So I have been tracking my expenses for well over a year and just now discovered a mathematical error I have been recording every.single.month.
The good news is the error works in my favor. I save more money every month than I have been recording.
I track my daily expenses, and at the end of the month I get my list of daily expenditures, catagorize them into the general- fuel, fast food, clothes, ect catagories. Then I take out my checkbook and add in all checks I have written to the mortgage, utilities, CC...
Just this weekend I realized: If I buy a pair of $50 shoes on Dec 1st and pay for it on my CC- I am recording it as a Dec 1st $50 shoe purchase. Then when the CC bill comes at the end of the month I pay the $50 CC bill. And I track that I paid $50 to the CC company.
I have been recording two $50 purchases instead of one!
Every month for A YEAR I have been doing this. I went back and recalculated my December spending and rather than being in the red $837.00 as I previously thought I was- I actually was in the black an extra $13.00!
When I realized my mistake this weekend I pointed it out to BB who said : "Yeah I always knew something was screwy with your math because we have been living like misers and every month you moan and complain that we are overspending. I know we are living off only your income Gamecock, but you make pretty good money for how frugally we live."
I am actually embarressed that I have come to feel so capable and proud of my money saving efforts- and this basic law of accounting escaped me for a year. I have been so humbled.
My poor accounting skills amaze even me
December 7th, 2009 at 11:05 pm
December 7th, 2009 at 11:29 pm 1260228546
I worked that one out very early in the piece, another area to look out for is refunds & rebates that you are not doubling up on these ones too! In my homemade budget I have always tracked these with Refunds, CC & Incomes columns but these are not included in the expense totals but I would deduct my refunds for the month from total to see the real total.
With the CC changes I always noted when I bought or use it then put in the CC columun want I paid on it another thing to watch for is CC & bank fee charges are you keep a account of them?
Now you need to go back an fix each month up so its right!
December 8th, 2009 at 12:05 am 1260230709
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May 15th, 2015 at 05:38 am 1431668307