Additional Expenses

[One Art]

So I don't know if all c/s is calculated the same way everywhere, but where I am it takes into account the disparity in incomes, daycare costs, medical costs, and "additional expenses." What kinds of expenses should I include? Clothing and activities come to mind, but what else? Would anyone be willing to share what they have and how much they have budgeted (and how many dcs it includes)? Thanks!

[mikaela]

The biggest expenses I have for my little man are health (insurance, supplements and a Y membership) at about $1200/year and sports (registration, equipment, summer camps and memberships) at about $2000/year.

[lah7]

Here, those are called Schedule 7 expenses and they include extra-curricular registrations, medical expenses and other special things like camps, etc. It doesn't include tuition or clothing, as those should, apparently, be coming out of the c/s payments. It includes lessons and dental visits and daycare, though. They're widely variable, so here, it's based on income and I wouldn't want to put a flat number down because you can't really predict a lot of those things.

[One Art]

lah7, where I am additional expenses include everything that constitutes an "addition expense" (within reason, of course - I wouldn't budget in visits to the ice cream shop or anything not "necessary" but I do know that sometimes what is "necessary" is debatable, like activities). Anyway, these additional expenses are based on income too, they are put into the formula with the two different incomes, and with what the medicals costs and daycare costs are.
Mikaela - did you budget those kinds of things in advance, or was it only after you were spending the money that you knew how much those things would cost or that you'd need them at all? I am asking because I don't yet have any idea of what activities the girls will be interested in, so it's hard to calculate equipment if you don't know... I'm thinking dd1 may want to go with gymnastics and soccer, but she gets excited about every activity that she hears about, so who knows?