On 5/5/2016 11:47 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
On Thursday, May 5, 2016 at 2:34:57 PM UTC-4, Don Y wrote:

SWMBO is *really* obsessive about tracking expenses. She logs all
of them in a database she built so she knows what each credit card
bill will be before it arrives. At least once a month, I'll get
grilled over some "missing receipt": "Do you think you spent $37.23
at Home Depot on the 15th?"

She needs a job.

She tracked construction expenses for a large business in her day job.
So, keeping track of where money goes is natural to her.

I'm far too busy to spend time on stuff like that.

In our case, it pays off. We *know* where we spend our money.
It's not a mystery like it is to most folks ("Gee, I just don't know
where the money goes...!")

It's also handy to be able to know how prices are changing: "I don't
recall paying this much for roof paint LAST year..." "We didn't.
Last year that same bucket cost us just $X!"

We purchased something yesterday. "Oh, the price has gone up! It
was two dollars less, last time!" "Yeah, but that was a year ago!"
"So, 10% in a year?" (oops! wanna bet anyone else buying the same
product was clueless as to the 10% price increase?)

Forty hours a week at work, then weekends helping with home maintenance
and improvement leaves me little time for bothering my husband about
such things.

I don't see it as "bothering". She's providing a useful service -- one
that I'd not be eager to take on. The insights from her record keeping
often lead us to changing vendors for products/services -- because we
KNOW what's been happening to prices (instead of just relying on hunches).

Do you KNOW what it costs you to operate your vehicles? Home upkeep?
Feed your family? Maintain your health?

Or, do you just "have a feel" for those costs?

Of course, I generally use or see him using whatever the $37.23 bought
at Home Depot.

Would you know that *it* was the $37.23 purchase? And, not the $10 purchase?
Should you *have* to be involved in all of his activities in order to vouch
for same?