The Budget Is Not Broken—It’s Missing the Ugly Stuff

Q: “I make decent money, but somehow I’m broke before payday. I track rent, groceries, and bills, then a $90 prescription, a birthday gift, and car registration show up and eat the whole month. Is my budget just bad?”

Yeah, partly. But the bigger problem is that you’re treating irregular expenses like random attacks. They are not random. Cars need registration. People have birthdays. Teeth enjoy financial ambushes.

Make a list of expenses that happen less often than monthly—insurance, gifts, repairs, medical costs, annual fees—and total what they cost in a year. Divide that number by 12. That monthly amount belongs in your budget, even if you move it into a separate savings account. A budget that only includes monthly bills is not a budget; it’s fan fiction.

Q: “I have $6,800 on credit cards. I keep transferring balances to new cards, and I tell myself I’m saving money because the interest is lower. But then I use the old cards again. Should I keep doing balance transfers?”

A balance transfer can help, but it is not a debt payoff plan by itself. It’s a temporary reduction in interest, often with a transfer fee and a deadline. If you keep charging the old cards, you’re using a shovel to climb out of a hole.

Stop opening new accounts for now. List every card’s balance, interest rate, minimum payment, and promotional end date. Pay the minimum on all of them, then send every extra dollar to the card with the highest interest rate. If the payments are genuinely unaffordable, call the card companies and ask about a hardship program before you miss payments. Yeah, the debt is on you—but pretending the math will improve through optimism is also a choice.

Q: “My job offers life insurance, and I have two kids. I’m tempted to skip it because I’m healthy and money is tight. Is that irresponsible?”

Maybe, depending on who relies on your income. Life insurance is mainly for replacing income or covering debts and childcare if you die. If nobody depends on your paycheck, it may be unnecessary. If your kids would lose housing, food, or childcare without you, basic term life insurance deserves a serious look. “Term” means coverage for a set number of years, usually at a lower cost than permanent insurance.

Today, open your bank app and create one automatic transfer for the monthly amount needed to cover your irregular expenses. Start with whatever you can afford—even $25—and increase it after one month.

Disclaimer: I’m not a financial advisor, and this column is general information, not personalized financial advice.