Monday is my day for accounting. I pay bills, reconcile statements, enter reciepts, and all sorts of other number matching and account keeping activities. I do this for both the business and the family budget. I graduated with a BA in humanities. Math was my least favorite subject all the way through school and I haven’t had any formal mathematical education since halfway through my senior year of high school. If someone had told my 17 year old self that I would enjoy accounting, I would have laughed.
I probably wouldn’t enjoy being a professional accountant, but I do enjoy doing the family and business accounts. I love making all the numbers match and categorizing all the expenses. I love walking into the CPA’s office with the right tax reports and reciepts. Budgeting is satisfying because there are categories for all the spending and all I have to do is make sure that we don’t over spend in any of the categories. Or if we do I make sure that we shift money from other categories to make up for the overage. I love the fact that it all stays exactly where I put it from one week to the next. It isn’t like dishes or housework that gets undone the moment my back is turned.
Not everyone feels this way about accounting. They face paying bills and managing budget with a dread that borders on fear. I can understand that because when I first began learning how to manage accounts I felt some of that dread. I was always afraid that I was doing things wrong and that the sinister IRS would swoop down upon me and tell me that I had accrued a bill so large that they were going to auction off the house to pay for it. I can’t say when I stopped fearing the IRS. It was probably sometime after the second or third time that a CPA commented positively on the organization of my accounts and reports. At some point I realized that I was good at small business and family accounting. It is nice to have something I can point to and say “I’m good at that.” It is also nice to realize that I have a set of skills that would quickly land me a job in a workplace if I chose to seek one.
With the upcoming release of Schlock book 1, the business accounting is about to get more complex. I’m relishing the coming challenge. I’m not relishing the wait until the challenge arrives. I feel like Inigo at the top of the cliff while the man in black climbs from below.
“I hate waiting.”
Role reversal
In high school math was one of my better subjects. I enjoyed how logical and predictable the numbers were. I considered majoring in accounting for college. I enjoyed balancing my checkbook and loved finding every last penny.
But now I don’t have the time I feel I need to balance the checkbook even with Quicken. I know keeping track of the money is important but I dread the pile of receipts mounting on my desk. I know from experience that when I go to reconcile against the bank statement that at least a few receipts will have gone missing between the purchase and my desk.
I’m glad you find joy in accounting. It can be very satisfying to track your money and know exactly where you stand financially. I hope someday I can get my life back in order so that my numbers will add up.
Role reversal
In high school math was one of my better subjects. I enjoyed how logical and predictable the numbers were. I considered majoring in accounting for college. I enjoyed balancing my checkbook and loved finding every last penny.
But now I don’t have the time I feel I need to balance the checkbook even with Quicken. I know keeping track of the money is important but I dread the pile of receipts mounting on my desk. I know from experience that when I go to reconcile against the bank statement that at least a few receipts will have gone missing between the purchase and my desk.
I’m glad you find joy in accounting. It can be very satisfying to track your money and know exactly where you stand financially. I hope someday I can get my life back in order so that my numbers will add up.
You’re the kind of client CPA’s love. I can’t remember the number of clients that would bring in a grocery sack of receipts, statements, etc and we’ve have to try and make sense of it all.
I took an accounting course in high school at my parent’s suggestion (father a CPA, mother a corporate controller), in college, I landed up an accounting major because it was easy for me and it paid better than being a math major.
You’re the kind of client CPA’s love. I can’t remember the number of clients that would bring in a grocery sack of receipts, statements, etc and we’ve have to try and make sense of it all.
I took an accounting course in high school at my parent’s suggestion (father a CPA, mother a corporate controller), in college, I landed up an accounting major because it was easy for me and it paid better than being a math major.
Like you, I had to learn accounting to run my business. In school I really wanted nothing to do with it. It was one of the first things I learned, and my accountant has always been very happy with the way I do my records and keep his job easy.
I get no great pleasure though from doing the books. The main reason for it is probably that I have never in my working life had a surplus of income that lasted any time at all. My income has always been sufficient for my needs, most of the time, barely. So yesterday I was doing the books and getting depressed at the money the keeps flowing out regularly, but the invoices that don’t get paid nearly so regularly, and knowing that I have a tax bill to pay in the next couple of weeks.
But today might change all or some of that, so I remain hopeful.
Like you, I had to learn accounting to run my business. In school I really wanted nothing to do with it. It was one of the first things I learned, and my accountant has always been very happy with the way I do my records and keep his job easy.
I get no great pleasure though from doing the books. The main reason for it is probably that I have never in my working life had a surplus of income that lasted any time at all. My income has always been sufficient for my needs, most of the time, barely. So yesterday I was doing the books and getting depressed at the money the keeps flowing out regularly, but the invoices that don’t get paid nearly so regularly, and knowing that I have a tax bill to pay in the next couple of weeks.
But today might change all or some of that, so I remain hopeful.
Re: Role reversal
The stress of reciept accumulation is a major reason that I do my accounting every single week. There is much less time for reciepts to go missing and I know I’ll be done in less than an hour. If I let things pile up, then it takes me hours to untangle it and sitting down to tackle it gets much much harder. The habit wasn’t easy to establish, but now it seems to be ingrained.
Re: Role reversal
The stress of reciept accumulation is a major reason that I do my accounting every single week. There is much less time for reciepts to go missing and I know I’ll be done in less than an hour. If I let things pile up, then it takes me hours to untangle it and sitting down to tackle it gets much much harder. The habit wasn’t easy to establish, but now it seems to be ingrained.
I can always hear circus music playing in the back of my head when I work on finances…
This year we are praying for a very boring year. No suprises, no big expenses we didn’t plan on, no funerals in other states, House doesn’t fall apart, no major illnesses, NOTHING! (oh, except a raise!) So we can actually SAVE money this year! Go Team!
I can always hear circus music playing in the back of my head when I work on finances…
This year we are praying for a very boring year. No suprises, no big expenses we didn’t plan on, no funerals in other states, House doesn’t fall apart, no major illnesses, NOTHING! (oh, except a raise!) So we can actually SAVE money this year! Go Team!