Yes, we're still in 2017. No, it's not even Christmas yet, but let's look ahead to 2018 and think about our budgets.

Has this ever happened to you? You sit down and make your budget. It's perfect. It's gleaming. Every penny is accounted for and then your kid gets sick, you realize you need to change your oil and your third-grader got invited to two birthday parties. Yup. Been there. (Only my child is five.)

Today I wanted to talk about 7 things you probably forgot to budget. Because we all do this at some point.

1. Copays.

If you have kids they will get sick. It is cold and flu season. It is just going to happen. I know it seems unfair, considering you just got every well from all the back to school sniffles, but settle in, you will be taking someone to the doctor.

We budget for two copays every month. If we don't use them, great! They get rolled over to the next month. But trust me, you will be happy they're there.

2. Entertainment.

I know when you've first started budgeting it's tempting to go all in, barebones, bread and water and no screens of any kind. But you will QUICKLY burn out and toss your budget out your car window.

Instead, set aside a few dollars a month. It doesn't have to be huge. It can be $9.99 for Netflix or a couple bucks for a Redbox movie or a round of mini golf with your kids. Just give yourself a little something.

3. Gifts.

Ahhh birthday parties. I hate them. I hate them so hard. Kids get invited to a lot of parties, so set aside $10 for gift or a gift card to the frozen yogurt place and call it a day. You don't want to be throwing something in your cart at the last minute.

4. Car expenses.

If you want your car to last it will require basic maintenance like tire rotation and oil changes. Be sure to budget for these things and go ahead and set aside a few dollars each month to put toward things like a new set of tires, or even a future new car fund.

5. Pets.

You can't forget little fuzzy. Remember to include pet food and vet expenses in your monthly budget. For us, it's chicken feed and a lot of it! We forgot to budget for that one month.... it only happened once.

6. Fees.

If you have an HOA, organizational membership, sports, ballet, gymnastics put those in your budget. Even if there not paid every month, you will probably forget later on if it's not there.

7. Annual or bi-annual payments.

If your property tax only gets paid annually or your car insurance gets paid every six months, if would be really easy to forget to add those line items to your budget. But if you're setting aside a few dollars for them each month, it's not going to hurt when you finally pay the bill.

Featured