Exceptional expenses in 2006?
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| Fri, 12-30-2005 - 5:36pm |
Anyone already anticipating and planning for outstanding expenses in 2006?
My big two are our tenth anniversary (a second honeymoon and new rings to replace my lost ring and dh's that he is allergic to) and a funeral on the other side of the country (of course this isn't definite, but likely). We'd also *like* to go to the beach again this year if we can swing it.
If things stay the same financially, we should be able to pull these off. I expect the final cost for all three to range from a low of $1650 to a high of $5000, with a most likely cost somewhere around $3000. The money will come from dh's bonus checks (if he's still working at that company), and my freelance income.
Of course, if things change--such as my taking the job with PRStore and dh staying home, and therefore our taking a significant paycut--we may not be able to swing these things after all.
Anyone else already planning out their big expenses for the upcoming year, and deciding where the money will come from? What are those plans?
Heather

Right now, I'm planning on spending a large sum of money on dental work in the first quarter of 2006. I need to take out another karate school tuition contract in February, and I think that'll be about $1000, but it's a monthly payment/no interest type of deal. You just make monthly payments to the school. And we want to take another family vacation like we did last Fall. Not sure where we want to go. I'd like to stay close to home. We live in Atlanta, so I'd like to go to Chattanooga and visit all that is located in and around that city (very nice aquarium, lookout mountain, etc), but my son wants to go to New York City and see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Obviously the trip to New York would cost more because we'd have to fly and get a rental car. Going to Chattanooga would be about a two hour trip in our own vehicle. Hotel will be free with frequent traveler points, no matter where we go, and we would need a hotel with a kitchen so we could shop for our own food and cook it ourselves.
I'm just going to do my best to enjoy what I have at home....my hobbies, my son's homeschooling, games, television, movies, books, playing in our yard, taking walks, etc, and try to avoid going out to spend money. This worked for the first half of last year, and I'm hoping it'll work this year also. :-D
Pat :-D
DH and i are also celebrating our tenth anniversay this year, too, and we would like to do a long weekend without the kids (which is something we have pretty much never done because of our little girl's problems) We are also moving again this year, back to Ohio, and while it will be a costly move in terms of gas, and taking time off from work, etc, once we get there, it should be cheaper in general for us as far as day to day expenses go.
Other than that, I am also contemplating taking a short trip to Florida in January, just me and my oldest daughter, to see my great aunt. i like to go down at least once per year (she is 96), and we definitely will not be going down as a family this year (still, the plane tickets would go on a cc and I am not happy about that, but i don't know if I can really afford not to go, if you know what I mean) We are OVERDUE for a year of relative peace and quiet....hope we get it. Heather
The 2 big expenses I HOPE to have are: Security deposit and 1st months rent on a bigger place around May; and a down payment on a vehicle big enough for our family probably when the 2007 models start coming out (see what kinda deals we can get on the '06 models).
I'd love to go on one of our cross country road trips (we live in California.. family is in Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, Tennessee), but I don't see it happening with the other things we NEED to do. Perhaps next year we can plan for that.
Happy New Year, everyone! Be safe! Wishing you all luck with the debt payoff in 2006 :)
~Amy
One thing we have decided to do this year is go on a Disney Cruise. I have never been. My parents went last year and have done nothing but talk about it. DH isn't wanting to go! That will save me alot of $$$ since we are a family of 5. My parents are going with us also. It will cost us $3600 just for the cruise. I worked alot of overtime the past 2 months and I was able to put down $1000 without tapping into our savings. We are driving down together so we will split the cost of gas. It's about a 20-22 hour drive. But much cheaper than flying.
I know we really should't go! I should use the money to pay down debt. I have been signing up for extra time at work so I can still pay down debt. We have been very busy at work and if I sign up for extra I get time and a half. I am a nurse.
We are still trying to sell the Tahoe and when we do we will be in good shape!
Donna
Our
All my best,
Danni