45+ Things You Might Forget to Budget For

Have you ever wondered if there are things you are forgetting to budget for?

When creating a budget, it’s difficult to anticipate all the expenses you’ll encounter, whether they’re annual expenses, unexpected ones, or even large one-time purchases you’ll want to plan for.

It’s easier to nail down the obvious categories: rent or mortgage, groceries, utilities, and car payments. But it’s those irregular or less obvious expenses that tend to sneak up on us and throw a perfectly good budget off track.

So I polled my Instagram followers about common items people might forget to budget for. And, wow, they came up with a HUGE list of great ideas!!

This isn’t a “read it and forget it” list. Save it, pin it, and come back to it next time you’re building or reviewing your budget. Chances are at least one of these will save you from an unpleasant surprise down the road.

45 Items You Might Forget to Budget for:

Health & Personal Care

1. Insurance co-pays
2. Prescriptions
3. Haircuts
4. Vitamins & supplements
5. Pet meds & vet visits
6. Dental & orthodontic work (this can really add up with a bunch of kids!)
7. At-home medical supplies (bandages, gauze, over-the-counter meds)

Vehicles

1. Irregular maintenance (new brakes, rotors, AC, etc.)
2. Oil changes
3. New tires
4. Car inspections
5. Taxes
6. License and registration fees
7. Car wash memberships
8. Saving up for a new-to-you vehicle purchase

Kids and Family

1. School supplies
2. Teacher gifts
3. Supplies or fees for hobbies
4. Sports fees & equipment
5. Music lessons and instruments
6. Tickets for sport/music events and concerts
7. Hot lunch and special snack money
8. Back-to-school shopping
9. Kids’ activities
10. Family fun
11. Family vacations
12. College funds

Holidays and Special Events

1. Christmas decor & wrapping supplies
2. Christmas gifts
3. Postage for Christmas cards
4. Family photo sessions
5. Hosting (in addition to your regular grocery budget)
6. Anniversary and birthday outings / special meals

Home

1. Home repairs
2. Replacing home appliances
3. New plants and flowers
4. Tree removal
5. Irrigation repair
6. Natural disasters
7. Pest control
8. Saving up for a big home purchase like a new roof, HVAC, or septic system

Other

1. Giving & tithing
2. Unpaid time off work for sickness or family needs
3. Annual subscriptions (Amazon Prime, Netflix, various software programs, online courses)
4. Inflation on things you are saving for (they will be more expensive by the time you’ve saved enough)

How to Account for These Budget Items

Whew — that’s a lot. Don’t panic though! Chances are, you won’t have all of these included in your budget, because everyone’s budget looks different depending on life circumstances, priorities, and goals. And if you use our FREE budgeting spreadsheet to set things up, most of these items fall under one of the fixed or variable expenses categories, so you’ll be set!

I would simply encourage you to nail down your financial goals and then set up a simple budget to track everything. Run through this list after you set up your budget to be sure you didn’t forget anything that’s important to you!

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Did we miss any items you might forget to budget for? What else would you add to this list?