Avoid the drama and panic by making sure you are prepared to spend on events that you know are coming. It should be noted that some of these expenses are challenging to avoid, while with others you may have to take a hard line to stay within your budget, or just say no.
MANDATORY
Birthdays: You know the exact date(s). You know who you usually buy gifts for. You probably even know how much you generally spend on each person, depending on who they are and how much you love them (just kidding, or maybe not). If you have children, throw parties into the mix and you can easily spend hundreds of dollars multiple times a year on cake and entertainment. So, budget accordingly for your inner circle and send your friend’s stepbrother Tommy a nice text rather than a $50 gift card to Olive Garden.
Bonus Cheat Code: Celebrate at home or try these other low-cost ways to have a memorable party on the cheap.
Christmas: We begin to see the reminders of trees and tinsel up around the stores two months in advance. As with birthdays, you should know the who’s and how much’s for this time of year. While I generally despise excuses to participate in shopping wars, if you have saved up in advance you could take advantage of the Black Friday sales and avoid last-minute stress the third week of December.
Bonus Cheat Code: Shop online and spare yourself all the crowds and hassle while avoiding over-spending or impulse buys at the mall.
Anniversary: Gentlemen, as with the holiday below, you can’t afford to mess this one up. You (should) know what your lady wants, and you need to have room in your budget.
Bonus Cheat Code: IF (notice all caps) you can get on the same page with your spouse, rather than yet another holiday of adding to an average of 300,000 items in the home, go to a nice dinner to celebrate the occasion. You will probably spend less in a restaurant than a jewelry store.
Valentine’s Day: Same as above. Because sleeping on the couch hurts my back.
Want to avoid ending up like this guy on his anniversary? Plan ahead so you have the funds needed to survive until the next special day. You know when it's coming!
Mother’s Day/Father’s Day: I got nothing. Fellas, your wife gave birth to those kids. You must pay your respects. Also, you wouldn’t be here without your mom. Make room in the budget and handle your business. Ladies, take care of your men too.
Bonus Cheat Code: If the family member you are celebrating has a pollen allergy or is not into bling/Michelin Stars, here are some more crafty ideas that could be a hit.
ROUTINE EVERY YEAR
Doctor/Dentist: There are basic standards like going for a dental cleaning every six months (mine reschedules the next visit as I’m walking out) and getting a checkup from your primary care physician annually. With the Florida sun, I also get checked out by a dermatologist. Medical appointments are never fun, so take additional anxiety out of the equation by knowing your co-pay amounts and having the funds ready.
Bonus Cheat Code: If your insurance policy offers a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), pre-paying for medical expenses is a great way to absorb out-of-pocket costs. In some cases, you can even get extra money added to the FSA by your employer if you contribute enough.
Annual/Bi-Annual/Quarterly Billing Cycles: For homeowners, you will have yearly resets to your insurance, taxes, escrow, and HOA fees. Some increases are nominal while others are pricier, so be on watch for when the cycles turn over. If you drive a car, you will likely experience rate hikes with every six months. Other cycles that can be predicted include cell phone/internet billing, and car tag renewals.
Bonus Cheat Code: Once you know when your cell phone coverage rate is set to run out, be proactive and call the company. Unlike insurers who won’t budge and sometimes even drop customers at a moment’s notice, phone companies want your business and may continue your current rate, or even find a discount that you qualify for. Just make sure to be sweet!
Back-to-School: Your kids are going to need new school supplies and probably some clothing or shoe upgrades. While some families put more of a premium on fashion than others, pencils and notebooks are one in the same, so you can go cheap on these at Wal-Mart or another big box store.
Bonus Cheat Code: Several states offer a window of tax-free shopping around this time of year. Plan your back-to-school expenditures around these dates for extra savings.
Have I mentioned kids are expensive? BUT you know when school starts each year, and generally understand the costs that will occur at different times throughout the school year. Allocating room in your budget for school expenses can alleviate stress in this area.
Parties/Gatherings: Halloween and New Year’s Eve are at least two occasions where millions of Americans get dressed up and head out to party. Aside from food and drink, responsible celebrating may include Uber/Lyft or hotel costs.
Bonus Cheat Code: Don’t wait until the last minute to make New Year’s Eve plans. Aside from astronomical hotel costs on this holiday, many establishments have special events that get booked. Know what you are going to do before the 31st so you can avoid the double hangover of overindulging and overspending.
Football Season: Baseball used to be the national pastime, but nowadays Americans can’t get enough of the action on the gridiron. Whether it is hitting the bars on Sunday (or Thursday, or Saturday, or Monday) to catch all the games at once, coughing up big bucks to attend in person, chipping in for a fantasy league or college pool, or throwing a Super Bowl bash, football is a multi-billion-dollar industry. Chances are, you will spend at some point. Good news, the schedules come out in advance for you to plan!
Bonus Cheat Code: Rather than shelling out hundreds of dollars at bars during the season because they have multiple screens, an NFL RedZone subscription costs less than $20 per month, giving you a taste of all games at the same time. You can eat and drink for significantly less in front of your own flat screen, and you don’t have to worry about getting home once the games are over.
YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN
Kids’ In-Season Add-Ons: The real secret to financial freedom, don’t have kids! All joking aside, you cannot get through a school year without spending money at the Book Fair, PTO fundraising events, and clubs that the kiddos joined which require supplies, uniforms, etc. My daughter is in dance, and aside from the monthly fee to the dance company, there are countless costumes, shoes, and competition fees that pop-up each season. For my son in Karate, there are belt test fees, tournaments, and equipment upgrades. It literally never stops. The best thing to do is plan beyond the basic monthly fees as best as possible.
Bonus Cheat Code: Set limits! Your kid may want to be in everything, but that is not physically or financially feasible. Communicate upfront with your children (mine are aged seven and nine and we are having these conversations) that there is a limit to what they will get to participate in. I recently told my son that he will have to do winter basketball in lieu of the fall league so I can save up for it, and he survived. If you need to, put on dark sunglasses to avoid the puppy dog faces. Later on they will thank you when they get to go to college without being mired in the trillion-dollar student loan crisis!
Giving to Church/Charities: While my church sends envelopes in the mail that I can put cash in at the first of the month, sometimes there are additional envelopes for one-off or seasonal donations, or special causes that arise unexpectedly. If the charity side is more your thing, perhaps there has been an occasion when you were compelled to give to a cause suddenly. For instance, when Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest in January during Monday Night Football, people donated millions to his foundation in a matter of days.
Bonus Cheat Code: After being caught off-guard a few times about collections aside from the regular weekly church envelopes (I also donated to Damar Hamlin’s organization), I created an extra item in my monthly budget titled “Extra Giving”. I now have wiggle room for unexpected collections which allows giving to be enjoyable rather than stressful.
Work Gifts/Parties: Aside from the traditional racket of all the gifts for loved ones at Christmas, ever heard of Secret Santa? Or does your office expect everyone to throw down for lunch/dessert on birthdays? If you work within a large group of colleagues, this could add up quickly. If participating in these frequent events is quasi-mandatory so that you aren’t an outcast at work, start budgeting for them.
Bonus Cheat Codes: Potlucks-Make a dish at home rather than ordering from a restaurant. Sign up to bring a side rather than an entrée.
Ordering Out-Pack your lunch anyway. Those who look at you funny are just jealous. Remember, being broke is normal, but you are special!
Secret Santa-Simply “forget” to turn in your paper. If you are pressed, smile and say you can’t do it this year. This may also get you out of the “reveal” party or dinner, so you could kill two birds with one no.
Weddings: Weddings are a Hollywood production these days and take months or even years to plan. True story, I was engaged longer than my wife and I were dating, mostly because she “needed” so much time to get the plans just right. Aside from my own, I have attended probably 20 weddings in my adulthood, and was best man/groomsman in several. In every single case, because the weddings were always meticulously coordinated, I knew about them enough in advance to save up for the tux, hotel room, partying/food costs, wedding gift, etc. If you have last-minute panic over a wedding, it’s either your fault for not saving, or your friend/family member who got married made your life difficult.
Bonus Cheat Code: Check NO on the RVSP! Not every wedding you are invited to will be that of a dear friend or relative. Just as you did not/will not invite every single person you know, you are likewise not obligated to attend the wedding of your sorority sister or third cousin whom you’ve seen twice during your lifetime. As long as you don’t wait until right before the big day, there is nothing wrong with politely declining the invitation, following up with a nice call/text/Facebook message, and sending a reasonable check or gift.
You simply won't be able to attend every wedding you are invited to. Give yourself some grace, handle the situation with grace, and everyone will be fine.
Babies: Same concept applies to baby showers as weddings. You probably heard about the baby months in advance. If you know that a friend, family member, or office mate is expecting, get ready to pitch in. If you can’t attend the shower, send your respects (and some diapers), and keep moving.
Bonus Cheat Code: Buy size 1 or 2 diapers. Some babies grow out of the newborn ones very quickly!
Encountering normal, non-emergency expenses without a plan to pay can lead to financial death by a thousand papercuts. While it is not always fun or easy to be selective, there are times when you will need to make short-term sacrifices to stay focused on long-term goals. Having a budget unique to each month can train you to carve out room for traditional spending times, seasonal festivities, and other happenings that you truly want to take part in.
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