Periodic expenses, also known as irregular or infrequent expenses, are expenses that occur at irregular intervals or at certain periods. These expenses are not regular or recurring like fixed expenses, but they are still predictable and can usually be planned for.
Examples of periodic expenses include:
Home maintenance: This includes expenses such as painting, roof repairs and major appliance replacements.
Car maintenance: This includes expenses such as oil changes, tire replacements and major repairs.
Vacations: This includes expenses for travel, lodging and entertainment.
Holidays: This includes expenses for gifts, parties and other special events.
Medical and dental expenses: This includes costs for check-ups, treatments and procedures that don’t happen regularly.
Taxes: This includes property taxes and other taxes that are due at regular intervals but not every month or year.
Professional services: This includes legal, accounting and consulting services, which are often engaged periodically.
These expenses can be difficult to budget for, as they can vary widely in amount and timing. However, they are still important to consider in financial planning and budgeting.
To budget for these expenses, you can set up a sinking fund, where you set aside a regular amount of money each month to cover these expenses when they come up. Or, you can review past expenses and make an estimate of the costs and how frequently they will happen. This way, you will have an idea of the amount of money you will need to put aside.