People in my classes often ask “what am I forgetting?” when they are making their budgets.

Below is a list of expenses that most of us forget to budget for: there are plenty more, but these are the biggies.

#1 – unexpected parental leave – sometimes “I will totally go back to work after my maternity leave ends” turns into “He just started smiling, he’s finally sleeping, you’ve got to be kidding me, now is when I have to go back?”

#2 – daycare – this is shockingly expensive

#3 – summer camp (see #8 college)

#4 – braces

#5 – bar mitzvahs, quincenieras, sweet sixteens (see #10 weddings)

#6 – new car, house paint, boiler

#7 – vacations

#8 – college (some lucky people get to pay for this for ourselves and then for our kids!)

#9 grad school (ditto #8)

#10 weddings (ditto #8)

#11 airline tickets to visit family / see your children

#12 being ‘between jobs’

#13 final expenses (funerals)

There’s a lot more where these came from, but those are the most common expenses I’ve found that people don’t take into account when making budgets. Keep in mind that making a budget to cover your regular expenses is helpful, but you can’t forget to budget for life’s irregular expenses too!