Unexpected Expenses Throw Me Off

christina — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 02:58:19 +0000

Everyone has unexpected expenses that completely disrupt a budget. I think I have these every month, February it was my car tabs which sank me to the tune of $185.00. Granted, this is not exactly an unexpected expense, more of a crap, is it time to pay that again already expense. I even asked the clerk if they were always that much and she said that maybe next year they’d go down. I’m not counting on it. Sure seems like a lot of money for a couple of stickers but the alternative I’m sure would cost more.

Usually unexpected expenses consist of emergency room charges, car repairs, or your sister’s wedding. Luckily, my sister’s already married so I’m not worried about that one.

This just enforces the fact that we actually need two savings accounts. One for unexpected expenses and the other for actually saving. How in the heck does one manage such a thing? It’s difficult enough (for me, anyway) to get something into one savings account, and now surprise…I realize I need two.

So I guess my main question is, how much needs to go into the unexpected expenses account? How much is enough to save per year to cover these phantom costs enough that it doesn’t hurt so much. Financially, February was not good to me. Great in all other respects (it’s even finally getting warm here) but money-wise I pretty much crashed and burned. I don’t want to save just enough in this fund to pay my car tabs, that would only be around $15.41 a month which is definitely do-able. But, how much needs to go into it to feel comfortable and not worry that a bill or expense is going to jump out and attack me? Or does everyone just use their regular savings accounts for those expenses? I know that a lot of people keep an account for taxes and insurance payments, but I don’t have that kind of stuff right now that I need to save for. Right now, I’m looking for an amount to save each month for emergencies.

I have read that an emergency fund should have 3-6 months worth of wages. This is a smart idea, but the concept is based on the possibility of losing a job and being able to still survive. I think if I had this kind of savings or an emergency fund, I would’ve charged a lot less on credit cards that I’m paying off now. So for savings my goal is $50 a month for just saving and I’ll start with $20 a month for emergency in the same account. Not the greatest plan, but for now it’s better than nothing.

I’ll keep you posted on anything I find out. Otherwise, things are moving along smoothly. I need to get groceries this weekend which has already started causing anxiety attacks. Or maybe that’s because we only have ramen and kidney beans in the cupboard. Not sure.

Have a great weekend and as always, thanks for reading!

Miss Bankrupt » unexpected expenses

Unexpected Expenses Throw Me Off