The Housekeeper's Budget

Library of Congress: Husband and Wife going over House Account in 1941 Minnesota

As another month draws to an end, it is time to reflect on the household budget. I am ready to close out this month's account.  This is where I add up all the bills that were paid, the money I spent, and the money I gave away.  Every dollar and dime are accounted for because I write it in a book. This helps me see what I am doing wrong, or how I can fix things for the coming months.  It also keeps a record (or a history) of our home expenses.

A good housekeeper must be a good manager. One of the biggest goals she should have is to live on a budget.  She must learn to live within the income the house is provided with. This takes time and effort. It even takes a great deal of wisdom and logic to avoid the traps and temptations of the advertising world around us.

We are taught, in our modern world, to save money by spending it.  This is a genius advertising method to get us to spend as much money as possible.   There are many ways to save money and we must learn to be creative and find what works in our own situation. For instance, I can tell you how to save money on winter heat here in Vermont. But it will not help someone living in Florida. We can share ideas on how to save, but we must take only the advice which works for our own family.

We had a couple of high bills outside of our budget recently. A car repair bill (which I consider to be part of a yearly expense) was more than I expected.  There were also a few emergency trips which cost extra money in gas and charity.  This put me over my spending.  Since we live on a fixed income, I had to take the extra money out of a small savings account to make up the difference.  This is not good because that savings cannot be replaced.  So next month I have readjusted my expenses to keep my spending low.  One of the biggest ways I did this was to cut my gas and grocery money.  This means I will have to work much harder in making homemade meals and to stay home as much as possible.  These are not difficult things to do, but they do take time and effort. They also require some sacrifice on my part. I am willing to do this because it will help our family and home for the long term.

I could either be wasteful and foolish or I can be frugal and careful. I choose to work here at home, doing my part, to keep us out of the poor house. Every housekeeper ought to have that same attitude.  The lady of the house can spend her family into poverty or she can manage the money well and bring peace and security into her home for many years. The stability of a home depends on how well the household funds are managed.

Does it matter if you are poor or rich?  In other words, is it okay to be careless and carefree and wasteful in our management of money just because we have plenty?  Being frugal and a good manager of one's income is something every single household should practice.  No business will last long if they spend more than they make.  No household will stay out of the poor house if they spend more than they make. One should not make a habit of spending out of the savings account or of getting into debt to get through the month.  All of us have to live within our income.

 I want to explain the importance of little savings.  We can earn a few pennies in a savings account.  We may look at our bank statement and think it is a paltry, insignificant income.  However, if you think about that interest earned in a new way - you may be more likely to appreciate every little dime.

1. I have been paying my electric bill over the phone with a check (or debit card) for over a year.  There is no fee. There is no cost.  This has saved me one stamp per month.  That is like earning 48 cents in interest for the month.

2. I just learned that I can also do this with my phone bill.  This will save me another stamp and earn me another 48 cents.

In these two items I have earned almost a dollar by doing something different. That is 12 dollars a year which could buy a gift for someone's birthday.  It is by being creative and by being careful with money that we can be successful managers.  Can we face most all things in our financial life in a similar way? Could we try to spend less in every aspect of our household without really changing our quality of life?

The housekeeper's budget is just a simple notebook listing all the fixed expenses like the rent or mortgage. It includes the electric bill, the phone bill, and the cost of insurance.  There is an amount for groceries and gas and any other expense that is required to run one's home.

Another book could be the "house account" book where all the money that is spent is recorded as they happen throughout the month.  This is where we see the truth of how the budget is working.  We can see any mistakes we make or any changes that are necessary. It takes a bit of thought and time to keep household financial books, but they are an important part of managing a home with care and wisdom.

Blessings
Mrs. White


For details on keeping track of spending - House Account - A Prudent Homemaker.



From the Archives -

A 12 Week Challenge for saving and giving - My Book - Economy for the Christian Home.

Simple Living - Retirement Planning for the Poor.

The precious joy of Grandchildren - I hear Angels Crying.

 - To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

Mrs. White's special book for homemakers:

 

"Introduction to Home Economics:  Gentle Instruction to Find Joy in Christian Homemaking." 

 

Paperback, 200 pages. 

My Husband's Money

Library of Congress: A Farm Couple doing their bookkeeping at Home in 1930.

My old fashioned ledger book is for my "House Account."  This year, as I started the 2013 entries, I gave the book a title.   It is to be called "My Husband's Money."

Each evening, as I write down any money I spent that day, I will see the title.  I will know I have been given a great privilege and honor to be put in charge of the management of Mr. White's finances. 

The last few weeks, in the bitter Vermont cold, I realized I needed a new pair of house slippers.  It was dreadful coming in the house and taking off my winter boots and just feeling so cold.   After some time, I stopped into a store and found a suitable pair for $6.00.  I also bought a special welcome mat to put in the front entry way. This cost $3.00 and is quite necessary since it helps get some of the snow off the shoes of the guests as they enter our home.  I was pleased with the practicality of buying both of these items.  The total will be handwritten in my book, along with an explanation of what I bought and why.  This is the recording of the history of my spending for the household of my husband.

At any moment, as I sit near the fireplace and hand-write entries in my financial journal, I would be proud to have my husband look over my shoulder and know I have done well with his hard earned money.  He will be content and at peace with his household affairs, being carefully tended by his trusted wife.

This accountability, of calling this year's Ledger book, "My Husband's Money," will give me a constant remembrance of the honor in which I have been given to take care of his funds.   It will stop me cold when I am tempted to spend frivolously and foolishly.  It will help me to keep a long-term perspective - of the future history we are making with our spending and saving, and prevent me from causing harm or waste in this materialistic culture.  


-  My House Account has brought me a tremendous amount of questions.  The following are a couple of links to help answer some of these questions:


1. The House Account (An introduction. This was originally designed as a monthly check-in, but I have given up on blogging continuously about it.) 


2. The History of our Financial Lives (includes photographs of my ledger book.)


Some have asked what I recorded, or how I separate things into categories.  This is for each family to decide for themselves, but I will share my own method.  I do not put things into categories. I don't particularly care how much was spent on transportation, grocery or insurance.  That is not my intention when writing out my ledger book.  I am simply keeping a financial journal of what I buy, or how I am spending.  This can be looked over, in a similar way as a personal journal, but we are seeing numbers and spending, rather than an abundance of words. 

The simplest way I can explain this is to share the three items at the top of each page of my ledger:

1. The Date.

2. Description.

3. Amount.

That's all there is to my ledger book.


My ledger book is not a budget. (I have a separate notebook for my weekly bills and planned expenses.)  It is a financial journal.    I can look back through the pages and see how much I spent each month and each year.  I can also see the carefulness, the love, the attention, and the reason behind the spending (there are notes in the entries) and look back to see the financial lives of the White Family Home.

Blessings
Mrs. White

- To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

 

 

For old time encouragement in living simply on a limited income, order Mrs. White's book:

"An Old Fashioned Budget: Humble Financial Management for the Christian Housewife"

This is a slim, 77 page, paperback book.

The History of our Financial Lives

[Actress Joan Fontaine Doing the Household Bookkeeping]

When I was a young teenager, I was intrigued by the cash books in my local store. I bought one and brought it home. From that day forward, I did my best to keep track of my income and spending. I started earning money when I was 11 years old. I did a variety of things like sales, cleaning and babysitting. When I was 15, I had my first real job in a clothing distribution center. I continued to keep track of my spending in my little book, even after I married just a few years later. At that point, I no longer worked. I started to keep a household account.  Because of this, I can now see my budget from when I had one or two children. I can see what I was buying and how much things cost. It is an amazing history!

My Cash book - circa 1980

Many years later, when my oldest child was around 10 years old, I bought her a cash book. I taught her how to write down her income and expenses. I still have her book and love to read it over. I can sense the excitement in her entries. I enjoyed seeing how she wrote down what she bought or the income she received. She was thrilled when she would find money while cleaning. She would promptly write this down, even if it was 25 cents.   Here is her book:

My oldest Daughter's Cash book when she was 10. (1998)

As my children became of age (around 10 years old), I bought each one their own book. They enjoyed writing things down, but as they got older, the practice fell away. I intend to buy each one  a new book this coming year and encourage them to keep track of their financial histories.

Right now, I am having trouble finding old fashioned cash books in the local stores. People seem to prefer computer spreadsheets and such. Sadly, my current cash book is more expensive. Even though I'd rather the old cash book of yesteryear, this one does serve its purpose.  Here is my current ledger book:

It is harder to keep track of all the things I buy. There are just so many needs and expenses. I am looking for ways to cut back. This coming year, I plan to consume less. I want to spend less. I want the items I do buy to be worth writing about.

Blessings
Mrs. White

You can find more about this in "House Account - A Prudent Homemaker"

Two books are also available from Mrs. White:

For more details, you can find a lesson on keeping a house account in my book, "Introduction to Home Economics:  Gentle Instruction to Find Joy in Christian Homemaking."

 

For old time encouragement in living simply on a limited income, order Mrs. White's book:

"An Old Fashioned Budget: Humble Financial Management for the Christian Housewife"

 77 pages, paperback.

 

From the Archives -

Loving Home-life - Cleaning the Museum

The blessing of Rising While it is Yet Night

This is a good time to start an old fashioned Bible Study- Here's one from Mrs. White!

 - To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

House Account Monthly - A Prudent Homemaker

Mrs. White's Old Fashioned Ledger book or "Journal" to keep Track of Household Spending

House Account Monthly - for Prudent Homemakers.


[Update - October 2019] This post was originally for an ongoing check-in describing how I am keeping an old fashioned account of our finances.  This is using a "ledger book" or a "journal" or a "cash book."  It is done by hand, simply recording all the household spending for each month.  I am no longer blogging about the monthly check-ins, but am still keeping this old fashioned method of tracking our spending. The description is below. If you are interested in doing this too, I would love for you let me know by leaving a comment. 

** At the bottom of this post you will see my book, "An Old Fashioned Budget" which goes into great detail in describing this method of managing money for a low income family.


A Background on House Accounts:

Keeping a ledger of household accounts was a common practice. Sarah Edwards, wife of Puritan minister Jonathan Edwards, was said to have provided historians with a detailed picture of their spending because she wrote down every single transaction.

"It was a happy circumstance that he could trust everything to the care of Mrs. Edwards with entire safety and with un-doubting confidence. She was a most judicious and faithful mistress of a family, habitually industrious, a sound economist, managing her household affair with diligence and discretion." from Marriage to a Difficult Man- The Uncommon Union of Jonathan & Sarah Edwards by Elisabeth D. Dodds

Did you ever see the movie,Little Women? You will see them, at times, leaning over a household ledger account.

Edith A. Barnett, in 1894 (London) wrote a book called "Primer of Domestic Economy." Here is a quote from this document - "Whether the income be small or large, certain or uncertain, the good housewife will keep an accurate account of her income and expenditure." She also wrote this: "Probably women as housekeepers spend the greater part of the money that is spent in the world."

The History of Your Estate

Whether you live in a mansion, mobile home or a cozy apartment, your assets are your estate. This includes your furniture, savings, vehicle and personal belongings.  Every family has their own estate. If we carefully record our household spending, we are providing a history of our estate!

The Plan for Keeping Your Own House Account

1. You must write down every single cent you spend, every single day. You can record this in a Ledger book, composition notebook, or any kind of notebook you like. (I prefer a 2 column ledger book.) Write down the date, a description and the amount.

2. Keep receipts of all your purchases. Transfer these to the ledger book at the end of the day. You also need to transfer your debit transactions, and any checks you write, into the ledger book. (You can store the receipts in a large manila envelope.)

3. At the end of the month, look this over and add up your spending.  See if there is any way you can make improvements for the next month.

4. Be willing to share this book with your husband.

A Lesson for Children (Optional)

I plan to have my children do this with me. I will show them how a ledger works. I will let them record my transactions and look over my receipts. This will be an amazing financial education for them.

________________________________________________


 - You will see a Description and Picture of my personal ledger account in- The History of Our Financial Lives.   You will also see my daughter's cash book, from 1998, when she was 10 years old.

- In "The Housekeeper's Budget" you will see the importance of keeping track of our finances, especially our spending.  Whether you are rich or poor, this will help you manage the money with wisdom and care. 


- In "My Husband's Money" you will find more details on my work of keeping a house account.

_______________________________________________



Here is what I plan to do - I prefer the hardbound Ledger book because I love to sit at the table or desk and carefully write out each item. I will also include my children in this and let them do many of the transactions.

 When I told my husband about this, he was thrilled!  When we used to own our store, I was responsible for all the bookkeeping and accounting. I used a hardbound ledger book and hand-wrote all our expenses. At the end of each month, I added up my transactions and came up with simple monthly statements and filed my monthly tax reports. My husband had full confidence and trust that I was handling our business accounts with honesty and integrity. I want him to have the same confidence in me with our household account.

How about you? Are you interested in taking on this fun challenge?

Blessings,
Mrs. White

** Update: This book (published in 2019) goes into great detail on setting up a house account and ledger book:

 

For old time encouragement in living simply on a limited income, order Mrs. White's book:

"An Old Fashioned Budget: Humble Financial Management for the Christian Housewife"

77 pages, paperback book.

 

  - To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -