Whew! I paid our property tax for 2011-2012 yesterday. Sounds simple but there’s some basic planning that goes behind it.

Here’s how.

• Property Tax is a line item in my Annual Expenses Planner. That means I save a little [and equal] bit each month under the expense head “Annual Expenses” so that when it’s time to pay up, I have the funds ready and available.

• Unexpected things do happen — for example the cess on waste management that you now need to pay based on your property’s plinth area. In my case, this meant an additional and unplanned outgo of Rs 360 for this year. But when you’re prepared for the bigger picture, these small things really don’t matter.

• I generally pay property tax online — means I used my credit card (see, I don’t abhor credit cards as most of you believe). However, I immediately did an Account-to-Card transfer and settled the bill. Peace of mind.

That’s one more annual commitment for this year done with and done without breaking a sweat.

I’ve now written quite a bit on planning and saving for your annual expenses, so much so, that many of you have written in and asked for an annual expenses calculator. I’m working on one and will publish it as soon as it’s done. Watch this space.