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Having trouble classifying my expenses

January 15th, 2009 at 04:13 am

Now I have all these neat categories but sometimes it is not clear where a particular expense should be recorded.

For example, when we are eating out and order drinks with dinner, should it go under "alcohol" or under "eating out"? I am putting it under eating out, because it is simpler than trying to separate it, even though it could constitute 1/3 or more of the meal cost.

But if we are eating out because we are on a 4 day ski weekend in VT, does it go under eating out or under skiing? And should the hotel room go under "vacation" or "weekends away" or "skiing". If it not for skiing we would not be in that hotel room or eating that meal out.

I went to Papyrus and got gorgeous christmas wrapping paper and some other holiday stuff at 70% off - to use for next year. (They have really nice stuff that is too expensive at a regular price but perfect at 70% off) Under which category do I write this down?

Maybe I am obsessing about it too much Smile Just want to do it right.


Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »

5 Responses to “Having trouble classifying my expenses ”

  1. lizajane Says:
    January 15th, 2009 at 04:23 am 1231993435
    1231993435

    I think you just have to do what works for you. If, for example, you want to track alcohol vs. dining out and realize that you are spending too much on one when compared to the other, it might identify where to cut back. If, however, you want to just see how much is spent overall when you go out "to eat", then you could combine them. For the wrapping paper, I track mine under gifts. I wouldn't buy it if I didn't have gifts to give, so that's what works for me.

  2. mooshocker Says:
    January 15th, 2009 at 01:53 pm 1232027629
    1232027629

    I agree 100% with lizajane. Identifying where to cut back is essential. Probably more essential that catagorizing. Meals are meals, drinks, deserts and tip. I say reduce drinks by one or two and add four deserts....shhh, don't tell my wife....lol...God bless

  3. gamecock43 Says:
    January 15th, 2009 at 01:57 pm 1232027822
    1232027822

    If you can can itemize a vacation then good for you. I cant keep track of where the money goes while on vacation so I write: Jan 10-14th Ski Vacation $310.00.

    Maybe not very efficient but that's how I roll.

  4. monkeymama Says:
    January 15th, 2009 at 02:57 pm 1232031471
    1232031471

    Yeah - you have to do what works for you.

    I personally would not separate out at alcohol. (Just too much work).

    BUT for us, because we spend so little on eating out (ideally anyway) and eating out is usually our biggest expense on vacation, I usually put all eating out while we are on a trip to "vacation." I probably wouldn't otherwise, but it just skews our normal budget so much and really becomes an inherent expense of vacation.

  5. Aleta Says:
    January 15th, 2009 at 10:46 pm 1232059613
    1232059613

    When I'm on vacation, I list everything by listing VACATION as the category and I list sub=cstegories such as hotels, restaurants, theme parks or events, transportation, souvenirs, etc.

    I just have a category under FOOD and have a subcategory such as groceries, eating out. If you want to break down the bill in different areas, you could. Most realize how expensive drinks are compared to the meal itself. It all depends on how much information you want. You might want to just keep a booklet listing certain things separately.

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