Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 199, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 August 1918 — FARM HOUSEHOLD ACCOUNTS URGED [ARTICLE]

FARM HOUSEHOLD ACCOUNTS URGED

Two Simple Methods of Making and Classifying Records of Expenditures. • USE ORDINARY BLANK BOOK Details Encourage Economy and Show Relation of Home Expenses to Farm Business Ten Divisions Satisfactory. The modem farmer’s wife is no longer satisfied with the old accepted Idea that “the farm gives us a living,” but she gets out her pencil and paper and asks “How much of a living does it give us 7* Generations ago neither the farm nor the farm household had any but minor dealings with the outside world. Under such conditions the need for accounts was slight. But those conditions no longer exist The fatm household, though still in many cases receiving its major support in farm products consumed at home, purchases far more extensively than ever before from outside sources. Farm household accounts have become essential to economy. . Household expenses on the farm are very Intimately associated with the business of the farm itself. The farm normally supplies ’ much material which otherwise would become a household expense. The household, In turn, very often furnishes board for farm labor, which would otherwise be a farm expense. Merely from the standpoint of keeping track of household expenses as related to the farm business, household accounts are desirable and should serve to supplement and round out farm accounts. Ways of Keeping Records. There are two methods of keeping a record of household expenditures. One is to record the purchases or money paid out without classifying the expenditures. The other Is to classify when the record is made. The first method is very simple, requires no special form, and gives all necessary Information regarding expenditures. At the end of the month or at the end of the year the total expenditures readily may be determined. In order, however, to know the totals for each kind or class it will be necessary to make up a monthly summary. In which the Items will be distributed in different columns, by ciasses. This extra work at the end of each month (or at the end of the year) may cause discouragement and neglect of classification, with the result that the greatest good that could be derived from the records is not realized. , Under the second method, in addition to being entered all together In one column, the items are classified In separate columns. This method has the same advantages as the first method and the additional advantage of allowing for the distribution of the items of expenditure to the proper classes without the Inconvenience of turning to some other page. The distribution may be left to moments of leisure if the farmer is busy at the time the entry is made. When the page Is filled the next page is begun, the top line next to the heading being reserved for the total carried forward from preceding page. The items may be .totaled at the end of the month and these totals carried to the summary page at the end of the book. Book Not Important. The kind of book to use is not Important An ordinary blank day-book or ledger book with a stiff cover may

be bought at a reasonable price. If the vertical rulings in the book do not serve the purpose others may be Inserted with a pen or pencil. Accounts are sometimes kept In a book having small pages. A small page, however, is soon filled, is often crowded, and the information is scattered over too many pages for convenience in recording and studying the expenditures. - In order to simplify accounts it is well to group expenditures. If all individual items were listed in separate columns, it would require a great amount of detail work. The distribution of the different household expenditures into groups is largely a matter of individual viewpoints. The following ten divisions should be satisfactory for the average farm family: Animal food, fruits and vegetables, cereal products, other groceries, clothing, household furnishings, running expenses, advancement, incidentals and savings.