budget — Beating Broke

Make Sure You Set Aside Money for These March Expenses

March 12, 2020 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

One of the hardest parts of trying to develop and maintain a budget is the irregular expenses. You might have a $600 car insurance payment that is only due twice a year. Some people budget for these by setting aside a little money each month for each irregular expense, while others choose to face them as they come. If you use the latter strategy, make sure you set aside money for these March expenses.

Bookkeeper and Accountant

Ah, tax time. The procrastinators among us have less than a month to get our taxes filed. If you own your own business, you will likely have bookkeeping expenses. Then, you’ll need to pay the accountant to file your taxes. This can quickly add up to several hundred dollars. Many people forget to budget for this expense because it only happens once a year. (And let’s face it, for the rest of the year, many of us want to forget all about filing income taxes.)

Taxes

And then there are the taxes themselves. Sure, many individuals break even or get a refund, but for those of us who don’t, we’ll need to pony up and pay anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars to the federal government. As tax situations vary yearly, there’s really no way to adequately estimate how much these taxes will be ahead of time.

Easter

Make Sure You Set Aside Money for These March — Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash

Easter is in April this year, and it brings with it many small expenses. You may need to buy new clothes for the Easter religious service, and then, of course, there’s all the candy to fill the Easter baskets. Although Easter never seems like it should be an expensive holiday to me, I’m always surprised by how much we spend on this holiday.

High School Special Expenses

Spring brings so many expenses for high school students, especially upper classmen.

Prom

Prom will be fast approaching. Now is a good time to determine how much money you will contribute to your child’s prom. Will you buy the tickets? Buy the dress or rent the tux? Pay for the dinner out? How much do you expect your child to pay for, or will you pay for everything?

ACTs and SATs

If your child is college bound, she will likely be taking either the ACT, SAT or PSAT this spring. You’ll likely be paying between $20 and $60 for each of these tests. You’ll want to have money set aside for these expenses.

College Visits

If your child is a senior, he has likely received his college acceptance letters, and if you haven’t already done so, you may want to take a trip to visit the college to see if it’s a good fit. That’s fairly inexpensive to do if the college is within a few hours of your home, but if it’s farther, it will likely cost a couple hundred dollars at least.

Final Thoughts

To make sure your budget stays balanced, make sure you set aside money for these March expenses. You’ll be glad that you did, and you’ll head into April with a healthy budget.

6 Unexpected Baby Expenses to Budget For

February 27, 2020 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

There is nothing more exciting than the anticipation of a new baby. However, a baby can increase the budget even if you’re frugal. These are just 6 unexpected baby expenses to budget for. These items can’t bought second hand and likely won’t be gifted at a shower.

6 Unexpected Baby Expenses to Budget For

If you’re planning for a new arrival this year, there are a number of expenses you should plan for:

Formula

6 Unexpected Baby Expenses to Budget For — Photo by Rainier Ridao on Unsplash

I breastfed all three of my kids, but all three were such massive babies with big appetites that I had to supplement with formula while breastfeeding. We hadn’t planned on that expense, and formula is expensive!

Breast Pump

If you are going to breastfeed, you’ll need a breast pump because even if you’re a stay at home mom, there will be times that the baby doesn’t want to eat or you won’t be with the baby at feeding time, and you’ll want the option to pump. If you don’t plan to breastfeed for long, you can rent a pump month by month through your local hospital. I bought mine for $200 and used it for all three children, so it was well worth the expense.

Unexpected Medical Expenses

While most babies are perfectly healthy, some babies have issues and have to visit the ER. My friend’s baby got RSV and then had a partially-collapsed lung, all at 5 weeks old, so she spent five days in the hospital. That was an expense they had not planned for, and it took them a few months to pay it off.

My daughter had jaundice for three months, and we had to see a number of specialists, and she was checked into the hospital one night. (She was fine, but we hadn’t planned on the specialists and going to the hospital several times a week to check her bilirubin.)

Increased Grocery Bill

If mom is breastfeeding, she’s going to eat a lot! It takes a lot of energy to produce all of the nutritional needs for baby. Don’t be surprised to see your grocery bill increase for the duration of the time that mom breastfeeds.

Clothing

Mom’s body changes after delivery and the post-partum period. Not only will she need clothes that fit her when maternity clothes are too big and she can’t yet fit into her pre-pregnancy clothes, but she’ll also need some good nursing clothing if she’s breastfeeding.

Miscellaneous Items

There are other, little items that you may need such as diaper rash cream and gas drops. Our second child had so much gas that she wouldn’t sleep at night, and we went through baby gas drops what felt like every week. We later found out she had a milk intolerance, and when we took her off milk, she did fine.

Final Thoughts

If you’re expecting a baby, you can get many of the items that you need at your baby shower. However, there are other items that you’ll need that you won’t get as gifts and can’t get secondhand. Being aware of these before the baby comes can help you create a realistic budget.

What other expenses would you add to this list?

How to Stay Afloat after Losing Your Job

January 6, 2020 By Susan Paige Leave a Comment

Losing your job is a really hard thing to face at any time, whether you saw it coming or not. You likely feel very overwhelmed with thoughts of how you are going to make rent next month or afford groceries next week. But it is important to keep a clear head and act fast to set yourself up for success as soon as possible so you can find new work.

Here are a few important steps that you should take within the first few days to week of your unemployment. They should help stabilize you and get you feeling sane enough to do what you need to do to find a new job.

First Step: Apply for Unemployment

If you qualify for it, make sure to start filing your unemployment claim on the day you lose your job. You may feel overwhelmed by the whole situation, but it’s worth it to start filing as soon as you can. The process to receive unemployment can sometimes take a few weeks.

Second Step: Look at What Savings You Have

Take a moment to look at what you have saved. Take inventory of your different accounts and what severance you may have gotten so you know how much you have and how long that might last you. For this type of situation, you can also dip into your emergency fund as losing your job unexpectedly definitely counts as an emergency.

Third Step: Tighten Your Budget

Now that you have a better idea of what actual cold hard cash you have at your disposal before you are able to obtain a new source of income, you can plan out a tightened budget. Yes, it’s not pleasant, but cutting a few costs out of your budget for the next few months won’t kill you. Temporarily cut out all the expenses that aren’t essential, like subscriptions, gym memberships, cable, coffee, eating out, etc. By tightening the wallet, you ensure that your savings last until you are able to find a new job.

Forth Step: Look After Your Debt

Next you should try to contact any creditors that you may have. If you reach out to them, they will be much more likely to help you out during a financial crisis. Lenders may offer options that could reduce or temporarily suspend your payments until you are employed again. The same goes for your student loans. If you call your student loan servicer, you could likely choose from several different options like deferment, forbearance, or an income-based repayment plan.

If you really don’t have enough savings to get you through this time, then maybe you need a loan to cover you until your unemployment kicks in. Whether you get a personal loan, credit union loan, title loan, or anything else, make sure you do your research so you’re aware of what you are getting yourself into before making any final financial decisions in the heat of the moment.

Get these things in order and then make job hunting your new full-time job. Following these steps is a sure-fire way to make things happen quickly. With determination and hard work, you won’t be unemployed for long and then you can get your finances back in order.

Image source: Eric Ferdinand