Use 2008 Expenses and Spending to Plan for a More Financially Successful 2009

It’s really hard to predict the future. What I mean is, I am quite sure that between myself, my wife, and my children, I (we) will be spending money next year on something (or a bunch of things, more likely) that I am not planning for right now. Hopefully, it won’t be anything drastic or a real emergency, but for most people, I would guess, unexpected expenses have a way of creeping up, often at inopportune times. Murphy’s Law, I guess.

Over the last few days, I have been thinking of the money I spent in 2008, especially expenses I didn’t really plan for. While I have an emergency fund, the way I look at it is, that if I can save money for expenses that are likely to happen or I know about ahead of time, I will be better off in 2009 financially than if I don’t try to plan ahead.

Now of course, you can’t plan for everything; but I think a little foresight will help with keeping my budget and personal finances on the right track. Here are a couple of ways I am planning on preparing for these types of expenses in the coming year:

Add dedicated savings for unexpected spending categories

School/Recreation Activities for Kids- (not talking about tuition for school, summer camp, or daycare-, but miscellaneous fees, registrations, fund raisers, field trips, etc. Even if it is only $10 to $20 a month, it adds up.

Vehicle Maintenance/New Car Fund- Do you drive a car more than a couple of years old? Chances are, you will have to have your car serviced sometime in the coming year, not to mention routine car maintenance for cars of any age, such as oil changes, or new tires. If your car is older, have you started saving for a replacement yet?

Christmas and birthday gifts- Even if you have a dedicated Christmas savings account, do you save up for birthday gifts for your kids, their friends, or relatives? What about the cost of birthday parties for your children? I would like to save money for birthday gifts this year on a regular basis.

Vacations/Travel-Did you take any spur of the moment trips in 2008 that you didn’t plan or save money for? Do you know if you will be doing any traveling in 2009? While my wife and I don’t have anything planned just yet, it is likely we will take 1 or 2 trips during the year, and I want to have that money saved ahead of time.

Look over subscription based services, and other recurring expenses

Did you upgrade or need to add any service, subscription-based, or other recurring expenses in 2008? Do you think that might happen again in 2009? Some things you might want to look over include:

Phone
Cable
Gym Membership
Taxes
Health Insurance
Car Insurance
Life Insurance
Transportation costs-gasoline, etc.
School or daycare expenses

And of course, there are many more. Can you cut back on any of them? Do you need to increase any of your coverages, such as life insurance?

While it is hard to predict what may happen to me in 2009, by looking back at 2008 I can see the types of “unexpected expenses” I might have in 2009, and I can look over my personal financial situation to see if there are any areas I may need to upgrade, like life insurance, for example.

Did you have any unexpected expenses in 2008 that makes you want to save money for something similar in 2009? Do you have any planned expenses in 2009 that you know about already?