Control Spending

The Typical Atypical Expense

As long as I have been living on a budget, there have always been the typical “atypical” expenses in any given month. I could name a bunch of seeming “exceptions”…

  • kids swim lessons
  • auto repair
  • medical bills
  • appliance repair
  • vacation
  • celebrating a birthday
  • celebrating a holiday
  • new clothes for kids going back to school

The list could go on and on, and I am sure each you could add quite a few to the list as well. If we make an exception to our budget spending every time something “atypical” comes up, we will have an exception almost every month of the year. Though the specific expenses may change from month to month or some expenses are non linear (meaning they may be high in a given month once a year or a few times a year rather than evenly spaced in equal amounts every month)… a good budget needs to anticipate them. You can include them as a group called “unexpected” or “non linear” or whatever you like, but include money in the budget. As you gather more data on your spending you will know more effectively how much to plan.

It is a reminder also not to go spend your surplus every time you get ahead on a monthly budget, as higher expenses may come in next month and you may realize you needed that surplus. It is not fun to go buy a new phone (when your old one was working fine)  just to find out you needed that money for a car repair the following month.

If you dip into your “emergency fund” every month because of poor budgeting/planning on anticipating that there will be unanticipated cost, you will have a hard time making progress toward longer term goals. You should not be dipping into your emergency fund every month, or even every other month. When you do dip in, you should make it a priority to build it back up quickly.

If we are to succeed in our financial goals, we have to account for expected and potentially unexpected expenses. Although it sounds cliché, we must expect the unexpected to some degree and incorporate it into our budget.

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Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money God’s way. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .