Budgeting for a new home - what am I missing

I did a search but couldn't find any posts like this.

I'm building a budget to hopefully move sometime this year. Am I missing any categories?

Mortgage
Property Tax
Commuting
Parking
Home Owners
Life Insurance

Utilities
-Gas/Heat
-Electric
-Water
-Cell Phones
-Cable/Internet
-Lawn Care

Car Payment
Car Insurance
Gas/Tolls

Daycare
Baby Supplies
College
Pet Supplies

Food/Home Supplies
Clothing
Drycleaning
Medical Costs (copays, contacts, etc)

Entertainment
Misc. Cash (i.e. lunch money)
Gifts

I purposely left out vacations (we will set aside $ from our bonus for this or not take one at least in the near future).

I also left out the stuff that comes out of our paychecks - 401k, medical insurance, taxes, etc.

Re: Budgeting for a new home - what am I missing

I would add a category for home repairs..you never know if the hot water heater decides to go one day and you have to fork over $3,000 to replace it or something like that. Sort of like an emergency fund for anything house-related (broken furnace, leaky sink pipe, etc). Otherwise your list looks great!

Re: Budgeting for a new home - what am I missing

Maybe you should budget for new furniture, lawn equipment, garbage cans, etc.

Looks like otherwise you have it all covered

Budgeting for a new home - what am I missing

I would also add a budget for equipment for the first year that you may not have now that may not come with the house. Things like hoses, lawnmover, rake, shovels (I never had a decent one when I lived in apartments because I never was responsible for removal), snow blower, fertilizer and other lawn/yard care equipment. You don't need to buy these things on day 1 of owning the house, but you'll find yourself forking over money for things each season.

Re: Budgeting for a new home - what am I missing

As others have mentioned, I would have a Maintenance/Repairs Category, Outdoor Category, and also a New Furniture/Household Item Category. I'm assuming most people want to buy new things for a place, esp if you're moving to a bigger space and need more furniture, also to decorate. Also, I always buy new odds and ends when I move, particularly cleaning supplies, etc.

Re: Budgeting for a new home - what am I missing

Agree with the furniture and decoration budget.

Even in the most move in ready home, buyers usually like to do things like change the paint colors, get new light fixtures, get new flooring or carpet... in at least some of the rooms. Also, lost of my buyers come from apartments and need to buy at least SOME furniture to make the house liveable.

As far as mortgage, I would point out that when you use a mortgage calculator online, it doesn't factor in mortgage insurance, for example, and how much that is will depend on the type of loan you have, your down payment, the loan amount, etc. And that can add a significant amount to your monthly payment, so make sure you are calculating your total mortgage payment correctly by checking with your loan officer!

And keep in mind that your lender will want to see some cash reserves when you close, so even if you have enough for down payment, closing costs, etc., you will need to have some cash leftover (although a 401(k) can count as cash reserves).

Re: Budgeting for a new home - what am I missing

I think you've covered it pretty well

In terms of misc house things/furniture/decorating/etc., instead of factoring each month how much we'll spend instead we budget our bonus/tax return

we also made sure to leave a comfortable cushion when we closed on our house, and we don't touch that money

Re: Budgeting for a new home - what am I missing

Thanks for all the tips!

I didn't really think about all the house supplies (rakes, garbage cans, etc.) we would need. I could see at least for the first year, monthly trips to home depot for stuff like this. I am going to add this in.

Furniture and decorations are more of a one time expense, I may have to wait to use bonus money for this.

Re: Budgeting for a new home - what am I missing

Budgeting for a new home - what am I missing

If the house has sewer service you need to add that in.