Here are some things I notice people forget to amortize into their monthly budgets. What else can you all think of? These are all in my budget, what about you guys? Sheitel, lulav, esrog, mishloach manos, new phone, new shoes, pesach, kapparos, sefarim, talesim, checking mezuzos... For example, if you know you buy a 240 dollar esrog each year, then you should budget 20 dollars a month to save up for your esrog.

Are you suggesting to amortize EVERY cost you know you'll have, but isn't monthly? If yes, gifts (Chanukah, birthday, anniversary, yomtov, afikoman, whatever it is you do). Supplies for all yamim tovim (neiros and oil, cream cheese, simanim). School supplies and uniforms. Laptop/desktop every few years.

Yes I do suggest and also personally (try my best) to amortize all KNOWN fixed costs to minimize surprises. If you don't, some of those surprise costs can really throw off a budget and eat into what you had planned to be investing or cause someone to go into their emergency budget. Though I think cream cheese is probably small enough not to need to have a monthly budget for 😂😂 My kids aren't old enough for uniforms yet so I don't have that in there. How much does that usually cost per kid per year? That's a good one I missed and a good thing for me to add to the budget sheet I make for families!

Cholov Yisroel cream cheese with inflation these days... 😆 Our daughter's uniform was about the same price as a regular (non Shabbos) outfit, so no difference than regular clothing. I think some schools are very particular about the uniforms and they can only be bought from the school or a specific vendor. Those are likely more expensive.

I tried amortizing but found it to be a pain, Instead I usually keep a separate fund that is large enough to cover recurring expenses and top it off when it goes down

So a while ago I found a downloadable excellent sheet that had most frum expenses layed out. The sheet included sections titled fixed monthly, variable monthly, annual expenses and income. Here's a link to the website I found helpful

Yearly men’s mikvah membership

L oh wow @fast-megabyte-10597 that's a big one I totally missed. Thank you so much!

Paying insurance annually saves a couple hundred dollars - I set aside $200/Month for that

Going thru this old thread, I am wondering if anyone has any ideas for my issue... In order to properly "embrace my true expenses" I amortize all periodic & annual expenses in my budget. However, I also like to have a very clear record of the month I actually spent the money in for future reference. Is there a way to have my cake and eat it too? Any ideas for how to structure this in my budget?

That is exactly what YNAB does! You set aside annual expenses monthly but it doesn't show up as an actual expense.

@mysterious-tomato-10057 but I would like that in my spreadsheet..

I don't have a good answer for you then 😿

Not an accountant, but I wonder if the accounting concept of debits and credits would be helpful here? Each month you "owe" that amortized amount of money, but only when you spend it so you zero out that line item?

@numerous-pager-5334 what do you think about Levi eisenbergs question

Can you provide more context or specifics about Levi Eisenberg's question you want me to evaluate?

@numerous-pager-5334 do you have an idea how @brainy-article-82090 can run his budget like he is describing in Excel? Where both monthly and annual expenses are expressed as he described?

Levi Eisenberg can definitely use the accounting concept of debits and credits to manage his budget in Excel. Here's a simple way to do it: 1. Create a Budget Sheet: This sheet will have all the categories of income and expenses. For each category, create a column for each month of the year. This will allow you to plan your budget on a monthly basis but also keep track of your annual budget. 2. Income and Expense Sheets: Create separate sheets for income and expenses. Each time you receive income or incur an expense, record it in the respective sheet. Include columns for the date, description, category, and amount. 3. Debits and Credits: In the accounting world, income is credited (it increases your capital) and expenses are debited (they decrease your capital). So, in your income sheet, you can credit the amount you receive, and in your expense sheet, you can debit the amount you spend. 4. Monthly Totals: At the end of each month, calculate the total income and expenses for each category. Then, update these totals in your budget sheet. 5. Annual Totals: At the end of the year, sum up the monthly totals to get your annual total for each category. This will give you a clear picture of your income and expenses for the year. 6. Amortization: For expenses that are not monthly but known (like insurance or annual subscriptions), you can divide the total amount by 12 and allocate this amount to each month in your budget sheet. This way, you're setting aside money each month for these expenses. Remember, the key to this system is regular updating and reviewing. It might seem a bit tedious at first, but once you get the hang of it, it can provide a clear and accurate picture of your financial situation.

@brainy-article-82090 what do you think?

@mysterious-tomato-10057 thanks for this post! I actually have this kind of system currently. I guess I'm trying for something too complicated and not worth the time to figure out.

I would agree with that analysis. I promise I did a lot of trial and error and research before deciding that YNAB and right capital were the right solutions to cover all use cases