# Budgeting for infrequent expenses in Emma **URL:** \ **Category:** General Chat\ **Created:** [April 13, 2020, 1:28pm UTC](https://community.emma-app.com/t/budgeting-for-infrequent-expenses-in-emma/1893 "2020-04-13T13:28:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![petermajoruk](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.emma-app.com/petermajoruk/32/939_2.png) [@petermajoruk](https://community.emma-app.com/u/petermajoruk)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2020, 1:28pm UTC](https://community.emma-app.com/t/budgeting-for-infrequent-expenses-in-emma/1893/1 "2020-04-13T13:28:55Z")
Hi there. I’m a longtime YNAB user but I’m considering switching over to Emma because the account sync is so good. I’ve set up the app and I’ve filled out a budget. There’s one thing that’s confusing me though… How do I save up for an infrequent expense over a few months? For example I get an invoice for my water bill that’s about £100 every 6 months. I’d like to save up for that over the period rather than budget nothing and then have one hard month where I budget £100. In YNAB I would have a category for this and having an accumulating balance on that category. How do I do this with Emma? Thanks Peter ---
**Author:** ![smandegar](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.emma-app.com/smandegar/32/946_2.png) [@smandegar](https://community.emma-app.com/u/smandegar)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 8:40pm UTC](https://community.emma-app.com/t/budgeting-for-infrequent-expenses-in-emma/1893/2 "2020-04-14T20:40:57Z")
I personally haven’t found a way to do this with Emma yet and is the biggest feature I miss from YNAB. Right now I budget things that I get billed for annually outside of Emma in a simple spreadsheet, but this would be a killer feature to add. ---
**Author:** ![beecityuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b19c9b/32.png) [@beecityuk](https://community.emma-app.com/u/beecityuk)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2020, 10:54am UTC](https://community.emma-app.com/t/budgeting-for-infrequent-expenses-in-emma/1893/3 "2020-04-15T10:54:11Z")
yes I agree this is missing. The budget needs to account for subscriptions that are less than monthly and prorate that as a commitment (as a minimum). So I know my insurance is annual, every month it should add 1/12 of the commitment I’ve still got to pay. Holidays are another expense that doesn’t average either. ---
**Author:** ![petermajoruk](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.emma-app.com/petermajoruk/32/939_2.png) [@petermajoruk](https://community.emma-app.com/u/petermajoruk)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2020, 4:27pm UTC](https://community.emma-app.com/t/budgeting-for-infrequent-expenses-in-emma/1893/4 "2020-04-16T16:27:38Z")
Thanks for your replies guys. It’s not the answer I was hoping for but much appreciated. The seems like a fairly fundamental missing feature for a budgeting app. I don’t think I’ll be continuing my subscription past the trial without it. ---
**Author:** ![RoRo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c4cdca/32.png) [@RoRo](https://community.emma-app.com/u/RoRo)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 9:03am UTC](https://community.emma-app.com/t/budgeting-for-infrequent-expenses-in-emma/1893/5 "2020-04-20T09:03:01Z")
Any feedback on this - it’s a great point ---
**Author:** ![Joel](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.emma-app.com/joel/32/571_2.png) [@Joel](https://community.emma-app.com/u/Joel)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 5:23pm UTC](https://community.emma-app.com/t/budgeting-for-infrequent-expenses-in-emma/1893/6 "2020-04-20T17:23:56Z")
Hey Team 👋 Currently, the best way to handle transactions like these is to treat it like how you would treat savings. If you have a payment of £60 due in 6 months, decrease your total monthly budget by £10. If you stick to budget, you’ll have enough left to pay that payment. Adjust accordingly if you don’t have a monthly budgeting period. Currently, your budget should only be set to what you’re planning to spend in that pay period. Any money your putting aside shouldn’t be budgeted for. While this technique works for some, we know it could be much clearer or could work better by allowing you to include it in your budgets. It’s on the to-do list so keep an eye out 😉