"Large Expenses 2006"
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"Large Expenses 2006"
| Tue, 01-31-2006 - 3:46pm |
I have a new chart on the wall in my little office area.
| Tue, 01-31-2006 - 3:46pm |
I have a new chart on the wall in my little office area.
We are also contemplating adding to our family, so there would be medical bills, too. Thank goodness it is only January, and we have a little bit of time to do some planning!
Heather
I'd like to get a laptop. My current one is so old, the battery is completely discharged and I can't add any software to it because it doesn't have a cd drive and can't connect to the internet. I'm thinking a new laptop is going to be around 1,300. I totally don't have the money right now (still tackling the debt) but that's my big thing. I think I should have a piggy bank and stick my extra cash on hand into it, and put that towards the laptop fund.
That's a great idea about the big item list. I think I will print one out for myself!
A dishwasher
Travel expenses-in March alone I have a trip for my grandmother's birthday (about 8 hours each way) and then my brother's wedding (5 hours each way) plus I usually spend a couple of days of Spring Break at a nearby lake with my mom and sisters (1.5 hours away plus probably 80-100 for condo and then shopping). I should also be defending my dissertation this spring (4 hours each way) and then graduating in May. I also have some gift expenses there I usually don't buy my grandma a gift but will this year (80th) and then my brother's wedding as well.
Home repair-we have some leaking in the basement so we'll have a plumber out if we get a tax refund.
Those are the expected ones.
Taleyna
I started this list at the end of last year, with a plan for how to pay for each one. Our expenses are:
10th anniversary: new rings, because mine is lost and dh is allergic to his; a weekend trip, our first weekend alone since our first son was born five years ago--heck, it'll be the first time we've actually slept all night in the same bed without someone crawling in between us since our first son was born! LOL (high: $3000; low: $700; most likely: $1500)
Trip to California: I have four aging grandparents and a great aunt in California (we're on the East coast, so this is an expensive trip), one of whom is expected to pass on this year. So we've decided to go ahead and set the money aside for the funeral. If it doesn't happen this year, at least it will already be paid for when it does happen. Our plan is for me to go alone with our youngest son and for dh to work from home with our older son. We'll have to pay for two plane tickets. (high: $1000; low: $650; most likely: $750)
Vacation: Last year was the first time ever that we took a full one-week vacation and actually went somewhere. It was awesome. So, we're going to try to do the same thing again this year. (High: $1000; low: $300; most likely: $750)
So our "most likely" total is about $3000. At that amount, we'll have the money for all of them from projected bonuses and freelance income by the end of June, which should be soon enough (our anniversary is in June, but we'll have enough for it in time). If we don't end up owing on our taxes, we will have an additional $1600 to put toward those events (fingers crossed).
I just really hope we don't have any unexpected expenses like the air conditioner this past summer. And I feel badly that we don't have plans to pay any of that "bonus" money toward debt, but we really feel like we need to keep living our lives.
" And I feel badly that we don't have plans to pay any of that "bonus" money toward debt, but we really feel like we need to keep living our lives."
I agree with you, but my biggest resentment in March of 2003 when I switched jobs and had a large tax refund was paying bills with all the money. I had 5 weeks+ accrued paid time off and didn't spend a dollar of it on me. I did my last day on the old job on a Friday and started my new job the following Monday. Still haven't had a vacation, but am budgeting for a 3 week break this fall if all goes well. Sure we could put that $$ towards bills, but we REALLY need a vacation. It will do wonders to my emotional well being and I am hoping it will help fiance and I recharge our relationship a bit also. Working 60+ hour weeks for the past 15 months has sucked the life out of us.
Perhaps since you are not putting bonus money toward debt you can work on ways to snowflake extra toward your debts. I'm not big on taking my lunch to work, but I also know this is a big source of spending for me every week and have tried to be more careful when I shop to get easy to pack lunch items so that I start brown bagging more often.
Proud sister of a Marine:
Thanks for the feedback on that--especially your experience with paying all your extra money to debt and then resenting it. It's helpful to be reminded that we have to live our lives too.
We do snowflake bits and pieces to debt. We've been on our repayment journey for three years now. We expect, at the latest, to be debt free by the end of 2007, but possibly as soon as the end of 2006. Since we'll only be using our bonuses/freelance income through June for the big expenses, we can probably snowflake some of the second half of the year. Also, I am estimating low on my freelance income--it is frequently more than what I have budgeted.
So I only feel a *little* bad, lol.
Well let's see:
1. Baby fund: We have to have enough so that we can do our major purchases if they are not bought off of my registry...we also need some other things for our new baby that aren't neccessarily big purchases...
2. Transition Lainey: We need to change her from the double bed to a twin bed so they can share the room and I can make better use of the space. She will need bedding and some organizational items etc.
3. Our House Downpayment: this is a large expense.. We are hoping to have 20% saved by January and some extra money for moving expenses, maybe even furniture if we have money remaining...
This will be our year of paying off and saving... we have plans to pay off both cars, Brandon's debt and save for all of these expenses... We will have to be very vigilant and be on our best behavior but it will be so worth it by next January!
Stephanie