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Yearly costs calculator

List the costs that don't come every month. See what to put aside each month to cover them, what the pot holds month by month, and what it needs now so it never runs short.

Costs that don't come every month

Insurance paid once a year, car registration, holidays, gifts, a quarterly bill.

Example figures. Replace them with yours.

Optional: what's in the pot today.

Stays in your browser: nothing you type is sent or saved.

Results

Put aside each month

US$370

US$4,440 a year

Starting from what's put aside, the pot runs short before a payment: add US$960 now and it covers every one.

The pot at the end of each month

A payment that month

The pot at the end of each month
This monthUS$370
NovemberUS$750 paid−US$10
DecemberUS$360
January 2027US$1,200 paid−US$470
February 2027US$150 paid−US$250
March 2027US$120
April 2027US$490
May 2027US$390 paidUS$470
June 2027US$1,800 paid−US$960
July 2027−US$590
August 2027US$150 paid−US$370
September 2027US$0
Costs that don't come every month
CostHow oftenA yearA month
Car insuranceOnce a yearUS$1,200US$100
Car registrationOnce a yearUS$240US$20
HolidaysOnce a yearUS$1,800US$150
Birthday giftsOnce a yearUS$600US$50
Water billEvery 3 monthsUS$600US$50

Yearly costs are easier kept out of the monthly budget.

HomePocket's yearly pots hold costs like these apart from the month, and show how much of each one's amount is used as the payments come.

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The link opens the calculator empty: your figures are never in it.

How the yearly costs calculator works

Some costs don't come every month: insurance paid once a year, car registration, holidays, birthdays, a bill that comes every three months. They're easy to forget in a monthly budget, and they land all at once.

The calculator adds up what each costs over a year (twice a year counts twice, every 3 months four times) and divides by twelve, rounded up to the cent: that's what to put aside each month so a year's costs are covered.

It then follows the pot over the next twelve months: each month what you put in, minus what's due. If a payment comes before enough has built up, it says how much to add now so the pot never goes below zero.

A worked example

Car insurance, registration, holidays, birthday gifts and a quarterly water bill come to $4,440 a year, which is $370 a month. Starting from nothing, the first payments come before the pot has built up, so it needs $960 added now to cover each one on time.

Why a separate pot

Counting these costs in the month they fall makes that month look terrible and the others look better than they are. Putting a twelfth aside every month keeps the monthly budget honest, and the money is there when the bill comes. This is often called a sinking fund.

What it doesn't do

It uses the amounts you type: a cost that rises from one year to the next needs its new amount. It doesn't count interest, and it plans the next twelve months only.

Questions

What is a sinking fund?

Money you put aside a little at a time for a cost you know is coming, like insurance or holidays, so it's there when it's due rather than coming out of one month's budget.

How much should I save each month for yearly expenses?

Add up what they cost over a year and divide by twelve. If some are due soon, you'll also need to put something in now, because a month's share won't have built up yet: the calculator works out how much.

Should yearly costs be in my monthly budget?

Their monthly share can be: set aside each month, it's part of the budget. The payment itself is better kept apart, so the month it lands in isn't judged by it.

Is anything I type saved?

No. It all stays in your browser, and nothing is sent to our server.

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