Rensselaer Republican, Volume 13, Number 3, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 October 1880 — How Women Keep “Expense-Books.” [ARTICLE]

How Women Keep “Expense-Books.”

It is a teaching sight to see a woman begin to make up her expenses, having firmly resolved to pat down every cent she spends, so as to find oat how to economise, and where all the money goes. Procuring a small book, she makes a due entry, and on the Monday after the first Saturday in which her husband brings home his pay, she carefully tears the margin off a newspaper and. with a blunt pencil, strikes a trial balance, something in this way: “John brought mo home >48.40, and 11.431 had is >49.93, and >I.OO I lent Mrs. Dixon is >50.93 but, hold on, I oughtn’t to enter that, ■ because when she returns it it’ll go down. That was >49.93, and what have I done with that?’ Then she puts down the figures, leaving out the items to save time—a process which enabler her to leave out most of the items to where a round sum is invoved, on the supposition that they have already been put down. As thus: "Six dollars and fourteen cents formeat; and 10 cents for Celery; and 10 cents on the street cars; and a bad five cent piece I got in exchange; and >2.811 paid the milkman, who owes me 19 cents —that’s >3; and 15 cents at church; and the groceries—they were either >15.60 or >18.50, and I don’t remember which they were, but I guess it must have been >15.60 for the grocer said if I’d give him a dime he could give me half a dollar; which would make even change, and I couldn’t, because the smallest I bad was a quarter; and >2.75 for mending Katie’s shoes, which, is the last money that shoemaker ever gets from me; and 10 cents for celery—no, I put that down.” Finally site sums up her trial-balance sheet, and finds that it foots up >84.28. which is about >15,0Q more than she had originally. She goes over the list several times and checks it carefully, but all the items are correct, and she is just about in despair when her good angel hints '.hat there may be a possible mistake in the addition. Acting upon the suggestion, she foots up the column and finds that the total is >44.28, and that according to the principles of arithmetic she ought to have >5.65. Then she counts her cash several times, the result varying from >1.40 up to >1.97, but she then happily discovers that she has been mistaking a >2.50 gold piece for a cent, and remembers that she gave the baby a trade-dollor to cut its gums with. On the whole, she has come within 86 cents of a balance, and that, she says, is close enough, and she enters in one line of the account book “Dr.—By household expenses” so much; and is very happy till she remembers, just after going to bed, that'she has omitted >2.75 for tier husband’s hat