It seems like we’ve seen our finances take a dive over the past several months. Things were going pretty well up through July. I’m a stickler for tracking things, and I love running reports and graphs of our finances (it’s the accountant in me). Anyway, steady progress was being made. Debt was being paid down, savings was holding steady, and spending was being held in check.
However, the past few months have pretty much reversed most of that progress. We’ve had one expense after another recently. In August it was $1,300 for a new washer and dryer. The same month we spent around $270 to paint our kitchen cabinets. In September we spent around $450 on vet visits for our dog. This includes the diagnosis of pannus plus treatment for an allergy he got at the park. In October we spent $450 for a weekend stay in Bloomington to watch my sister perform her senior recital. This adds up to nearly $2,500 in “extra” expenses.
In November, we’ll have some minor plumbing work that needs done. Our city is replacing all the water meters with a new model, and when the water guys came to replace our meter they told us ours isn’t installed correctly. Our meter is positioned vertically, and it needs to be positioned horizontally. There’s a part that needs installed to reposition the meter, and I looked into doing it myself. But the way that our pipes are situated in the utility room, it’s not something I’m going to be able to do. So, I’m calling around this week to get estimates on the cost. Hopefully it’s not too much, but I know anything to do with plumbing doesn’t come cheap.
The thing with most of these expenses is that the more I look at them, the more I’m convinced that they were necessary expenses.
We could have bought a cheaper washer and dryer set, but would it last as long? Would it have as long a warranty? Would it be as energy efficient? Sometimes it costs less in the long run to spend a little more upfront, and I think this was one of those times.
We didn’t have to paint our kitchen cabinets. However, this is something we’d been planning for a month or two in advance. We’d already started buying things for the project, and the project in itself really wasn’t that expensive.
We could have not taken our dog to the vet and let him go blind. But we weren’t about to do that. The $450 spent on his vet visits and medications is well within the realm of reasonable pet expenses that a responsible pet owner should be prepared to have.
We didn’t have to attend my sister’s senior recital. But family is important, and this was a big deal to my sister. And it wasn’t like we went wild and crazy with expenses. Hotels in a college town are expensive, and we did pick out one of the lower-priced hotels. (I did earn 5% cash back on the hotel stay, so that will in effect knock $15 off the cost). We could have eaten at McDonalds every meal rather than local sit-down restaurants. But this was the first and likely only time that I’ll visit my sister at college. I wanted to enjoy the trip.
You hear on the news that the “middle class” is being squeezed tighter and tighter, though they usually point to the cost of paying for college and medical care. At least for us, it’s neither of those things (at least not yet). Rather it’s all the other random things that come up and strain the monthly budget. I know things come in waves and tend to equal out in the end, so I’m not overly worried about things getting too out of hand. But I do think it’s time to re-evaluate our budget and build up more of a savings cushion to ride the waves better.
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Lindsey
October 29, 2012 at 9:26 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
We use a program called MoneyWell and it allows us to set up a bucket system (much like the Dave Ramsey envelope system) and we have buckets for pretty much all of the things that you have listed each with their own “savings”. For example we put about $30 per month into our pet bucket but we have a little over $200 “saved” in there for annual vet visits and small emergencies (obviously this wouldn’t have covered your pet expense but it’s at least a reasonable cushion). We put a certain amount from each paycheck into “home improvement” because we bought a “fixer-uper” house and we felt like this was the best way to do the things that we want to do as well as the necessary things that need to be taken care of. And we try to put more in than we use so that there is a cumulating balance for the unexpected things. Of course, things don’t always stay within their buckets but usually we do ok. You probably knew all that though
Justin
October 29, 2012 at 11:05 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I use targeted savings accounts at ING Direct for similar things. I have an auto repair fund, an insurance fund (for both life and auto), and a gift fund in addition to our standard emergency fund. I’m debating adding more “funds” for various things, but I don’t want to overdo it and make things overly cumbersome.
Holly@ClubThrifty
October 30, 2012 at 1:42 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
That’s the way it goes for us too. It’s always one step forward, two steps back. I totally understand!!!
Tackling Our Debt
October 30, 2012 at 1:52 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I agree that every expense you had was essential but it is difficult when it happens all at once.
We are working on building a better savings account as well for these types of expenses. Last month we put new all season tires on our 7 year old van. We shopped around and managed to do it for $600. We also purchased a small freezer for $180 and I am happy that we did because now it is full of on sale meat products and butter that we will use in the coming months.
Justin@thefrugalpath
October 30, 2012 at 9:22 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I completely agree that expenses seem to come all at once. Last year we had to put a new roof on the house, a drain pipe broke inbetween the walls and we had to buy a washer and dryer as well.
And plumbers/ electricians are crazy expensive. I’ve heard that it’s usually $100 minimum just to have them touch something. That is unless you know a guy. Ask your family and friends for their plumber’s number. Everyone has one and they’re usually more than happy to give you the number.
John S @ Frugal Rules
October 31, 2012 at 11:40 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I totally understand, it happens for us as well. Things go great for months and then five things need to be taken care of. We have specific savings accounts set up to cover the major things so we don’t have to worry where the money is going to come from.
AverageJoe
October 31, 2012 at 4:58 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
It’s funny. It seems like many people are in “re-evaluation” mode right now. It’s a good time for it, with the end of the year approaching quickly.
My Money Design
November 1, 2012 at 8:57 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
It’s hard, but you almost have to work in a lot of “fluff” to your budget to keep it afloat. If you spend it, you spend it. But if you don’t, then great – off to savings it goes. There will always be things that are going to come up that we’re not prepared for.
I’ve also got to chart, graph, and spreadsheet just about everything. It’s a curse!