What are the best ways to adjust your budget for unexpected expenses?

In my experience, the best way to deal with unexpected expenses is to build an emergency fund of three to six months of your essential outgoings amount. The fund should be kept in an easily accessible bank or savings account for liquidity.

Build a safety net! Prioritize an emergency fund to cushion unexpected blows. Then, track spending to find pockets to trim, creating a "miscellaneous" category for future surprises. By being flexible and proactive, you can adapt your budget like a financial shock absorber, weathering those unplanned expenses with less stress.

An emergency fund is the bedrock of any financial plan. You want to save three to six months of necessary expenses (costs that keep us alive and out of debt). If you don't have an emergency fund or know where to start, baby steps are key. Pick a small amount from each paycheck you know you can live without. This can be as little as $25. Automate the process so the amount you select goes into a separate savings account every paycheck. After a few paychecks, see if you can increase the savings amount. Repeat until you feel like you can't part with any more. The cash in your emergency fund should always be available to you when you need it (liquid). I recommend a high-yield savings account, so it can earn a little interest while it waits.

Most times when we do have an unexpected expense its less than ￡100. I keep between ￡100 to ￡200 as a buffer in my account to cover those odd payments o may have underbudgeted for. This way I keep my emergency fund on tact for the bigger expenses and avoid the use of credit and overdrafts.

An emergency fund... not rocket science! But yet I didn't learn this myself until my early 40's when I went to a Dave Ramsey workshop. I also like my "Christmas fund." Simply open an account named "Christmas fund" at your favorite institution and put in a dollar starting the first week of the year in January. Double that every week (i.e. first 1 week, $1, second week, $2 third week $4 etc.) for 50 weeks (two weeks off for Christmas shopping) and at the end of 50 weeks, you'll have just over $1000 for Christmas! I do this every year and with just a calendar entry/reminder and some discipline, you can too!

There are often opportunities to trim expenses if you review your budget regularly. Here are some things to consider saving on when reviewing your budget: 1. Have you asked your short-term insurance company for a discount? Insurers are often able to provide discounts due to longer insurance history, low claims, etc. 2. Have you considered pausing or cancelling unused subscriptions? Small amounts quickly add up when you start trimming recurring billing items. 3. Review your internet subscription and consider whether you can make do with a slightly slower line speed. 4. Get comparative quotes for services you pay for monthly. New services and more competitive rates are often available when you review your budget.

Awareness of your budget is key. Ignorance of what comes and goes in your budget can lead to more unexpected surprises and expenses. Many people I've worked with felt they could ignore their budgets because it was too stressful to manage, or they were afraid of the discipline of budgeting. When unexpected expenses arose, they would find themselves in financial emergencies that often could have been avoided or prevented with regular financial reviews and check-ups. So schedule monthly, bi-weekly, or quarterly check-ups with a knowledgeable professional to alleviate the pressure of doing it on your own until the discipline and benefits of budgeting become apparent and habitual. You'll be much better prepared for the next unexpected event.

In my experience every situation is different, although I like the 50/30/20 concept I prefer to work with families on the WANTS part of their budget, review, assess and increase the savings percentage, essentially reverse the two Numbers and rake my client to a savings mindset rather than a wasteful mindset. Creating a new WANT, I want to be wealthy,then pre fund what that looks like. It is very effective.

The best investment one can make is investing in themselves. Once you invest in yourself, it leads to increase in income which solves most of our finance related problems.

Life circumstances change, and so should your budget. Regularly review and update your budget to reflect changes in income, expenses, or financial goals. This proactive approach helps you stay prepared for unexpected events.

List out all of the things, skills and resources you have available to you. Next to each one, brainstorm ways you can turn them into income-producing assets. From that list, see what you're most excited about and pursue it! For example - - my car > drive for a ride-share company or delivery service - my apartment > rent a room or my place when out of town - I can play piano > piano lessons - I can speak Spanish > Spanish lessons - I have extra time > freelance/consulting work

You may want to explore a balance transfer credit card, but with caution. Balance transfer cards typically have 0% APR introductory offers lasting months to years. If you can confidently pay off the expense within the time frame of the 0% APR period, you could transfer the debt over to the card and then pay off the debt without paying interest. IMPORTANT NOTES: 1. Make sure to look for a card that has no transfer fee 2. Often 0% APR cards have interest rates that skyrocket once the trial period ends. And if the debt isn't paid off by that time, the interest you would have owed during the period is added back to the card as a balloon payment (driving you deeper into debt). 3. 0% APR may no longer apply if you make a new purchase on the card.

Share household financial responsibilities with family members. Too many family members living under the same roof are paying twice for the same services. Save money by planning for household bills together, sharing bills and sharing joint household financial burdens.

Keeping track of your progress in a financial wellness app or simply in a spreadsheet will help you stay on track and motivate you to keep it up.