Dealing with Unexpected Expensesby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 10 Jul 2008 04:24 AM
When an unexpected cost comes up, see if it is possible to delay the expense of it until you can save for it or be caught up. Sometimes certain expenses aren't the crisis that we think they are, only very inconvenient. Let's say that garage door opener dies. A new one might cost $300, and we would automatically think to replace it. But can you live without it for a few month? Would not having the opener be the end of the world or just inconvenient? Food is a big expense, so if you can go without shopping for the week or two, you just might have enough money for your unexpected expense. Take a look at what you already have. Cook from your pantry and your stockpile to reduce the cost of food. Then when things are better, build that stockpile back up slowly over time. Can you get away with substituting something used for the expense? Obviously this won't work in all cases, but let me give you one example. Let's say that you are facing a car repair bill that includes a $300 part. Call local auto salvage yards to see if they have the part for less. Back home, we called this the junkie, and it is where we got all of our car parts. You can ask your repair shop to do the calling for you, but chances are that they won't try to find the part as enthusiastically as you would. Is there a way to make a little bit of extra money to put toward the expense? Can you hold a garage sale or sell something on Ebay? Can you mow lawns, run errands, babysit or take on a part time job until the expense is paid? Take a look at all of the money that is going out of your house. Is it possible to suspend any of your monthly services. Usually in times of hardship or vacation, companies will agree to suspend cable, Internet, phone, gym memberships, heating oil and even electricity. While I am not suggesting taking any of this to the extreme, going without television for a month or two might be a way of paying off that unexpected expense. What is your biggest budget breaker? Is it unexpected expenses, food or something else? Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. Starting June 1st, don't miss her articles in the Baby Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here. Related Articles: Crisis Frugality: 3 Things to Do to Make It to the Next Paycheck Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments mrmnmom82 (3365) 10 Jul 2008 06:25 AMFor us it is the unexpected expense. over $100. We don't often have more than that in savings, that's a work in progress. It's that surprise expense that we don't have enough in savings to cover. We usually have to wittle down the grocery budget a little. And the most recent surprise expense is going to require my hubby to work overtime to come up with the money. Thankyou for your timely tips. Tashi (1013) 13 Jul 2008 02:34 PMFor me, it's the bill I just got from the hospital. Thank goodness for insurance, but I have a nice chunk as my responsibility. I'm cutting back on eating out, and as many non-essentials as I can force myself to go without, until the bill is paid off. Then I may reconsider if I even really need those things in the first place.  Mary Ann Romans |
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