After breakfast, I started on the expenses for the month of March. I worked on them on and off most of the day. I try to save every receipt we have during the month. I put them in my wallet and then leave them in a stack on our credenza.
Then once a month I got through the receipts and add our expenses to our spreadsheet for that month.
After that, I go through our online credit card bill statements and see if I missed anything.
It is a fairly basic approach to tracking expenses but it works for us. Some folks use Quicken or some other software package, but this one works fine for us. I try to nail it down for every time we spent a cent but sometimes a couple of bucks here or there doesn't make it to the spreadsheet.
Do you track expenses? What do you use?
A typical example is washing the car. We spent $2.00 in quarters and I have no receipt, so if I don't remember to mark it down, I will forget it. Another example is washing the laundry. I usually estimate those but it is still $10-$15 a month for washers and driers.
Many folks have their own washer and dryer in their motor home. How about you? Do you use laundromats or do you have a washer / dryer?
While I was doing that Pam went to the commissary on base and loaded up on groceries for our bare cupboards. It has been a while since she has done that. When she returned I was taking a break from my 'bookkeeping' and emptying tanks. I attached a hose to the sprayer for the black tank and it was leaking so I worked on that and got it fixed.
Next, we had lunch and then went to wash the Honda CRV. It was REALLY dirty from towing it behind the Roadrunner in the rain yesterday.
We also found the general area of where the Bob Evans Restaurant is and will meet some folks there this morning. They are new blog readers and have some RV full-timing questions. They found our blog and got in touch and we look forward to meeting them.
The second day of the Masters finally got underway and I was glued to it for the entire coverage. I was glad to see Phil move up the leader board and stay around the top. It would make my day to see him do well today and win the whole thing. It is also fun to see some of the older guys do well -- Tom Watson and Fred Couples.
That was about it for us on Friday and we thank you for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles.
Hi Randy,
ReplyDeleteWe use a fairly simple spreadsheet too, all homemade. We track every cent coming in and going out with various subheadings within the spreadsheet to keep track of different things such as giving, utilities, and more.
Enjoy your time at Wright-Pat, as you probably already know, the museum is one of the best in the Air Force.
Out of curiosity..did you keep a spreadsheat in the real house as well? Why is it important to know how much you spend each month? We have always been on a fixed income..so we never spend what we don't have..but I have never kept a spreadsheet..just curious.lol
ReplyDeleteHave a great day...Cindy and Walker
I would like to say I am a detailed person like you, but we just put most of our expenses on a charge card. Then at the end of the month I see the damage, LOL As for the laundry, I have a waher and dryer in this RV, but before that I had to go to a laundry mat. That can really get expensive.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see that Air Force Museum.
Happy Trails,
Chris
Good Morning Pam & Randy... YES we do a detailed list of all our expenses. We keep all our reciets in a plastic box and I even seperate my expenses into catagories. Also we have a washer & dryer in the MH so we do not use the laudrymat. Have fun meeting your new bloggers... Travel safe!
ReplyDeleteDonna
As Kansas City natives, we're pulling for Tom Watson this weekend. :-)
ReplyDeleteWe use "iExpense It" on the iPhone. It's great! We just enter things as they happen. Very handy, and I've never been into tracking expenses. But, this almost makes a game of it.
We're tracking our expenses because we're new to the lifestyle. When we set up our budget, we made educated guesses. Now, we're seeing what it really costs!
As for the W/D, we debated when we bought our new coach. The dealer would have thrown it in with the deal. But, we opted for the storage space. May change our mind down the road. Who knows?
Safe travels to you both!
We are part timers but when we are traveling we do keep track of our expenses using an excel spreadsheet. I just got an iPhone so will have to download the iExpense It app that Paul & Mary mentioned and give it a try.
ReplyDeleteWe do have a WD in our rig and use it for small loads but if it has built up I go to the laundra mat as it is much faster, especially when we have the grandkids with us.
Safe Travels!!!
Hi Randy and Pam
ReplyDeleteWe also keep detailed records of our expenses. Mike uses a spreadsheet. We weren't so exact in our working life because we didn't have to be... but now we are more careful. I see a big difference in my groceries. I used to just go throw things in the buggy, mostly in a hurry. Now I plan ahead and buy carefully. Our full-time expenses are working out pretty well. I do miss eating out more but oh well....its a great trade-off.
We have a washer/dryer in the motorhome so we don't use the laundry very often.
Enjoy your new site and take care my friends!
Hugs,
Mike & Gerri (http://freedom2roll.blogspot.com)
We never kept records before we went full-time. We always admired and marveled at those that had the discipline to do so.
ReplyDeleteIt is important for us to know how much we are spending because we are retired and are on a budget. We have 5 more years before we are eligible for Social Security and would like to put off dipping into that as long as possible (assuming it is still solvent...)
Hi.
ReplyDeleteGo see the old airplanes. The USAF paid me to help restore the Germn ME/BF 262 that they have. It had been used for research in the USA after the war to see how to make a good jet air craft. It was an engineering marvel. It used a 2 cylinder 2 cycle engine with a torque converter to start the axial flow engine. If one started, you could blow the other one. The tail cone moved to change the exhaust flow like the flex on the F-4 Phantom. The wing was one piece and connected to the airframe with 4 pins. The jet fuel was held in rubber bladders. I know more if you care to know. Both those engines still ran when we tested them at Kelly AFB. We then took it apart and shipped it to where it lives now. I still have pictures of me in the cockpit of that plane.
Keep posting
Kathy will live in our Florida home this Summer & I will hold down the fort here in Alaska.
We are starting a spreadsheet to prep before we go fulltime in 2013. We used to use the checkbook and debit card printout from the bank each month to track things, but I think a spreadsheet will serve our needs better.
ReplyDeleteWe also do have a washer/dryer in the rig and LOVE it. We also have a wooden folding clothes rack to dry things instead of using the dryer portion if boondocking. I hate laundromats, but if I have to for bedding or some large items I will in a pinch. When we weekend it, we don't use the washer/dryer, but if we go for a few weeks, it's a must to have on board. I hate sitting in laundromats waiting, but maybe now with a laptop it would go much faster?
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Karen and Steve
(Blog) http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/