Delays and fees - Delays in payment or in progress (i.e. building, production, distribution, etc.) result in the payment of fees (i.e. credit card fees, reimbursements, over-time, etc.). There are many times when these timing blunders are beyond our control. Sometimes unpredictable setbacks occur that we have no control over. What we can do is look at patterns over time and come up with a good guess of what an average cost is that we can plan for. Sometimes we will have overestimated and sometimes we will underestimate. But over time the numbers will eventually even out.

Errors and mistakes - Our financial plan can have unexpected variances both by forces we cannot control and by poor choices that we make. As humans we are not perfect and will make mistakes. Whether your mistake is to spend more at the mall than was in your budget or if you overestimated how much you would make on a certain deal, mathematical errors and errors in judgment can derail your path. As long as you can get back on track quickly you can generally recuperate your losses by having a small amount budgeted for just such blunders. This is just another good reason for why having monthly contributions to a savings account will help you in the case of an emergency sometime in the future.

Mechanical inefficiencies - If you are running a business you depend on a lot of other people and machines to do some of your work for you. Computers crash, printers jam, and mechanical equipment fails. Unlike the case when human error is involved, when a machine breaks you are fully responsible for seeing that it is repaired or replaced. Since equipment for small or large business is usually quite an investment and therefore quite a burdensome expense, it is wise to learn from when these events "vary" the financial plan so that you can better know how to expect them the next time they happen.

The results of developing specific tips for investigating unexpected financial plan variances are type of tricks and secrets of the trade. Successful individuals and companies depend on their exceptional ability to control financial variances. Just think of some of the most prosperous companies and imagine what kinds of plans they must have in place that ensure that no matter what happens they have a plan for overcoming obstacles and moving financial stumbling blocks. In one way or another we are all striving to be able to develop the types of skills that top companies have for investigating small financial plan variances. If we can learn from experience how to better budget, plan and handle changes, our financial outlooks will improve.