Oxford Democrat., 1921-05-17
Keeping Accounts Worth While.
THEY SUPPLEMENT THE RECORD AND
EFFKcT SAVINGS.

Household expenses on the farm are
very intimately associated with the busi-
ness of the farm itself. The farm nor
mally supplies much material which
otherwise would become Q household
expense. The household, In turn. very
often furnishes board for farm labor
which would otherwise be Q farm ex-
pense. Merely from the standpoint OF
keeping track Of household expenses ss
related TO the farm business, household
accounts are desirable and should serve
TO supplement and round out farm &C.
counts.
But the value Of household accounts
goes beyond this. Such accounts are an
important aid to economy. A dollar
saved is dollar made, and the first step
toward the saving usually lies In finding
out where unnecss ary expenses are In
Cured. This can be determined only
by keeping careful records Of expenses
for the whole year.
METHODS OF KEEPING RECORDS.
There are two general methods of
keeping record of household expendi-
tures. One is to record the purchases
or money paid out, without classifying
the expenditures. The other is to clas.
sify when the record is made.
The first method is very simple, re
quires NO special form, and gives all
necessary Information regarding expen.
ditures. At the end of the month or at
the end Of the year the total expendi-
lures may be quickly added up. In
order, however, to know the totals for
each kind or class it will be necessary to
make up monthly summary, in which
the items will be distributed In differen,
columns, BY classes. This extra work
at the end of each month (or at the end
Of the year) may cause encouragement
and neglect of classification, with the
result that the greatest good that could
be derived from the records is not real
lied.
Under the second method, In addition
to being entered all together In one COL
umu, the items are classified iu separate
columns. This method has the same ad-
vantages rs the first method and the
additional advantage Of allowing for the
distribution Of the items of expenditure
to the proper classes without the incon
venience OF turning TO some other page.
The distribution may be left to nom ents
of leisure IL the housewife 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 tht
preceding page. The items may br
totsled at the end of the month and thest
totals carried to the summary page al
the end of the book.
KIND OF ACCOUNT BOOK TO USE.
The kind of book to use is not i'm
portant. An ordinary blank daybook or
ledger book with q stiff cover may be
bought al q reasonable price. II the
vertical rulings In the book do not serve
the purpose others may be inserted with
pen or pencil. A blank book with q
stiff, pressed paper cover, IL inches long
and Z inches wide, with 81 spaces for
items and containing 4S pages, is excel
lent for the purpose and sells at retail
for rs cents. With vertical ruling and
headings inserted 1t serves the purpose
admirably. In order to eliminate the
necessity Of writing the headings on each
page the tops of number of pages may
be cut of, allowing one set of headings
to serve for all pages.
Accounts are sometimes kept In book
having small pages, but a small page
10 soon filled, is often crowded, and the
Information is scattered over too many
for convenience in recording and study
ing the expenditures.