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plan for irregular expenses
Make planning for irregular yearly expenses part of your budget plan to avoid nasty surprises.
Most people budget for regular monthly expenses such as home loan or vehicle repayments, but not for less regular, yearly expenses such as home repairs and maintenance, car services and repairs, birthdays and anniversaries, back-to-school costs and holidays.
If you haven’t planned for them, you could end up using money that you budgeted for something else, or, even worse, taking credit you can’t afford.
Stay in control and plan for them with these tips:
Look at your past spending
If possible, work out how much you spent on periodic expenses last year. Include every possible one you can think of.
A few typical ones could be:
- Home maintenance and repairs
- Vehicle licensing, services and repairs
- Birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and special events
- Back-to-school costs
- Pet vaccinations
Prepare to spend at least the same amount as you did last year. If possible, look at ways to reduce some expenses.
Divide and conquer
Now that you have an idea of what you’ll be spending, divide the total amount by 12 months. This is the amount you’ll need to save every month to reach your goal. Need to save for something specific? Use our savings calculator to help you.
Remember: Don’t be put off if the amount you need to save seems too much. Rather save what you can.
Open a savings account
Choose a fixed or flexible savings plan and benefit from our competitive rates. Track your progress with up to 4 extra saving plans, each with a different name for a different expense. For example, you could have a Home Repairs, Vehicle Maintenance, Back-to-School and Special Events plan. You also have easy anytime access to your plan using your cellphone, the Internet or a Capitec Bank ATM.
Tip: Use our cellphone app’s budgeting tool to track your monthly recurring payments and daily expenses to help you manage your money better.
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