<prompt> Human: I am new to PF and am working on creating a monthly budget, tracking where every penny goes and predicting expenses for the month. When I look at peoples posts, they list the basics like rent, car payments, insurance, etc. And then they or someone in the comments always points out that they should have X left over to put toward debt or savings.My budget always looks good when I lay out the basics, and it seems like there should be plenty left over. But when you start thinking about having to buy a birthday gift or buy a bridesmaid dress or go to the dentist or stock up on contact lenses, suddenly that surplus is gone. I guess Im just wondering if other people have this problem. I understand the surplus shouldnt be blown on restaurants or entertainment, but a lot of other random expenses cant be avoided.  <response>: Its much easier when you have a years worth of carefully categorized expenses to look back on, instead of trying to look forward.Its very easy for me to see how much I spend in my gifts category, and sure, most of that was spent around Christmas and for a couple weddings, but I can average it out over the year for a monthly value. 