100+ ideas of Sinking Funds
Sinking Funds is money you save towards a specific purpose. For example, you might want to save for Christmas, a vacation or that car registration you always forget is coming (That’s expensive here in California).
Making a budget and sticking to it is pivotal for your financial success. Including sinking fund categories into your budget can make it easier to save for the future and it helps you stick to a budget.
I get into how various ways to set up these sinking funds in this blog post HERE. However, for this post I just want to list all the ideas I can think of, that can be a category of sinking funds. Sometimes, when I’m doing my budget, I’ll see I spend money in a category that I could have set up a sinking fund….I just didn’t think about it or forgot. So as you do your budget, take a look at the list and see if any fit into your life.
With sinking funds, you can have mini sinking funds within it.
House and Home:
- Regular home maintenance (HVAC, window cleaning etc.)
- Home repairs
- Home improvement projects
- Homeowners insurance premiums
- HOA fees
- Appliance maintenance, repair and replacement
- Lawn care
- Gardening supplies
- Gutter cleaning
- Roof cleaning and maintenance
- Pool maintenance
- Gas/propane refills
- Pest control
- Property taxes
Car and Vehicles:
- Car insurance premiums
- Car repairs
- Car fund: for when you’re ready to upgrade or replace your vehicle
- Scheduled maintenance
- Replacement batteries
- Registration fees
- Parking passes
- Bus and train passes
- Ride-sharing services, Uber/Lyft
- New tires
- Detailing and washing
Family Expenses:
- Entertainment and family nights out
- Daycare or childcare expenses during the summer if you work outside the home
- Summer camp fees
- Sports activity fees
- Lessons or other extracurricular activity fees
- Musical instrument rental
- Back-to-school expenses
- School uniforms
- Private school or college tuition and fees
- Hair cuts
- Hobbies
- Birthday parties
- Amusement park or other memberships
- Outdoor play equipment for the yard
- Graduation or prom expenses
- New baby expenses
Medical Expenses:
- Co-pays or deductibles
- Prescription drugs
- Dental visits
- Physical therapy
- Orthodontics or other specialty services
- Eye-care, including glasses or contact lenses
- Telehealth visits
- Anything health insurance doesn’t cover
- Over-the-counter medicines
- Vitamins
- Chiropractic
- Acupuncture
- Medical equipment
Celebrations (Holiday’s Birthdays, etc.)
- Holiday and birthday cards
- Special occasion cards and gifts
- Holiday and birthday gifts
- Seasonal, birthday and holiday decorations
- Holiday or birthday-related travel adventures (ex: Amusement park instead of a birthday party)
- Holiday and birthday food spending
- Holiday decorations
- Party decorations
- Anniversary gifts
- Condolence gifts
- Baby shower gifts
- Shipping and postage fees for mailing cards or gifts
- Gift bags and gift wrap
Vacation:
- Passport fees if you travel internationally
- Travel insurance
- TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fees
- Car rentals
- Gas
- Ride-sharing services
- Train or bus fares, ferries, and shuttle fees
- Subway fares
- Airfare and hotels (or Airbnb)
- Cruise tickets
- Attractions (ex: park entrance fees, camping fees, amusement parks etc.)
- Souvenir spending
- Dinners out
- Travel snacks
- Resort fees
- Parking fees
Personal Care:
- Haircuts
- Salon visits
- Spa visits
- Pedicures or manicures
- Massages
- Gym fees
- Home workout equipment
- Beauty products
- Hair products
- Make-up products
Pet Care:
- Routine vet check-ups
- Emergency vet care
- Prescription medications
- Flea and tick medications
- Spaying and neutering
- Pet-sitting or boarding services
- Food and treats
- Pet toys
- Bedding
- Puppy pads
- Behavioral training
I know this is a lot of Categories for Sinking Funds. You do not have to do them all, rather, this is to remind you of the various things that can come up in life. Now, once you know the things that may come up, you can prepare for them. Sinking funds is one way of doing that!
Want to learn more about Sinking Funds, click HERE.
Want my FREE 7 Secrets to paying off debt, click HERE.
Leave a Reply