Do you consistently go over budget each month because of those little things that just “come up?” We did too! It was so frustrating and it was beginning to cause our marriage to suffer.
Maybe your child get’s sick and you have an unexpected trip to the doctor and pharmacy. Or maybe you have a field trip or fundraiser at school. Maybe the car needs new breaks, your child’s feet grow 2 sizes in a month (true story!), or you have to replace your cracked windshield.
It never fails that things will come up throughout the month that are not in the budget.
If you don’t have room in your budget for these unexpected things, then they will begin to eat into your emergency fund which will quickly dwindle. And let’s face it, most of these things should be expected. However, they aren’t things that we always remember to add to the budget when we set it.
It’s the small, but unexpected expenses that were busting our budget each month. And each month when things would pop up my husband, the budget stickler and adamant saver, would get so frustrated. It was beginning to cause a rift in our marriage.
As a stay-at-home mom, I make most of the purchases and when something would come up (like needing new shoes for the kids) I would have to take this news to my husband. After “working” in the needed items, we would inevitably have little to nothing left to add to our savings account that month.
Do you have a similar problem?
If this is something you struggle with too, then a flex fund might be just what your budget (and your marriage!) needs!
A flex fund is just what is sounds like. A portion of your income that you set aside for unexpected expenses that will inevitably come up throughout the monthly. You may argue that this should come out of the emergency fund. But really, are a pair of shoes worth dipping in the emergency fund for?
We like to take our flex fund money out in cash. We try to live on a cash budget because it just simplifies budgeting for us. If we don’t use all of our flex fund one month, it gets added to our savings account.
You may be thinking, “But I don’t have anywhere to add a flex fund. My budget is already maxed out.” Don’t worry. You can start super small and I bet there are places in your budget that you can make adjustments in order to add in a small flex fund.
The amount that you add into you flex fund each month will differ greatly based on your family’s income, expense, lifestyle, and geographic location. You could start as small as $10.
If you set aside $10 and something comes up that you need (not want!), the $10 flex fund might be just what you need to make it happen.
I love this concept! I try to pad our clothing, medical, entertainment, etc. budgets every month for things that will come up that I don’t know about when we budget at the beginning of the month, but this is a great idea too. I’m glad this is helping you and your hubby not get frustrated. Have an awesome day, Kaitlin. 🙂
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Padding your budget categories is a great idea. Although I’m afraid if I padded my clothing budget, I would be tempted to spend it! Haha! We (and when I say we I mean my husband) hate dipping into savings for small emergencies so this has been our solution. I’m glad you have a system in place that works for you! 🙂
This is a great idea! A flex fund totally makes sense for the things we may not think of in our budget! Thanks for the informative post!
Thanks Becky! 🙂