprises. That is why you need to budget for it.~

Personally, I think DR's plan is not realistic if he says don't have a budget line titled 'misc.'.~Some things just don't FIT anywhere else.

[imagine]

Expenses pop up and surprise me all the time. I'm so glad you brought this up.

I look forward to the answers you receive.

[Contrary Housewife]

I have a small slush fund for this, money "left over" after we pay bills, but really it is budgeted for in a loose way. I think we figured something like $5 a week for the car, $4 for clothing, $7 for the vacation fund, etc. Very small amounts we don't actually spend each week, but that accumulate over time until we need them. I leave it in the checking account to cover any accidental overages, so it is doing double duty.

Dave has some good advice, but he's not infallible. If you find yourself needing a fund for misc things that pop up, and it is making your life less stressful, then do it. You might start keeping track of what these expenses are, and roll them into your budget in the future.

[mommy4ever]

I have a few categories that I plan for the expected unexpected. You don't plan on a flat tire, but if you drive, it will eventually happen, might be 2 or 3 years before it does, but it will. I have misc school fees, field trips, special supplies that get asked for. I have pet fund, beyond just food and vet, things come up. I do their hair, but if I'm away and dh needs them to get done because they find something he can't brush out, or new collars or leashes, doggie bags. I have a vacation fund for paying the seasonal site, but I also have an extra $100/mo of the season for the repairs and maintenance that might come up. Car, house , kid, pet, school, clothes.

There are things every year that pop up, we never know where they'll pop when or what category, but the money is there if needed. If not, it sits and earns a little interest. It's a Freedom account, I guess. There are very few true emergencies funds wise that we aren't semi planning for. Sit down and look at where the unexpecteds are popping up, and budget a little every month for those categories.

I think many of us don't want to use the EF at all unless it's serious, like injury or layoff, where DR pumps everything that we don't budget for into EF. Change it up a little make the plan work for you, no one says it has to follow to the letter.

[ladykemma2]

a budget is a living, breathing, constantly changing, thing. now that you have had these surprises, incorporate them into freedom accounts/sinking funds so you don't get blindsided again!

during the first year of my budget there were whoopses and "i forgots" all over the place. 2nd year, smooth!

[littleplum]

It just seems there is a steady stream of random expenses that are always popping up. End of the year stuff, replacement back packs, there was a mix up for our vacation this summer, now we have to come up with an extra $200, then we forgot to plan for boarding the dog while we were gone, have to come up with that, the roof was over budget, hiking boots and scout pants for ds going to scout camp, stuff never ends.

I follow the Dave Ramsey plan and try to budget to the penny each pay period. I am finding though, that it isn't working very well. DR says you shouldn't have a misc category and everything should be accounted for. So many of these things are popping up after I have done the budget, and need to be paid for before the next pay period. I am a big planner and hate having surprises. A couple of pay periods this year I left a chunk of money in misc and I was a lot less stressed when stuff came up. As much as I can plan, with 4 kids in various schools and activities stuff seems to pop up all the time.

Does anyone else have this trouble?

Dave is correct. None of those belong in a miscellaneous category. Most of them would be covered with the "sinking fund" concept that Dave teaches.

Here's where I would put them:
replacement back packs school supplies
there was a mix up for our vacation this summer vacation "slush" fund - we always over-budget our vacation by about 10-15% to cover these little problems
boarding the dogdog care OR vacation
roof was over budget Again, we get estimates and over budget. These types of projects almost always come in over budget.
hiking boots and scout pants for ds going to scout campClothing or Hobbies
4 kids in various schools and activities stuff Hobbies

None of these are "miscellaneous" expenses. Since you say that the kids are "always" having unexpected expenses pop up, you need to just start expecting them.

[kmonokwe]

I agree with other posters - Dave is NOT infallible. However, he does teach a sinking fund and over budgeting by 10-15% on everything that could vary. A sinking fund is kindof like this misc category - unexpected or irregular expenses.

Sorry you're dealing with so many frustrating things this summer. But like another poster said, take these "oops" moments and prepare for them next year. Good luck getting through, and I hope you're able to enjoy your vacation.

[ladykemma2]

It just seems there is a steady stream of random expenses that are always popping up. End of the year stuff, replacement back packs, there was a mix up for our vacation this summer, now we have to come up with an extra $200, then we forgot to plan for boarding the dog while we were gone, have to come up with that, the roof was over budget, hiking boots and scout pants for ds going to scout camp, stuff never ends.

I follow the Dave Ramsey plan and try to budget to the penny each pay period. I am finding though, that it isn't working very well. DR says you shouldn't have a misc category and everything should be accounted for. So many of these things are popping up after I have done the budget, and need to be paid for before the next pay period. I am a big planner and hate having surprises. A couple of pay periods this year I left a chunk of money in misc and I was a lot less stressed when stuff came up. As much as I can plan, with 4 kids in various schools and activities stuff seems to pop up all the time.

Does anyone else have this trouble?

honestly i think this is where dave's philosophy falls short. i think mary hunt and her idea of the freedom account explains how and why to do this much better than dave.

[cheles2kids]

Well, we are doing a modified version of DR and I too, have a misc. category.although small~$15.00 per month but I do plan on upping this to $25.00 per month after we get this cash envelope system thing down.

I also have a 'school' category, so anything related to school expenses~yearbooks, club fees, etc. goes into this fund.

Then I have a seperate 'clothing' category, which is used for the entire family, but come August will be used more for the kids school clothes than for Mike or myself.

So maybe just recategorizing your budget will help in the future?

[my4littlebuffaloes]

We do have a freedom account that I use for most random stuff. But for little stuff I try to incorporate it into the budget. Whoever said that expenses change is right, and things change. Much of what is popping up is happening for the first time. This is the first year the kids have been in school (we homeschooled), so all that is new to me. We don't often take a large vacation like this and are already having anxiety over the amount spent (it is a family reunion) so more is just really frustrating.

Yes the hiking boots and pants should come from clothing, except we don't have anything in the clothing category. I put money in it each pay check, but usually it gets spent as fast as I put it there. Someone needs shoes, or underwear or grows or whatever. I guess I need to budget more for clothing, I just don't want to LOL.

Thanks everyone for the ideas and help. I get so frustrated, but really I guess it is life and I have to figure out a way to roll with it. I am going to try to budget $40 or so in misc each pay check and see if that will cover the little stuff. Of course it also always seems like there isn't enough money to cover everything and the little stuff certainly does add up.

[miss_cas]

I can totally understand...the car started running rough and now the check engine light is on after I dropped a wad on maintenance, the microwave died, the digital camera had to be replaced (need for finding job), the laptop crashed and burned (need for finding job), the dog got sick and required 2 vet visits, the neighbor's fence containing 3 viscious dogs was about to go and had to be replaced because they wouldn't do anything about it and would eat my pug dog if any of them got out, needed new glasses, dishes were really unfit to use any more and had to replaced. There are several other things that "kinda" work I am just going to make do with.

I'm out of work right now due to my being unable to stand at work due to the obesity caused by my pysch meds. I'm getting by on ssdi alone right now. I own my 50+ yo house and live alone. I'm currently working on finding an office job but 17k+ people were laid off earlier this year in just aviation here and the already tight market has become outrageously bad. I've managed to get the weight down to 258 lbs from my high of 314 lbs. I will take whatever I can find in the way of p/t employment come 200 lbs.

I have the small emergency fund run down as much as I even dare so I'm carrying a balance on the cc. I'm doing my best to make do and try to put a little extra on the cc monthly but I'm working on some big medical bills at the same time.

I just pray that check engine light goes out. It has come on 3 times since I put in the gumout.

[MomToTwoBoys]

This is why I don't follow DR. What reason has he given that you can't have a miscellaneous category? Tbh, trying to make a budget up where everything has a category outside of miscellaneous seems like it's making the budget way more complicated than it needs to be. A freedom fund for everything that isn't a monthly expense is way better than trying to put everything into its own category. Trying to do a budget like that is going to drive you crazy and stress you out way more than anything else.

First-time expenses are extremely hard to budget, especially if there are other associated expenses showing up to go with them. If it's things that the kids like, we do a lot of research into it and make sure that we can afford to do it before the kids ask us. We examine the activities that are available in our area for each age group, then figure in if the kids seem to want to do that particular activity. If we can't afford it, then the kids aren't able to do it.

I think that along with the freedom fund, some of the unexpected expenses (especially the first-time ones) can come out of the EF. Replenish the cash and then make note of it for the future. Will it show up again? Will it present a problem later on?

DR's basic principles seem to be good, but the specifics aren't for everyone. My advice? Come up with a kids' fund, an automotive fund, a house fund, an emergency fund and a freedom fund. You can lump everything into one fund and have a notebook that lists everything that would draw from that fund. Divide the fund amount by 12 and then put that money away into one whole account each month.

[littleplum]

DR's basic principles seem to be good, but the specifics aren't for everyone. My advice? Come up with a kids' fund, an automotive fund, a house fund, an emergency fund and a freedom fund. You can lump everything into one fund and have a notebook that lists everything that would draw from that fund. Divide the fund amount by 12 and then put that money away into one whole account each month.

That is actually exactly what DR teaches.

Here is his budget form:
http://www.thebyrdsnest.net/files/Mo...low%20Plan.pdf


Here is his breakdown of savings form:
http://www.thebyrdsnest.net/files/Br...%20Savings.pdf

You can see the rest of the forms here:

http://www.thebyrdsnest.net/?page_id=20