How Do I Budget for Irregular Expenses?

[@weallhaveanopinion]

That's what we are struggling with is the little small things that add up but aren't in their own line item on the budget. A haircut, a new tire for the car, a birthday present. That kind of thing.

[@dexterm1285]

That's everyday life things. Just gotta save more than you expected cause those things are always happening.

[@tsx0013]

Personal care fund, $20-30 a month, car repair fund $50-60 a month and Event fund $20-30 a month. If you spend it you spend it, if not it carries over. That's $90-120 a month. Good luck keep at it.

[@kevinstock5886]

Make a “misc” or “personal” line to cover that

[@MooMoo69556]

For me I would put tires as an emergency thing. Haircut I budget out $40 a month for me and my kiddo, a bday present I put a line for that at the beginning of the month

[@emmanyalenda9475]

Have a sinking funds for those items. Set an amount like $300 for birthdays,$1000 for car repairs and $100 for haircuts. These amounts will be a small kitty for you to withdraw from when those items pop up.

[@A_Shihtzu]

It’s possible to budget for groceries using online orders with curbside pick up. Example, set your budget of $100 a week, add your items from your list and you can see how much you will spend before you even purchase. It saves time as you don’t have to walk the store and select things, but also many stores have free curbside pickup now. I know for some people staying out of the store prevents impulse purchases, so you only buy what you needed or intended to buy.

[@kurt23407]

Wow great advice!

[@thecurrentmoment]

One thing I've learnt to do in the supermarket (because I tend to have a list and add things I want that aren't on the list lol) is to look at my trolley once I think I'm done and separate things I needed to get and things I didn't (this works for me because I use a trolley but I am only buying for me so there's a bit of room). It's usually pretty obvious what things are 'extra' and I add up the value (often I separate them into roughly $10-20 piles). I then remove things I shouldn't buy that trip and out them back. I know it's good to stick to a list, but for any impulsive shoppers who grab what they feel like - you can still do that and just reevaluate things at the end. That's one way impulse buyers can get some more control over their shopping. You get it because of an impulse but things look different when you stop and think about what you really should buy

[@thecurrentmoment]

I've thought of controlling my grocery spending (which is challenging to control) by purchasing a supermarket 'gift' card of $50-$100 each week and limit myself to what's on that. Now I'm thinking that maybe if I buy a $50 gift card each week and use THAT for my essentials, and buy anything I don't actually need out of my other money. That'll make it painfully obvious to me how much extra I'm spending haha

[@jbandt]

I was thinking this same thing just yesterday. But more along the lines of small home projects and maintenance items. The stuff that can be in the range from$100 up to say $1000. I find it hard to get these projects done since I'm sending nearly all extra money to debt and projects get put on the back burner. And that frustrates my significant other.

[@dominant_male5605]

I agree with you or spontaneous kid expenses

[@kleindropper]

Every December I sit down and look at my actual spending for the past year and run an initial monthly estimate for the entire next year. That catches all the spending spikes over the year like utilities and insurance.

[@bigpapaadam1]

That Amazon and eBay shopping can be a huge addiction lol I have struggled with this in the past for years because you would get some kind of high off of it when purchasing items. Scroll items when board and then being tempted to buy them. Lol had to take the stupid apps off my phone.

[@crystalpomatto8417]

I add to cart all the time and leave it there for a couple of days then come back and delete stuff I don't really want then put the rest in "save for later". That list is really long!

[@samartin2244]

I laugh at what is on my save for later. Some things you have no idea what you were thinking.

[@thecurrentmoment]

Good idea!

[@BrianaBudgets]

I use the envelope system AND shop online. When I purchase something online, I go straight in there and take that cash out of the envelope and put it back in the bank. If I don’t have the money already in the envelope, I don’t get to buy the item online.

[@markradermacher963]

Do I budget for “paycheck” expenses like health insurance etc? It comes out of my paycheck…I never see it. It’s not net pay, so do I have to budget for it? Do I have to track it?

[@catlady2795]

You know I sort of like to over budget, then carry forward the leftover money to next month and then the following month if I don't spend it put it in my savings.

[@eckankar7756]

I do the same thing

[@MillionaireMindsetClub]

Hope whoever is reading this accomplishes financial FREEDOM, wealth, and is blessed with true happiness!

[@dariusisrael5140]

Thanks

[@harveywright9428]

You too!

[@patrick-gc8ew]

Let me hold a generous donation

[@LizJoyDolan]

Busting up at Dave learning about the "add to cart" struggle

[@Benita399]

Buy generic, eat at home, and do you really need new clothes?? Right, I don’t either got a closet full. Penny pinch until you get out of debt it’s worth it!!!!!

[@LCmonman]

😂You must not have kids

[@Josh-by9fv]

Lol.......ADD TO CART IS NO JOKE. Especially if the kids have access to it, I've heard stories of kids doing the ordering of their own. Days later or the very next day, packages ramdomly are at the door.

[@lindsayclark4009]

“Buy now” on Amazon is even worse than that!🤣

[@garybrown4753]

What you could do is have different bank accounts as envelopes

[@thecurrentmoment]

For clothing i worked out how soon I would need to replace things and work out a weekly amount from there. E.g. i buy decent shoes for about $200 and yhey should be replaced after 2 years, and maybe have 2 pairs i use most of the time (work + outside of work) so that would be $200/yr, or $4/week for shoes. That's about one pair of shoes so i would just plan to buy one pair of shoes, even if they haven't yey worn out. I use about 3 t shirts so if i replace one a year I will always have a new t shirt and i will mever 'need' to replace a shirt because it has holes in it. I figure that maybe i should buy 2 pairs of socks a year, one singlet, one tshirt, one pair of shoes, one jacket or jersey, 2 pairs of jeans, 1-2 pairs of underwear, etc, every year. Add all that up, that's my annual budget for clothing, calculate the weekly amount (mlnthly if your paycheck is monthly), buy those every year, and I mever have to think about it again, and there are no clothing 'emergencies' where I wonder how, or whether, to buy clothes. It's fixed. Yet to put this into practice properly, but I'm starting to...

[@bradwilliams4921]

I set my clothing budget as a ‘Fund’ and I contribute a little each month so that the fund builds up and I can plan how much to set aside each month. I guess my mom is old school. She regularly shops on QVC.

[@callmeosho7792]

I have a section in my budget called misc, for ghost expenses like coffee and snacks that I cant account for

[@Seanc34911]

What do you mean you can’t account for? That makes no sense. Why don’t you just set a budget for each? For example, $20 for coffee this month and $30 for snacks.

[@callmeosho7792]

@@Seanc34911 because the snacks I account for are listed under food… coffee and snacks were examples

[@shola7987]

ghost expenses: lotion, dish soap, parking meters, street donations, vaccuming the car, ice cream truck, birthday collections at work.

[@fkillah]

@@Seanc34911 there are lot of things that can be considered misc. Otherwise, if you label everything will have 100 envelopes. Keep it simple, just as long as the major ones are accounted for - food, rent, utilities, gas, etc it will be fine

[@thecurrentmoment]

​@@fkillahYes, I make sure to have an 'other' category, and if there are too many things in there (e.g. over 10-20% of my expenses) I probably need to make a new category (e.g. takeaway meals might be a category to come out of food)

[@MoonFoxSassy]

What about budgeting with an irregular income like gig work?

[@mlv60]

You can buy fake (not counterfeit) money and put it in your envelope and when you spend money online or buy with your card take out that much fake money and put it in a box called expenses and reuse thay fake money next month or a less environmentaly and budget friendly way for dramatic effect rip up the money you spent a throw it in the trash

[@kvgolfa]

Why the hell is Dave's wife using cash envelopes lmao

[@philipepling]

My "envelopes" are separate checking accounts with their own debit cards. I get a daily text message with the balance in each account as well as an updated balance every single time ANY transaction occurs. At the beginning of each month I true up each account up to that month's allotted amount.

[@eckankar7756]

What service are you using? I do similar with savings accounts with Capitol One where I can have 15 accounts for free.

[@jacquelinem116]

this seems overwhelming to have many accounts

[@eckankar7756]

@@jacquelinem116 Of the 15 savings accounts allowed I don't create that many. I have one each for my eBay income, vacation savings, new HVAC and some other planned expenses. Seeing each account grow is motivating and keeps from accidentally spending too much from a general savings account such as going on a trip, which I know exactly how much I budgeted for. I'm also a landlord and I save for maintenance expenses from the rent I receive monthly from tenants. It's calming for me to have these amounts separated. Finance is 90% emotional and 10% numbers. For some reason having multiple savings accounts takes the pressure off that I place on myself.

[@thecurrentmoment]

That sounds good to have an up to date balance of each account. I have multiple savings accounts for different types of needs, I find that only using one spending account makes it easy to analyse and keep track of my expenses when I want to look at. I transfer money out of the savings accounts into my spending account, but I still only need to look at the account that my transactions come out of. I would find it hard tracking expenses from multiple accounts and I have done that before and remember it being confusing for me

[@LCmonman]

Yikes. That sounds complicated

[@princesslamour1985]

I love the envelopes!!!!! And I have a gas envelope ✉

[@nancyorkeithm1518]

Whoa KC was truly MAD. He wasn’t faking that face !!!!

[@juliareadscottishpiperandh4861]

I have a separate bank account for items that need paying each month but would be a pain to keep tracking, eg food. I put a certain amount each month in my food bank account, then I only use that bank card when I'm buying food. I set up a direct debit to transfer the money each month into my food account.

[@jgallone]

Dave, your online store has the same Add to Cart feature as any other online shopping site.

[@eckankar7756]

Ha hahaha right

[@BunkMasterFlex77]

Dave doesn't get any money from used book sales. Surprised he didn't tell him to budget to buy his books new 🤣

[@jamesklinkhammer7539]

I don't think Dave has to worry about a gas bill.....Lol

[@matthewjohnston7071]

What happen to the co host? I haven’t seen her in a while.

[@pattythomas9405]

Poor Christy

[@BagsNBaguettes_327]

Food is really expensive right now so I would budget $100-$200 minimum per week. Our monthly budget is $800 and we barely eat out. I buy high quality prepared foods for my hubby every week and spend $100-120 per week plus trips to Costco, Walmart, and Publix. lol and our golden gets a rib everyday! He’s so spoiled so that’s included in that amount.

[@mr.universe1907]

What if someone breaks into my house and I have thousands in envelopes?

[@colinfiggins3372]

That's when you swap from envelopes to magazines

[@janniceurban3406]

I honestly am thinking that same thing.

[@Jackcc5]

get a good safe. 👍

[@j.m0ney133]

You can still budget. Months you have extra put a sinking type account for months you run under.

[@markg999]

If you just live on less than you make you dont have to really deal with strict budgets. I'll set aside a large percentage to invest and rest I just do as I please. Works for us.

[@glich610]

This is what I do. I set up my paycheck in a way that half of it would go to bank A and the other half would go to bank B. I use bank A to pay for everything, rent, food, car insurance, etc. Bank B is specific to savings and I barely look at it. Saves me all the hassle of doing budget categories.

[@richsamuel2922]

And you know what? You're a real G for doing that.

[@dominant_male5605]

@@glich610 I do that also

[@Luffa187]

I never have to budget because I already know I'm spending the least amount possible in every category. That's one of the advantages of being an extreme cheapskate. I might need to start budgeting once I've built my wealth to a point where I can loosen up on buying thing I don't need.

[@karimbennett5651]

My recommendation is to keep a spending log (write down everything) for a few months. Once you have some history, you can estimate averages.

[@estyria5961]

We have a budget, and I keep an Excel expense tracking sheet. We double up, and it's actually been pretty helpful. If something looks really different between the two, it gives us something to "reconcile." Sometimes it just means on the budget side we missed a transaction.

[@Heather-ko2lv]

I don't understand online retail therapy. I don't really understand retail therapy, though; I get way more out of window shopping than actually making a purchase.

[@llb2233]

I'm with ya Christie I know all about "add to the cart" lol.

[@coffeebreak247]

I just love her!

[@TDace25]

Very Cool 😎

[@88happiness]

I like this lady. Down to earth.

[@Liimpy]

I give myself 100/week in petty cash, whether i spend it or not

[@TorontoNeurospicyGirl]

Is delivery/take-out food or entertainment??!

[@JiisTube]

Entertainment if it's restaurant, food if it's groceries

[@AtomicQuotient]

Good question, my g/f has two budgets, one for all her bills and a clothes only budget

[@Je.rone_]

Use the max expenses per month or average per month

[@mtwata]

So he gives tips on personal finance but doesn't know how Amazon works? 😂

[@Simsanimelover456]

I’m a young adult who is graduating college next year, but works full time. This helped me a lot because I would have irregular expenses sometimes.

[@wavyfly1002]

Hey Dave

[@rhoadestraveled]

Glad she’s tempted like us! Too funny 😂

[@angelette921]

I feel no shame😂

[@fsmoura]

With irregular amounts. Next!

[@DuncanCalder]

How much do yall spend on groceries a week just asking mine is 30$ a week

[@xander6051]

my family of four spends about $1200 a month

[@dexterm1285]

$30, stop eating out then.

[@trishfischer4127]

😂😂😂😂

[@yourgooglemeister6745]

She's getting fired after this

[@KMF3]

I have actually an opposite reaction with cash for some reason. I will overspend on cash but I will be frugal as a church mouse with my debit card

[@ChrisMFlorida]

That is rare.. I don't carry cash in my wallet on a regular basis.. but when I do I can keep a 20 in there for months because I always use my card.

[@stevenporter863]

...not just debit but any electric payment has a 'trail'. Cash is designed to be spent and gone without a teace. If you miss it, you are out of luck/budget off.

[@catlady2795]

Yeah, I noticed this to, but it's usually cash from my wallet not an envelope

[@johnmirbach2338]

😎✌🖖👌👍😁

[@alexfonseca2063]

Christy’s plan takes no account of inflation.

[@insideoutsideupsidedown2218]

For a month period? Inflation...really?

[@alexfonseca2063]

@@insideoutsideupsidedown2218 Yes. You aren’t aware of the month to month inflation crises happening in the country?

[@alexfonseca2063]

You guys need to look this up.

[@denisewenke8323]

@@alexfonseca2063 If you're looking at multiple months, you can see the trend and decide whether to add a cushion.

[@blackworldtraveler3711]

Many of you are too continuously ate up with thinking about inflation like it groundhogs day. The more broke and in debt the more you worry. Focus on what you can control like your spending and finances. I don't even look at prices when making groceries.

[@cabayern9416]

She thinks she is funny, but she is annoying. Please let us listen to Dave only!!!!

[@PenusDrippings]

Like Dave still has a budget.

[@regularity2556]

He does.

[@schadlarry]

This stuff isn't that hard. How much for groceries, I don't know track that expense for a month or two. Guess what that is your grocery budget. No wonder Dave is super rich feeding off these people.

[@Bestietvcute]

Dips on first comment

[@mike111777]

First!

[@tmusa2002]

Sharon……using an envelope system for groceries….. wow

[@joeb1522]

That's difficult for me to believe. She probably doesn't even do her own shopping.

[@tmusa2002]

@@joeb1522 Great point. I’ve heard the Nashville area gives “celebrities” their space, but once you amass a certain amount of wealth and fame, you are susceptible to kidnapping/ransom situations. Sad but true. Plus, who wants to grocery shop if you don’t have to? 🙂

[@genxx2724]

It’s perfectly generous. Ole Dave ain’t missing any meals. Lol. 💗

[@joeb1522]

@@tmusa2002 She might not even put gas in her own cars. There are services that do everything.

[@christinab.2864]

That might not work at Walmart

[@MrGWoodle]

For a minute I thought the "add to the cart" meant "buy the bundle". Things you don't need get put in the cart.

[@SherryEllesson]

you guys are fun, but there are still a bunch of us sweet, disciplined old broads out here living a good life because we worked hard, saved, have given more than we got and apologize for nothing. Have ya'all a great evening!

[@denisewenke8323]

I can just hear Gracie Allen, "I can't be overdrawn! I still have checks left!"

[@eckankar7756]

I loved Gracie