Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 164, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 July 1919 — CLASSIFIED “HOUSEHOLD BOOKS” REVEAL ALL UNWISE SPENDING AND ECONOMIES [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

CLASSIFIED “HOUSEHOLD BOOKS” REVEAL ALL UNWISE SPENDING AND ECONOMIES

(Prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture.) Would you like to know where that $5 bill that was in your purse yesterday went? Would you like to know why your last month’s allowance did not hold out so you could have the new hat you -wanted and really needed? Would you like to know how much money you spend a year on food? Of course, every housewife would like to know. Why don’t you find out? “Just wondering” will never tell you facts. A business man does not “just wonder whether his business is paying or not. His books tell him. But you say since your books would show money spent and never money being made, you wouldn’t have the satisfaction the business man realizes at the end of the year. You are dealing wfth much more satisfying results than the business man. You are facing daily the results of your work. The home, in its completeness or its incompleteness, its order or its disorder, its system or its lack of system, answers you, but it does not tell you whether you are getting value received for the energy and money expended. Is that Important? Are the questions pertinent that you ask yourself concerning the amount of money it costs you to live, the amount you spend on essentials, and the amount you spend on things you would be better without? If they are, then It Is important and necessary that you keep account of the money spent, in order that those questions can be answered. Accounts Must Be Accurate. Accounts are of practically no value if they are not accurate. If you are not willing to put down everything for which you spend, if you do not intend to spend a little time-and thought on the subject of accounts, do not start; for, like everything else worth while, It requires energy and thought. Keeping accounts is a peculiar type of burden. If done correctly, it lessens other burdens. In keeping accounts, if you know the questions you want answered the time you spend in the daily routine Is sure to be decreased. How will you go about keeping your accounts? Not by a haphazard method nor yet one with too much detail, for either evil will make them lose their interest and value long before you can expect results. Three Plans Suggested. Three plans of keeping accounts are commonly suggested by economists. Any one of them will work out successfully, according to home-economics specialists of the United States department of agriculture. The first has the advantage of taking little thought or time when accounts are entered, but on the other hand it does require more time on the day of reckoning at the end of the month. The second requires a little more time In the daily setting down, but is more logical and more businesslike and requires much less time at the. end of the month.

The first method, itemized as below: Date. Amount. Material. Cost. Dec. 51 pound Prunes SO.IB Dec. 51 pair Hose .50 Farmers’ Bulletin 964, Issued by the United States department of agriculture, suggests a grouping of expenditures which is logical, yet not cumbersome in its detail. After you have kept your accounts for a time you will perhaps originate some other classification which may satisfy your needs more fully. This is a suggestive outline, how*ever, that bears study and will aid in drawing up your other plan. ** r - w I. Food: (1) Animal; (2) Fruits and Vegetables; (3) Cereal Products; (4) Other Groceries. 11. Clothing. 111. Household Furnishings. IV. Running Expenses. V. Advancement: (1) Recreation; (2> Education; (3) Benevolences; (4> Incidentals; (5) Savings. Then In your account book you will have a record like the one in the “box’* accompanying this article. At the end of the month, the sum of the entries in the column headed “Cost” will show your total expenditures, and the other totals will appear in the special columns. Cards in Third Method. The third method of keeping accounts is by means of a card system. It varies little from the method already given, except that the headings are placed on cards instead of in a book. On one card would be the heading “Food, 35 per cent, $58.30” (or whatever percentage of the income planned for in the budget). On the other cards would be “Clothing... per cent. Household Furnishings, ... per cent, $... Running Expenses, ... per cent, $..., and Advancement, ... per cent, $...” If a general summary for the month is desired a card with all the headings could bear the totals taken from the various cards. At the end of the year, the month’s totals could be summarized and kept for reference. The woman who keeps accounts will know after a little experience just ■what information she wishes and can adapt any of these methods to her own needs. This will be easy to total at the end of the week, month, or year, and thus will give total expenditures, but will not tell you at a glance in what line you should economize or answer the question, “How much did I spend this year on clothes?” A summary may be made, however, In which each item is entered in its proper column at the end of each month or at the end of the year. Classifying an Entry. The second method includes classification as the Item is put down. It requires a larger book, such as an ordinary account book, so that all the group headings may be across the two pages facing each other. For the following month’s Items, the tops of the next pages may be cut off so the headings on the first page may be used again.

A Household Budget Would Prevent This Worry and the Empty Pocketbook.