# Surprise Expenses?



## Uptosnuff (Mar 23, 2021)

For those that are retirees, what have you found to be your biggest expense(s) during the year?  Were these expenses a surprise or did you anticipate them?

I will be retired in a few months.  I think I know what my biggest yearly expense will be, but I'm curious about others.


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## Aneeda72 (Mar 23, 2021)

My surprise expenses were things like the auto renewal from Best Buy on my computer and a couple other things which only renew once a year, automatically, to my credit card and I totally forget about them till I get the bills. There were two others but I can’t remember what they are.


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## funsearcher! (Mar 23, 2021)

Medical expenses and car repair


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## SetWave (Mar 23, 2021)

Every damned bill is a "Surprise!".


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## Aunt Marg (Mar 23, 2021)

The only surprise expense we see is when something breaks-down and needs repaired or replaced, otherwise utilities are the only expense we're faced with each month.

Biggest expense each year for us is groceries. $800 - $1000 per month.


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## Jules (Mar 23, 2021)

Insurance for two vehicles.  

Yearly out-of-country travel insurance.  The biggest expense during normal times is travel.


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## Citygirl (Mar 23, 2021)

*I have no surprises unless something breaks down. The biggest expenses during the year is taxes for me but that can be planned for.*


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## Judycat (Mar 23, 2021)

Property taxes. I am behind one year but got a notice from the bureau of an impending tax sale in September. I have been paying on them every month for years and suddenly this notice!  I called the Tax Claim Bureau.  The woman who answered said the notice was a form letter that went out to everyone. She said, You're OK but we didn't want you to feel special. Then she cackled like a lunatic. Good Lord. People!


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## Packerjohn (Mar 23, 2021)

Aunt Marg said:


> The only surprise expense we see is when something breaks-down and needs repaired or replaced, otherwise utilities are the only expense we're faced with each month.
> 
> Biggest expense each year for us is groceries. $800 - $1000 per month.


Wow!  I average no more than $250 CND/month.  I eat by myself so I don't have much of an appetite.


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## Aunt Marg (Mar 23, 2021)

Packerjohn said:


> Wow!  I average no more than $250 CND/month.  I eat by myself so I don't have much of an appetite.


You do well, Packer. I only wish we could get away with spending less, but we do eat well.


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## Aunt Bea (Mar 23, 2021)

Like others, my biggest surprises are for repairs to my vehicle and me.

I rent so that helps to eliminate many of the surprise expenses that homeowners face.

I try to make an accurate budget that includes setting aside money each month in savings.

Over time those monthly savings help to smooth out the bumps.


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## Pappy (Mar 23, 2021)

Taxes, very reasonable here. A/C and heat, not to bad. The worst:
House insurance here in Florida, if you can  find it. Insurance companies very picky about who they insure and charge outrageous prices. Groceries are next. Prices rising constantly.


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## Don M. (Mar 23, 2021)

Probably the largest "unexpected" expense, this past year, was having the water pump replaced in my trusty old 1997 Dodge Dakota pickup...it was making squealing noises.  We have a very good local repair shop, and they replaced the pump, hoses, and anti-freeze for only $400 dollars....probably half of what a dealer would have charged.   On average, keeping our existing vehicles in good shape probably only costs about 2 or 3 hundred a year....makes a lot more sense than spending tens of thousands to replace them.  

 We've replaced most of the appliances over the past 4 or 5 years, so only a couple more, and everything will be fairly new....we have plenty saved for such expenses.  I had to buy a new chainsaw this past Fall, but it was "free", courteous of the government stimulus check.


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## Marie5656 (Mar 23, 2021)

*A good thing to do on a regular basis is to routinely check your bills you have on Auto-pay. Like Netflix or Hulu...if you decide to cancel these subscriptions, make sure to check your auto pay is shut off.  
Also, this is something that happened to me recently.  I have one of those life alert type buttons. I had the quarterly payment on auto pay from my credit card. I decided to switch it to my bank debit card.  No issues, it went smoothly until my first deduction after the switch..they charged BOTH my credit card and debit card.  They never cancelled the one autopay when starting the other.*


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## Chet (Mar 23, 2021)

At the beginning of a new year is when the big bills come for taxes and house and car insurances. They are expected. Any repairs are not expected. One "unexpected" bill is when you get a hankering for a new car.


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## hollydolly (Mar 23, 2021)

I think my biggest expense this year was a new Cambelt, and 4 new tyres..  getting the new cambelt made good sense before my old one snapped , and although I could afford it, it was unexpected..  and with the annual MOT and service it all came to a pretty penny


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## OneEyedDiva (Mar 23, 2021)

I didn't really have any surprise expenses. They raised our carrying charges (co-op speak for HOA fees) by $50 a month which wasn't unexpected. Actually I thought it would be $100 due to the rise in taxes and would've been glad to pay that since our housing costs are only about 36% of the average for the area. Any problems that affect common areas are paid for by the co-op fund. I don't own a car so don't have to worry about those unexpected car repairs that can be quite expensive.  

I've been waiting for the longest to remodel my kitchen and get new flooring throughout the apartment but again, I'm prepared for that. It took forever to find the materials I want to use and as soon as I did, the pandemic hit. Like @Don M. I replaced some appliances, my dryer, which was about 25 years old, my microwave and countertop dishwasher. Only the microwave was somewhat a surprise but it's a small, inexpensive model which I wound up getting for free.

Your health care expenses might wind up being unexpectedly high if your insurance coverage isn't comprehensive enough.


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## Gary O' (Mar 23, 2021)

Uptosnuff said:


> For those that are retirees, what have you found to be your biggest expense(s) during the year? Were these expenses a surprise or did you anticipate them?


Bought a house in town last year
Tricky closing costs

The big one;
Backed up plumbing.....after moving in
Glad I'm handy
Still, replacing things cost


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## jujube (Mar 23, 2021)

Dental work....YOW!  I've been true to my teeth all my life and up until lately, they haven't been false to me.  BUT now things are beginning to fall apart and even though I have a dental policy, it doesn't cover all the cost of the treatments.  I had to have two crowns this year so far and I'm pretty sure a root-canal is lurking around the corner.  Then there was the "deep cleaning", which is the Spanish Inquisition of the dental world and, of course, barely covered by insurance.  More fun ahead.....

Another thing that nobody plans on is the cost of going to out-of-town funerals.  We get older, EVERYBODY we are related to or know gets older and the funeral music starts playing.  I spent a lot of money going back and forth to my mother's house for months, eight hours driving each way, wear and tear on the car/tires/me.  I had other deaths in the family and close friends circle that normally I would have been driving/flying to funerals for, but, of course, I didn't attend because of Covid.  But as things loosen up, I figure there are a lot of them in my future.

Weddings, too, are expensive to attend, but at least you get some cake and some booze and have fun!


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## chic (Mar 24, 2021)

Car repair and my bills seem to be going up more during this pandemic (just when I need them not to) than ever before.


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## Ken N Tx (Mar 24, 2021)




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## horseless carriage (Mar 24, 2021)

Working out how much I spend on things like our local tax, insurances, utility bills and so on, I came to a figure that should cover it. Each year I save that much plus a third more for contingency. I have rarely needed the contingency, but it's always there for the unexpected.


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## hollydolly (Mar 24, 2021)

..and in April this year in England  our Car Tax rises...along with Electricity.. and council tax... just when so many people have had no work for more than a year, good job Government...


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## Kathleen’s Place (Mar 24, 2021)

Dental, medical, and auto repais were the only () big, unplanned for, expenses we had.


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## Liberty (Mar 24, 2021)

Aunt Marg said:


> You do well, Packer. I only wish we could get away with spending less, but we do eat well.


Ditto for us, Aunt Marg...life is to short to eat yucky food!


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## Aneeda72 (Mar 24, 2021)

Judycat said:


> Property taxes. I am behind one year but got a notice from the bureau of an impending tax sale in September. I have been paying on them every month for years and suddenly this notice!  I called the Tax Claim Bureau.  The woman who answered said the notice was a form letter that went out to everyone. She said, You're OK but we didn't want you to feel special. Then she cackled like a lunatic. Good Lord. People!


We over paid on our property taxes and it’s hard to get the money back.  Still waiting for the check .


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## Aneeda72 (Mar 24, 2021)

chic said:


> Car repair and my bills seem to be going up more during this pandemic (just when I need them not to) than ever before.
> 
> View attachment 156316


This is true for all of us, everything just keeps going up and up.  The stimulus payments have helped get those things you could replace or get on the first place, like my bed frame but do nothing for the day to day increases.


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## Don M. (Mar 24, 2021)

The entire Economy is "overheated".  This virus has slowed things down a bit, but as the vaccines begin to reduce the infection numbers, and people begin a return to normal, I expect to see Inflation becoming a major issue.  Already, the Federal Reserve is trying to play Games with its monetary policy...which is driving much of the recent stock market volatility.


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## Lethe200 (Mar 24, 2021)

We were thinking of selling/renting our SFH and going to either senior living or maybe condo rental (single floor and elevators sounded good). Then the lockdown hit, travel became a no-go, and we joined the zillions of homeowners who had nothing better to do than find contractors and landscapers to beautify our current homes!

So, surprises - I was expecting to replace the DW and upright freezer, with a wish to replace the stove as well. Was not expecting to find one side of our foundation has "rolled" - that's the technical term - and must be replaced.

We live on the side of a hill in earthquake country, so with a 1940 home that never heard of earthquake proofing back then, I guess we're just lucky the south wall foundation waited until now to need replacement!

Gotta love "contractor speak". Had two contractors out to give us quotes, both came around the same amount. Both guys said, "Oh, this is a small job. Easy!"

"Small" means $30K. "Easy" means 2 weeks minimum for project, plus hoping that the sewer pipes won't be in the way and the permits come through. And because everybody's busy, we signed the contract last month and they won't start until August 15th - MAYBE.

On the good side, interest rates were so low we decided to take out a new first mortgage to have enough cash for the foundation work as well as redoing all the landscaping, which is sorely needed. We ran the decision by our CFP firm and they agreed there was no point in taking it out of the portfolio assets. We'd get socked with income taxes on any distribution. We'll be able to deduct the interest next year so it was a win all-around.

We didn't take out very much, so I was surprised the bank insisted on a full appraisal. Our neighbor was getting a refinance at the same time with a different bank, for the full appraised price, and his bank just did a drive-by appraisal!

OTOH, our appraiser must have approved of our master bedroom upgrades we did in 2015. Spouse said she looked through all our closets downstairs! I was surprised, since she didn't do that to the upstairs rooms (I was at my desk upstairs so would have noticed)! We had upgraded the MBR closets with custom organizers . I guess she liked them a lot, LOL - gave us a nice high appraisal.


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## Chris21E (Mar 24, 2021)

Car repair and fuel expense


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## J.B Books (Mar 24, 2021)

My range top had a melt down a few weeks ago and needed to be replaced that was a $4k unplanned expense.
My house is half cedar and half brick. The cedar needs to be stained this summer so even though we planned on it, it does not happen on a regular basis...that's another few thousand. Otherwise things are as planned. Both vehicles are under warranty so I'm good there. I think my wife wants to buy a car.........uh.oh.


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## Nosy Bee-54 (Mar 24, 2021)

jujube said:


> Dental work....YOW!  I've been true to my teeth all my life and up until lately, they haven't been false to me.  BUT now things are beginning to fall apart and even though I have a dental policy, it doesn't cover all the cost of the treatments.  I had to have two crowns this year so far and I'm pretty sure a root-canal is lurking around the corner.  Then there was the "deep cleaning", which is the Spanish Inquisition of the dental world and, of course, barely covered by insurance.  More fun ahead.....
> 
> *Another thing that nobody plans on is the cost of going to out-of-town funerals.  *We get older, EVERYBODY we are related to or know gets older and the funeral music starts playing.  I spent a lot of money going back and forth to my mother's house for months, eight hours driving each way, wear and tear on the car/tires/me.  I had other deaths in the family and close friends circle that normally I would have been driving/flying to funerals for, but, of course, I didn't attend because of Covid.  But as things loosen up, I figure there are a lot of them in my future.
> 
> Weddings, too, are expensive to attend, but at least you get some cake and some booze and have fun!


Everybody in the family knows that I don't like funerals. So, I don't attend. Zero costs.


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## Nosy Bee-54 (Mar 24, 2021)

Uptosnuff said:


> For those that are retirees, what have you found to be your biggest expense(s) during the year?  Were these expenses a surprise or did you anticipate them?
> 
> I will be retired in a few months.  I think I know what my biggest yearly expense will be, but I'm curious about others.


My biggest surprise was five years ago when the central air system broke. Replacing the exterior/interior units cost me $9K.


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## Uptosnuff (Mar 25, 2021)

Like a lot of others, I anticipate my property taxes and my car, house insurance will be my biggest expenses during the year.  The last few stimulus checks have gone to pay property taxes.  My state is one of the worst to retirees because of them. 

I was surprised I didn't see more people mention health care costs.  That is one area I have been leery about.  Maybe it depends on your medical insurance?  I will have pretty good coverage from my employer that will carry over to retirement.


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## Jeweltea (Mar 25, 2021)

We had to have 3 large dead trees taken down last year. That was expensive and unplanned. We also had a very sick dog so we had major vet bills too.


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## OneEyedDiva (Mar 25, 2021)

Well it seems I spoke too soon. Yesterday our on site maintenance man called me and told me that there was a leak in the basement that was coming from my bathroom. I was surprised because there was no visible leak from my toilet. Turns out the piece in the middle of the commode and I think a pipe that was attached had worn out. The job took a couple of hours to complete and the man was very neat and caulked the toilet very nicely. I was worried at first that he might mess up the floor tiles surrounding the toilet but he didn't, thank God because it's discontinued. He cleaned up after himself nicely as well. I have no idea what I'll be charged because they'll submit the bill to the management agency which will bill me at some point, if at all, with my carrying charge bill. Right now I'm assuming that since the problem started with my toilet, I'll be charged.


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