Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1886-11-16
EXPENSE ACCOUNTS.
Personal and Household Cash Books rs
Kept by the Average Woman.

Personal and Household Cash Books ns
Kept by the Average Woman.
"You should keep account of your ex-
penses so as to know just where the
money goes" A harmless appearing
remark enough, full of evident good
sense and practicability, but alas! the
unfortunate and inexperienced recipient
of the wise counsel little realizes what
pitfalls and sloughs of despond are he-
fore her. 1t seems the easiest thing in
the world. All one has to do is to set
down in one column tho money she re-
ceives, and in another the various
amounts spent from time to time, and
50 at the end of the week add both, bal
ance them and it is done; but the
trouble is, it never, never does come
out right by any chance, and then the
bra'n-racking begins.
In certain literary society of ladies
not thousand miles from Boston, the
subject before one of the meetings was
"Household Finance" Those who at
tended 1t, did 80 with the hope that
some royal road to success would be
revealed. The Introductory paper was
humorous sketch describing one
woman's efforts to keep her
accounts 1t may seem like
telling tales out of school, but in tho
open discussion that followed one lady
after another described her own efforts
and failures, They NIL heartily APP
proved of the idea, and started at the
beginning of each year with noble reso-
lut.ons and clean blank books. One
never could make the list of expenses
reckon twice alike. She figured up and
found certain result, then she reckon
cd downward with a different conclu-
sion; thus she found herself no wiser
than at the outset. She considered ac-
counts the most aggravating, irritating,
confusing things Imaginable. Another
lady, who had charge of q large and ex-
pensive hQusphold, In her desire to
know where the bountiful supply of
money went that passed through her
hands, undertook regular system of
double entry bookkeeping sand made
a botch of it," she frankly confessed.
She honestly made up the deficit regu-
larly from her own purse. If any of
the members present were successful in
in bookkeeping experiments they were
not public-spir;ted or courageous
enough to rspcak in meotin' and tell
how they did it,
A very systematic young woman,
student at one of our higher schools, said
one day: 81 am sure one of the serv-
ants must have stolen money from me.
miss over three dollars. I am very
strict about my accounts and put down
every thing carefully. am sorry to
suspect the girl, but am driven to it. "
Possibly you have forgotten to note
some item.
"No, it is not possible. I am very
exact"
"You put down that half dozen
pocket-handkerchiefs you bought Satur-
day, of courscP'
A blank look came over her face,
which quickly changed to one of horror.
a did not.
"And the lace?"
"Nor that either"
The very foundations had given way,
and her faith in the infallIblity of her
account being destroyed, its value was
gone, too.
The husbands and brothers love to
twt the women-folks little on facts,
but would they themse YES do any better
under similar circumstances Do they
ever keep strict account of triling de-
tails of personal expense, or do they
sum all small matters-cigars, newspa-
pers, car fares or any unaccounted for
dciicit-under tho comprehensive head
of "sundriesP" A persistent woman
devoting herself to her account would
rack her poor brain to recall the items,
and consider that convenient "sun-
dries" as shirking the issue.
Then see the advantage the men have
in the matter of pockets Suppose they
were Limited to two or three of those
useful appendages, artfully. hidden in
draperies, instead of the twenty-five or
thirty, more or less, which appertan to
the suit of the average business man.
How would they find room for the bill
book, memorandum-book, stylographc
pen, cigar and match-case, business
cards, bunch of keys, change-purse and
all the other impedimentaP A man
clothes himself in the morning for the
days occupation, once for all, and has
the needful conveniences always
at hand; while his wife makes
nothing of changing her dress several
times day-morning dress for home
duties, second best street suit for err
rands, afternoon dress for receiving or
street dress for making calls, etc. Her
notebook and pencil are sure to be for
gotten among the changes, and will not
be ready when wanted.
In business life vouchers and ao-
counts are presented and paid by checks
at stated intervals, and remain as evil
dence of the completed transaction.
Clerks are employed to attend to the
books, and devote their whole attention
to that department. 1t may be COM
fort for the discouraged sisterhood to
remember that women make the best of
professional book-kcepers, and are en-
ployed in many of the large mercantile
establishments by wide-awake men who
know what they are about, and would
not put up with inferior help from mo-
tives of Qalse) economy. These find
women quicker, more observant of de-
tails, more accurate than men, and cer-
tainly equally honest. A defaulting
woman cashier is yet an unheard of in
dividual, and may it always be so.--
Mary Winchester, in Good Housekeeping.
HAD BEEN FASTING.