Don't you hate those months when it seems like everything comes due at the same time. Thankfully, those months don't happen all the time or I'd be up a financial creek. I'm also happy that I've already planned for those expenses in advance and tucked the money away in a special savings account.
As much as it sucks that I'm going to be emptying out my pre-planned expense account, it's nice that the money is there for those expenses and I'm not trying to figure out where the money is going to come from or having to whip out the credit card.
What's going to be draining my bank account this month?
Auto. In Georgia, vehicle tag registration fees are due on or before your birthday. My birthday is on May 25th so I need to send a check to the county tax commissioner before my birthday or I'll be subject to a late fee. They late fee is pretty steep (10% of the amount of the ad valorem fee and 25% of the tag fees). I'll be stroking them a check for almost $400 which includes the annual license plate/registration fee, ad valorem tax and mail fee. It sucks paying a nice chunk of change for just a sticker. For that kind of money, you would think that we would get a new tag each year. Nope, I've had the same tag since I moved here 10 years ago.
Insurance. My auto insurance comes due this month. In order to avoid a $2.00 fee each month for paying in installments, I pay the bill for the six month premium in full. I save $12.00 by paying in full and I also get a paid in full discount. In addition to saving money by paying in full, I also get peace of mind. I don't have to worry about forgetting to pay the bill and driving around without insurance. The cost of my auto insurance is around $600.
Rental Property. I completed the long overdue quarterly checkup on my rental property and found that several items needed to be repaired and/or replaced. There are several windows in the property that need to be replaced. There is condensation in some of the windows and the tenant is complaining of high utility bills. The exterior trim needs to be repainted and resealed. The deck has some loose boards and needs to be repaired. The casing/trim around the patio doors needs to be replaced. The railing going down to the basement needs to be reattached. My tenants son kept putting it back up and eventually caused damage to the drywall. The wall needs to be patched and the railing will need to be put back up with drywall screws. The only good news about the repairs is that my uncle (the handyman) owes me quite a bit of money so I only have to buy the materials. I will have him do the repairs and the labor cost will be deducted from what he owes me. Including the cost of the windows, I estimate the cost of the materials to be around $1000.
At the end of the month, I'll have spent roughly $2000 on top of my regular monthly expenses.
How do you handle irregular expenses?
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$600 for 6 months of Auto Insurance (1 car?) seems high, I think that might be the rate for my first year of driving. The vehicle registration fee here in WI has recently raised, but I think it is still under $100. GA seems to be an expensive place to live!
First, happy early birthday.
So far, my daughter has had an uninsured car accident (there goes $4,000), camp tuition is due ($1,500), and I have my wife's birthday, my MIL's birthday, two nephews graduating, my 20 yr anniversary, my mom's birthday, and a family vacation to pay for.
May/June is tough.
My big money drain this month is that I have friends who are graduating and I will be spending the weekend with them out of town. I saved up $200 in cash to spend so hopefully I will not blow my budget this month with incidentals.
@dreamfool: That is actually for 2 cars. I pay the insurance and vehicle registration for my mothers car too.
@Ron: Thanks for the early birthday wishes. Sorry to hear your daughter had an accident and I hope she is ok. Looking at your expenses makes mine seem like peanuts!
@Lulu: Sounds like fun!
Oh boy do you have it nice on the car tag..In VA, I have to pay a personal property tax AND a Car tag.. and then the county and sometimes city I live in wants us to have a sticker that lets them know that they have a chunk of my change..
Ouch... usually I try to keep a buffer in my checking account for when things like this happen. That isn't too bad on the insurance though compared to what I was paying ;)
I have about the same rate for car insurance and I also pay 6 months at a time. Works out well for me too. For unexpected expenses, I usually put it on my credit card, or use my checking account if I have enough cash available. Usually I do considering every month I am paying $500- $1000 extra in student loan payments. So if I ran into something, that month the extra I put towards student loan payments may just drop down to $100- $200...
SG, I just moved from Georgia and I used to hate that annual ad valorum tax! I'm not 100% certain (so check with your accountant), but I do believe that $400 you pay can be deducted from your income taxes.
yeah, i have those months...usually at the end of the year, due to the holidays. when i look at my budget for the entire year, i'm always in the black during those months. For auto insurance, i pay mine in monthly installments because they told me it's cheaper that way. but i'm beginning to think that you might be right. i'm going to give my insurance a call to find out the truth.