Irregular spending.

Certain expenses may be difficult to plan for, because they may not be regularly occurring. Home maintenance is a good example: repairs for a new roof or boiler don’t happen every month, but you still need to budget for them. One good rule of thumb is to place 1-3% of your home’s value aside for repairs and maintenance each year.

Add some cushion to your budget.

Create a dedicated category in your expenses for cash savings each month. Setting some money aside to prepare for unexpected costs means you won’t have to sacrifice spending in other budgeted areas.