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Reeling from expenses left and right?

06/05/09

Posted under Financial Planning, Saving money, budgeting, kids and money, spending habits

IT’S Wednesday as I write this. These past two days, Monday and Tuesday, I saw my retainer fee for the month from a publishing company disappear–in just two days.

First, my desktop computer refused to do anything at all, and so I brought it to the computer shop. It turned out that the power supply is broken and the video card sympathized with it and broke down as well. Since the computer guys were tinkering with the CPU, my son and I figured we might as well add 1 gigabyte of RAM.

Then on Wednesday, it was time for the car to have its 40,000-kilometer check up. This does not come cheap, I realized, especially after I OK’d a rustproofing job, etc.

So there, a whole month’s work pay gone in two days. Why does money “evaporate” so fast?

Parents with school age children may be thinking along the same line at about this time of the year. With tuition fees the way they are now, it’s no joke to send one child to private school. And what now if there is more than one child?

I learned from a financial management talk I attended years ago, that one must prepare for annual expenses by saving for it monthly. Take tuition fees, for instance. See how much the annual fee is for next school year, divide the amount by 12, and begin saving that amount monthly this June. This can be done as well for other annual expenses: car registration fees, annual income taxes (for the self-employed), and insurance premiums. As for repairs and maintenance expenses, saving a little more for this purpose every month will cushion you from the shock of getting your repair bill in the future.

Preparing for big expenses this way will help you avoid panicking when it’s time to pay up. Save, save, save.-Karen Galarpe

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12 Responses to “Reeling from expenses left and right?”

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  1. 12
    Tyrone | Millionaire Acts Says:

    I already took these kinds of expenses in the future and so as early as now, I am saving and learning about investments and financial intelligence so that when time comes for me to become a father, then finances wouldn’t be much of a burden.

  2. 11
    Antonio Says:

    Work the system –Build up your credit scores. Next, Get into as much debt as you possibly can. Buy houses, cars, jewelry, stocks etc…. don’t repay those debts and then declare bankruptcy . That is the way some Americans do it. — AND IT WORKS !!!!

  3. 10
    Onemore Says:

    Avoid loans as much as possible. The cost of money is expensive especially from five-six lenders. If you have loans, settle them all one at a time or in a manner that will not sacrifice too much the needs of the family. It is a very nice feeling to live without borrowing. Try to save whatever amount in every opportunity. Your accumulated savings will become your capital in some entrepreneural venture one day. Wise spending habits should be taught to every member of the family.

  4. 9
    carlos Says:

    It may not be as easy , as giving up — BUT Making more money is the best solution to all your problems.
    All those who are financially successful have done it.

  5. 8
    jeloppy Says:

    About the echas flushing thing. My mom uses water from laundry work to flush our toilet, instead of pouring that water through the drain. Saves money, and it eliminates that bad odor too.

    Not flushing the toilet until everyone has pooped already is a little gross, i think.

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