Starting to budget is a fabulous thing, but I have to tell you, once you set it up there are so many things that will try to throw you off-track.  It’s like the world knows when you are trying to not spend more than you need to so every extra expense that could possibly happen comes up!  You are going to come across so many things that will sabotage your budget.

If you want to be successful with staying on track with your budget, you will need must beware these 10 things that will sabotage your budget.

Pro-tip:  We all go over budget at one point or another, so if that happens to you, take heart, it isn’t the end of the world.  Also, read this and I will give you my best tips for what to do when you go over budget.

These are some of the most common saboteurs you can expect to happen when you are serious about budgeting!

1.  Your own weakness!

This is going to be a constant challenge for you.  This may mean you are going to be tempted to

• eat out,
• go clothes shopping,
• go for a stroll through Target or
• hit up Starbucks every morning for that Triple Shot!

You will be tempted every day to sabotage your own budget.  Don’t worry! This is all a process you will be growing and changing throughout.

Your mind is such a powerful thing, you will try to rationalize yourself into lots of bad decisions.  Be aware of this so you can combat it!  Budgeting is 80% behavioral which means you have an 80% chance of being successful if you can not give in to your weaknesses.

2.  Pets

Oh, these cute and cuddly family members can be so expensive at times.  Including these guys in your budget is awesome, but they will definitely throw curveballs your way at the most unexpected times.

Pet emergencies will always come up at THE most inopportune times.  They will eat something they aren’t supposed to or need surgery to fix something they broke.  You name it, it’s going to happen when you least expect it.

Pets bring lots of joy to your life, but they will also bring you emergency expenses.

GET YOUR FREE PET EXPENSES CHECKLIST TODAY!  SIGN UP NOW TO GAIN INSTANT ACCESS!

3.  Home repairs

This one is the freaking pits.

• You come home one day and your AC is out.
• You go to start your furnace for the winter and it doesn’t work.
• You suddenly have a leaky pipe causing you all kinds of problems.

Home ownership comes with all kinds of rewards, but it also comes with possibilities of repairs just around the corner!  Think about that before trying to buy a home.  Surprise situations are less likely to cause you to stress if you are able to just call a landlord about it.

4.  Subscription increases

This one gets me every time!  I’m talking about those things you sign up for for a free 3-month trial or a limited membership price for one year.  All of a sudden you have automatic payments hitting your checking account you totally forgot about. Or, that one-year special offer has expired and now your payment has gone up more than double!

These things are the worst!  A completely innocent sign up to get a good deal can turn bad if they have your bank information.  Suddenly those automatic payments begin and you can’t stop them soon enough.

5.  House projects

Most all home renovations start with a vision and good intentions.  You wake up one day, thinking you are Joanna Gaines and decide to start a small reno project on the cheap.  Suddenly one project turns to another, then you realize you can’t possibly live without all the amazing accessories to complete the look you were going for and there go a few hundred (or even thousand) dollars.

Once you are committed to a project it can be really hard to walk away from it due to finances, especially if it isn’t finished.  It is also hard to leave new work undecorated.  Did you just update your kitchen?  Well, that means you need all new kitchen accessories now.  It is like a snowball when it comes to interior decorating.  You will always find more you want to do to make your home look beautiful.

Home projects can take on a life of their own!….and in turn take over your money.

6.  Medical bills

These are super hard to prepare for because you can’t always know when something is going to come up.  Humans are clumsy (that’s a huge talent of mine!) and we end up hurting ourselves in more ways than we can imagine.

If you have kids this will be especially true!  Kids have more things happen that require medical attention than you ever bargained for.  Even with a health savings account, you could still be unprepared for these expenses.

7.  Regular traditions with friends

All of your social activities you are used to doing can totally kill your budget!

• Standing date with your girlfriends night every Friday for dinner and drinks?
• Matinee movie with your husband once a month?
• After work drinks with co-workers on Wednesdays?

All of these social events can bust your budget in a hurry!  Think about how many of these things you are doing every month and how much it is costing you.  This will help you decide if they are worth continuing or not, or if you need to adjust your spending while you are being social.

8.  Holidays

If you are anything like me, you love giving gifts!  And having people over for holiday parties!! Between decorations, food, drinks, gifts, and entertainment, you will have plenty of opportunities to spend too much cash!

It can be really hard to set boundaries with your budget especially if what you are doing is in the spirit of generosity.  This one can be really tough!

9.  Children

Kids come with so many freaking expenses!  Like who knew?! (Ummm, pretty much every parent who told you this before you had kids).  Kids need

• food (so much food),
• clothing,
• bedding,
• supplies for one million projects for school,
• diapers,
• the list goes on and on.

Kids are not cheap.  There is no way around this one.  Even with intentions of being super frugal with children related things, there will always be something extra you need to purchase.

10.  Friend and family major milestones

For a period of time in your life it will seem like all of your friends are getting engaged, then married, then having kids.  You will likely be participating in the bulk of these major milestones which means you will be providing gifts, participation in ceremonies that require a certain dress code or throwing showers for these things.

Whatever your level of involvement in these things, you will be spending an unknown amount of money.  Sadly, this is all completely out of your control because you don’t get to pick the timing of this stuff.  Well, you could try, but I don’t think it would go over well.

In life, there are approximately one million things that are going to sabotage your budget (I’m exaggerating, but you get my point).  These are some of the most common things that sabotage your budget that you will see come up over and over again.  From kids, pets, your home, the holidays to yourself, there are so many ways you are going to be caused to go over budget.

The good news is, once you know your biggest saboteurs, you can start to learn how to avoid them (or at least have a plan in place to deal with these unexpected expenses).

Ready to get a plan for those unexpected expenses?  Check this out!

Do you have anything that sabotages your budget on a regular basis?

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