I’m a pretty organized person – which I suppose is obvious given the fact that I’m documenting every penny I spend – and am struggling the with imperfectness of my accounting system. When do I consider money spent? The day it leaves my bank account? The day I commit to the spend? What do I do with billing cycles where things are pre-paid?
Unless I determine that the following doesn’t work, here’s what I’m thinking: money is spent once the check is written or the money leaves my bank account, as in the case of e-bills. I’ll ignore the fact that my bill may be for a service provided in the previous or following month.
Today’s spend was not insignificant, but it was worthwhile.
PG&E (electricity and gas in my apartment) – $18.95
Shrink – $120
If you’re jealous of my small PG&E bill, know that my heat and hot water (both happily abundant) are included in my $2,450 rent and that PG&E only covers electricity (appliances, outlets) and gas for my stove. The amount is pretty low, or so I’m told. It may be that I’m there less than half the hours of the day, and that I don’t have a lot of excess appliances plugged in. I’m even pretty vigilant about not leaving chargers plugged in if they’re not being used. I’m cheap that way, and that’s okay with me.
As for the shrink….it’s worth it. I’m a huge proponent of “mental health services” and hate my insurance company for not reimbursing them more generously. I really believe that if more people talked through things, the world would be a better place. (BTW, I’m one of the most uncommunicative people ever, particularly with people who are close to me. They would be shocked to read that I think people should “talk through things”.) I don’t have a lot of excess cash to spend on my shrink (btw, I don’t call her that to her face) and so have tried to manage that expense by speaking with her less frequently, rather than eliminating the expense altogether.
Imperfect Accounting
I’m a pretty organized person – which I suppose is obvious given the fact that I’m documenting every penny I spend – and am struggling the with imperfectness of my accounting system. When do I consider money spent? The day it leaves my bank account? The day I commit to the spend? What do I do with billing cycles where things are pre-paid?
Unless I determine that the following doesn’t work, here’s what I’m thinking: money is spent once the check is written or the money leaves my bank account, as in the case of e-bills. I’ll ignore the fact that my bill may be for a service provided in the previous or following month.
Today’s spend was not insignificant, but it was worthwhile.
PG&E (electricity and gas in my apartment) – $18.95
Shrink – $120
If you’re jealous of my small PG&E bill, know that my heat and hot water (both happily abundant) are included in my $2,450 rent and that PG&E only covers electricity (appliances, outlets) and gas for my stove. The amount is pretty low, or so I’m told. It may be that I’m there less than half the hours of the day, and that I don’t have a lot of excess appliances plugged in. I’m even pretty vigilant about not leaving chargers plugged in if they’re not being used. I’m cheap that way, and that’s okay with me.
As for the shrink….it’s worth it. I’m a huge proponent of “mental health services” and hate my insurance company for not reimbursing them more generously. I really believe that if more people talked through things, the world would be a better place. (BTW, I’m one of the most uncommunicative people ever, particularly with people who are close to me. They would be shocked to read that I think people should “talk through things”.) I don’t have a lot of excess cash to spend on my shrink (btw, I don’t call her that to her face) and so have tried to manage that expense by speaking with her less frequently, rather than eliminating the expense altogether.
Cumulative February Spend: $2,738.54