On Thursday, May 5, 2016 at 4:45:07 PM UTC-4, Don Y wrote:
On 5/5/2016 1:07 PM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
On Thursday, May 5, 2016 at 3:07:59 PM UTC-4, Don Y wrote:

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

Not a damned clue. Less than our disposable income, certainly.

Especially "maintain your health". My husband has multiple
prescriptions and frequent doctor visits. All of that is
entirely his affair, and I don't even look at the bills, even
though they're paid out of our joint account.

Does he know when the prices of his meds are changing? Or,
simply pay whatever the pharmacist tells him is "due"? How does
he know when to start shopping for another pharmacy? Or, when
to bring up alternative treatments with his MD?

He pays a small co-pay. The rest is paid by our insurance.

He recently went to a different pharmacy, not because of lower
prices, but because Walgreens were stupid and jerked him around.

Part of knowing is having data that you can consult. I no longer
want to bother trying to REMEMBER what I paid for some item last
week -- or last month/year.

What I paid in the past is largely irrelevant. I'm not going to
do without (for example) coffee because the price has gone up.

Shoot, I don't even keep a check register. I look at the monthly
statement online, to see if anything looks suspicious. I assume
their computer can do the arithmetic. It's what they're good at.

Computers are best at *remembering*! Save me the hassle of adding up
a column of 4 or 5 digit numbers, once a month? Pfah. Save me the
trouble of REMEMBERING those numbers and you've earned your keep!

As I run a business, I am keen on where the money goes -- and being
able to document that to the tax man, clients, etc. "Gee, I forgot
to bill that client for these supplies that I purchased on his
behalf. frown I guess I'll just have to treat them as a *gift*
for said client as the contract is now closed double frown"

I don't run a business. We're both salaried, so our paychecks
never vary.

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?

I don't *have* to be involved; I want to be involved. If I didn't see
the $37.23 thingy in use, I'd never even think about the $37.23.

We are very concerned with where our monies go. We never "buy on time"
(finance), carry balances, etc. Because we KNOW that we will have what
we need available when we need it.

Either do we, except we've got a year and a half left on our 15-year
mortgage.

"How will you be paying for this (car, washing machine, 2000 sq ft of tile,
20 tons of stone, medical bill, etc)?"

"Cash. (or check/charge -- same difference)"

We don't get surprised when a bank or credit card statement shows up
weeks later. And, don't prematurely reinvest monies that we'll be needing
for a big ticket purchase next month, etc.

Either do we. We don't undertake to spend money that we do not have.

Charles Dickens put it best:

"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds nought and six, result misery."

Cindy Hamilton