what to do with annual expenses
Updated: Feb 4
Let’s play a little game of never have I ever. Have you played this game before? It’s a get to know each other type of game. Player one starts with a statement.
Never have I ever... had an expense that I am used to seeing every year still come up and bite me in the ass when it came due.
If you have had this happen, hand up.
Me: Raising my hand.
Everyone laughs and now you know a little something about each other. Yay! Wasn’t that fun? It wasn’t fun for me. It was my life story.
My prime example is my professional organization dues. I am a proud member of both the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID, Inc.) and the Minnesota RID (MRID). As a sign language interpreter, being a member of these organizations is an important part of my world. However, I used to want to yell profanities at them every June when they asked for my collective $215. Now. You want to take my money now?! During this slow time of the year. The audacity!
The reality is, I needed to turn the waving finger around and point it at me. I could only be irritated with myself.
How does that happen? How does an expense, that I “know about” still come out of nowhere?!
Here’s how: I was only focused on the expenses that had to be taken care of this month - I wasn’t seeing the whole picture. It would be like trying to bake a cake but you only get enough ingredients for one piece. (Maybe that was a bad example because cake never makes you cranky, but you get the point.)
Here is how to fix it!
Create a list of expenses that you pay for annually, biannually, or quarterly. I call it my “Recurring Items”. Here is my list:
January
New Year’s Eve
Cousin’s Bday Dinner Celebration
Car Insurance
February
Taxes
March
Hubby’s Truck Tabs
Hubby’s Bday Celebration
April (nothing)
May
Linus (my kitty) Annual Vet Appt
June
Membership Dues (RID, MRID, Wisc License)
July
Wedding Ring Insurance
Car Insurance
August
My Bday Celebration (I’m big into birthdays… can’t help it. I LOVE THEM!)
September
Carpet Cleaning
October (nothing)
November*
Pontoon Storage
December
Holiday Travel
My Truck Tabs
*You may be wondering… where do I plan for holiday gifts?
Hold tight, that will come in another post. Stay tuned!
I put all those items into an Excel spreadsheet:
Cell A1 type Month
Cell B1 type Recurring Item
Cell C1 type Amount
Row 1: Type the months down the row
At the bottom of Column C, I add all those up using this formula:
=SUM(C2:C18)
Note: your second number in that formula may or may not be C18, depending on how many items you've added to your list
The cell below that I use this formula to get my monthly amount:
=C19/12
Then, each month I have a line in my budget titled Recurring Items. That amount is transferred to a savings account and can be utilized as needed.
Voilà! Now I know how much money I need to set aside each month to pay for those items that pop up. Even though I love surprises, these were surprises that needed to be squashed, and now they are. This process was a game-changer for me. I hope it can be for you too!
Here's to you!
Melissa Mittelstaedt
Money Coach (AFC® Candidate)