August 10th, 2007 
NCN
I recently adjusted my take-home pay so that I can fully-fund my 403(b) for 2007? Guess what? I made a major miscalculation. Long-story-short, while making my budget calculations for the next few months, I left out a rather large ($500 or so) reoccurring monthly expense. I could talk to my employer and adjust my take-home pay again, but I don’t want to do that. So, I’m left with the following:
1. I have to decrease my spending, specifically my discretionary (miscellaneous) spending.
2. I have to increase my income, specifically non-work-related income.
So, I’ll be putting my golf clubs in the closet, turning the a/c up a bit, forgoing the dry cleaner, and washing my own car. And, I’ve already started going through my closets for items to list on eBay. In the last week, I’ve managed to make about $100, so I feel good about August.
Lesson learned: It’s always wise to check your budget once, twice, three times!
It’s like old times, scrambling to make the budget numbers work.
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You know what the best part is? You actually make it sound fun!
Would this count as an emergency? That is, would this be a problem eligible for tapping your emergency fund.
Seriously though, I’d first try tightening your belt and if that doesn’t work out, then you really couldn’t afford to max out your 403(b) this year and the contribution rate should be reset to normal.
Well you have a garage full of cats. That could cut your food expenses for a few days
[...] $3500 “short” of where I had hoped to be. Why? When calculating my budget for 2007, I made a major miscalculation and forgot about a $500 per month recurring expense. Still, I pretty pleased with my progress and I’ll be working very hard to reach my goal by [...]