Having extra room in your budget

I found out the hard way this week that it is important to have a little play room in your budget for small unexpected expenses. I'm building up an emergency fund, but I view that more for big expenses, not little things that pop up.

I got strep this week, which resulted in a day of missed work, and the cost of a doctors visit and a prescription. Now, what I learned is that I should have a place in my budget for unexpected healthcare needs. Fortunately, I'd been so focused on my alternative income streams that it wasn't something I had to stress about. I made enough in alternative income the day I went to the doctor to cover the strep test ($59), and the medication ($20). At first I went to an urgent care office, where they wanted me to pay $117 for the office visit and an additional $42 for the strep test. I laughed and walked out. Then I drove down the street to CVS where they have a Minute Clinic where I only had to pay for the strep test and then was able to walk around the corner to get the prescription filled. And it only took 15 minutes. I highly recommend this to anyone that has a Minute Clinic near them. They do a lot of stuff and the prices are listed on the website.