Care to share your experience?

[bigjohnmlb]

HELLO EVERYONE!! Super excited to be here! I have recently started down the road of budgeting in the last couple of months, and I have noticed just what a roller coaster ride this can be! I was hoping to gather a collection of stories that you guys have had that might she some light on things others might expect, or things that no one could have expected, etc. anything and everything! I'll bet this could get super interesting lol

[ua_guy]

Budgeting isn't so much a roller coaster as is encountering unexpected expenses. Things that don't fit the budget are either discretionary spending, or emergencies. Discipline is required for the discretionary stuff. Emergency expenses are handled via an emergency fund that usually represents approximately 6 months worth of saved expenses. Part of a good budget is a way to keep a slow drip of money replenishing or growing your emergency fund.

Example: A day before a large gathering of family and friends at our house, the main drain backed up. There was toilet water coming up through the floor where the downstairs toilet is. $1500 was the cost to have an emergency plumber come out, scope the line, repair an exterior break in the line, and jet the whole thing to clean out sediment. That money to pay for that came out of our emergency fund.