Lesson 3 of 9
Sinking funds for known costs
5 min read
Most "emergencies" are not emergencies. Christmas is not a surprise. The car needs servicing every year. Insurance renews annually. These are known costs that arrive irregularly, and they are what quietly push people onto credit cards.
The sinking fund
A sinking fund is money saved monthly for a known future cost. List every irregular expense you can think of, put an annual figure on each, then annualise - divide by twelve. That total is what you should be setting aside every month before you call anything else "spare".
A typical list: car insurance, home insurance, road tax, servicing and tyres, dentist and optician, Christmas and birthdays, holidays, subscriptions billed yearly, professional memberships, vet bills, replacing a laptop or phone.
Why it changes how money feels
The bill does not get smaller, but it stops being an event. When the 600 insurance renewal arrives, the 50 a month you have been putting aside covers it and your normal budget is untouched. Nothing goes on a card, and nothing gets refinanced.
Keep it separate from the emergency fund
Your emergency fund is for genuine surprises - losing income, an urgent repair, an unexpected journey. If it doubles as your Christmas fund it will never be there when you actually need it. Different pots, different jobs.
Start rough, refine later
You do not need exact figures. Estimate high, run it for a year, and adjust with real numbers. Being roughly right beats waiting until you can be precise.
Key terms
- Sinking fund
- Money saved monthly for a known future cost, so it never becomes a shock.
- Irregular cost
- A predictable expense that does not arrive monthly - insurance, MOT, Christmas.
- Emergency fund
- Cash for genuine surprises - job loss, boiler failure - not for planned costs.
- Annualise
- Dividing a yearly cost by twelve to find its true monthly weight.
Quick check
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Homework
0/3 doneThree small jobs. They take minutes and they're what makes the lesson stick.
- 1
Make it personal
In two sentences, write what "Sinking funds for known costs" changes about how you handle your money this month.
- 2
- 3
Teach it back
Explain the main idea of this lesson in plain English, as if to a friend. Write the explanation you would give.
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