Having a spendy December
December 14, 2015
As we bleed money this year-end, I want to put up Christmas lights. To remind myself not all is lost? Irrational? Maybe. It’s not like we’re going broke. It’s just a remarkably expensive close to an otherwise pretty good year. And it was a good year. (I jumped the gun on the yearly recap but being grateful for what you have and accomplished isn’t the worst perspective to wear before writing a wish list.)
Except for this disgusting viral thing that was so bad it knocked us all down for more than a week, badly enough we would have headed to the ER for the fevers if we couldn’t get them down. Losing that week was bad enough but the lingering aftereffects just rub salt in the wounds. Oh, right, salt and wounds, the bleeding money thing. This is what our Fall has looked like.
Annual expenses
Car registrations: $450
Life insurance: $900
Property taxes: At least $5000
Christmas presents: $260
Museum memberships: $350
My IRA contributions: $5500
*Increase in childcare expenses: $1500 (per month for now. Expect this to go up. Of course.)
One-time expenses
Estate planning, retainer: $4000
Miscalculated tax, $700
Stock purchase for Christmas, $10,500
Mortgage prepayment, $XX,000 (not prepared to put that in print yet!)
All this wouldn’t seem that bad, even, if it hadn’t been preceded by a few months of higher expenses (hello, Summer).
Still, it has sucked up every penny of our cash reserves, our incoming paychecks for a few more weeks at least, and even touched our savings. That was the last straw.
Looking at the due dates for the stuff I can’t change, you’d think I would have been smarter than to take on the voluntary stuff (life insurance, memberships, the lawyer) at the end of the year but noooo. Of course not.
Is it just me or does the end of the year bring you the gift of annual expenses?
There seem to be a mix of expenses and saving/investment there. We pay property tax etc. quarterly. It’s less than half that here for homeowners – instead there is a huge tax on buying a house… We are continuing to spend very big with garden design/rebuilding being another $A16k in December. And baby preparation – car seat, stroller etc. This will certainly be a record spending year with buying a house, renovating and furnishing, baby stuff etc. I doubt we’ll spend this much again, till we move or get hit by school fees. Though child care fees are pretty much as high as private school, the government subsidizes the former heavily even for high income earners (at least for the moment).
True, it’s quite a mix of saving/investing, regular and one-off expenses. I just don’t like to pretend that cash flowing out isn’t cash flowing out of the checking account.
Is it appropriate to congratulate you on your impending joy / expenses? š
And that’s very cool that the government subsidizes child care fees, I feel like that’s something we really need around here. Among other things, of course.
Yes, everything is going well with the pregnancy so congratulations are appropriate š The story here seems to be that the government has heavily regulated child care and as a result it is very expensive and there is a shortage. As a result the government gives subsidies but these just push the price up further. At the moment I can salary-package child care if I use he on-campus provider, which at a marginal tax rate of 40-49% means that the cost is reduced by 40% in after tax dollar terms. If we only use it up to 3 days a week it is better to use the government subsidy directly which pays 50% of costs up to a cap of $A7,500 per year. It costs more than $A100 per day. There are also long waiting lists. So, we have signed up with three places. Two on my uni campus and one at my wife’s employer (government lab) which is next door to the university .
Oh fantastic! I’m so glad for you both. Do come share stories when you feel up to it!
Interesting about the regulations/cost. I wonder if we have comparable regulations to what you have (health, safety, security, etc). Is that cost of > $A100/day before or after the subsidies? Ours is anywhere between $120 – $175 USD depending on how many days per week they attend.
Our wait lists here are also quite long. We have looked at a few alternatives and it’s more than a 6 month wait period, and a full year wait period isn’t unusual. Our local preschool system has a 2-3 year wait list! It’s a bit scary, really. I hope you get into the one you like best.
Thanks! It’s just over $A100 (=$US72) per day before the subsidy. Apparently, in Melbourne and Sydney it can cost a lot more. It seems like the Bay Area might then be comparable to those places in Sydney. So, I’ve been reading about the costs and regulation issues, but often journalists etc. ascribe things to unique local factors when actually that is something that is also happening in other countries too. Or maybe in the US too, there are similar trends. The waiting lists at the all the popular places are more than a year long apparently.
Shee-it! At those kinds of property tax levels, you’d have a big house right on the CBD fringe here. (Mortgage would no doubt be a few mill though.)
Just got the annual car insurance bill, ergh. At least now we’re over 25 and have quite a new car and a decent driving record, it’s below $1k. For FULL cover. I still can’t believe it. #1goodmoneything
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How sad it is that either we’re stretched by the mortgage or the tax or both? *tsk* If we could move, I’d surely do it for the financial side of things.
YAY for reduced car insurance though!
Woo for reduced car insurance! My car insurance was $450 for six months at the last renewal! I was so excited at last – I’d been paying about $1,300/year on average.
Most of my annual expenses (house insurance, rentals’ taxes and insurance, birthdays) are scattered. Christmas, of course is an annual occurrence in December and I tend to spend quite a bit on Bill and his kids, but within a budget. I’m pleased to say I was well ahead of the game for most Thanksgiving and Christmas jobs and though I’m not completely finished, I’m far enough ahead to give myself a rest day today. When I start dreading everything and being crabby with Bill, that’s a good sign I need to chill for a while as a priority! I’ve tidied up my finances to save on the cost of accountant fees next year, something I’ve put off for ages, so I’m pleased about that, too. Happy Christmas to you – enjoy your lights!
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That sounds great! Enjoy your rest day and a very Happy Christmas to you and Bill.
This is an interesting time of year, for sure. My annual Long Term Care insurance premium always comes due in early December, but I also usually have larger paychecks because I’ve fulfilled the maximum contribution on my 401(k) and on my Social Security contributions. So the paycheck is a little larger for the last month or two of the year.
Why is car registration so high? Mine was less around $170 if I recall correctly.
I’m going to finally get around to some estate planning (as well as completing an advanced directive). A cancer scare makes those things more urgent. So I expect to layout some money for legal fees in the near future, too.
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Oh that reminds me I left car insurance off the list. Though I suppose it doesn’t fall right in the Nov/Dec period.
Car registration: 3 cars! (I still pay for my dad’s)
Legal fees for estate planning here took my breath away at first. Eesh.
Fortunately we pay our property taxes in little chunks every two weeks with our mortgage, so we haven’t had to deal with one of those end of the year lump sum payments yet. Ditto for the retirement contributions. Most of my annual expenses end up occurring in June because they either coincide with my birthday, or when I bought my car before starting work at the end of university.
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I a little bit wish we had that option to just pay as we go. It’s not like I don’t know to expect it or account for it, but I keep that money in the checking account anyway so it’s not earning anything.
Can’t tell if it’s better / worse than having it around your birthday š