Found Note
August 4, 2009 by: Dave Ozment 
One day last week upon returning home from a difference making day at the office, as I was beginning the Mr. Rogers routine – which is to say changing from my business man attire to a much more comfortable bum-like relax wear – I noticed something stuck to the bottom of my shoe. Fortunately, this finding was more interesting than disgusting.
It was a wayward post-it note. Face down and sticky side up, it had latched onto the bottom of my shoe somewhere along the way – In the office? In the parking garage? Along the street outside my home?
My interest in that question was only intensified by what was written on the note.
“don’t have Lowe’s receipt for $356.89… did enter it into spreadsheet.”
Somewhere, someone is paying attention, and I love it.
I’ve been chided by my wife and my friends for tracking so many things in my varied collection of spreadsheets. And I mostly don’t mind because that’s how my mind works and I know I’m able to make important decisions pretty quickly (at least from a financial standpoint) as a result.
So it resonated well with me that someone else would have a post-it reminder about a home purchase and its register in a budget tracking spreadsheet.
Alas, I am not alone!
Photo By: Dave
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I can’t track every single purchase anymore. In fact, I don’t need to. I have a $20 budget for the week and most weeks I actually end the week with half of it. I know exactly what I’m buying and NOTHING gets purchased that it’s absolutely necessary. I’m not ashamed to admit that I walked around with holes in my Payless shoes for one week because I knew the next week was BOGO.
Hey Sandy! I think having spending categories or buckets is a fine way to manage or track spending. You don’t have to track everything to the exact penny but once a particular bucket is empty it stays that way till payday.
Love the story about the shoes… I noticed frays in my dress shirt just yesterday. Normally I’d have tossed it in the trash or donation bin immediately but I actually viewed the frays as badges of honor… well earned wear and dollars saved everytime I wear it again.
Dave
First off, hats off to you for picking that note up, taking a picture of it, and blogging about it!
Second, I too, I like to know where everything went, and why my spreadsheet does not tie to the online details. If I am off a few cents, I will export the csv file from online, sort the data to match my spreadsheet that tracks that particular account… and find the differences between the transactions… and almost always, I find the culprit. Usually me. A typo or a charge I didn’t book. There have been times when the charge was from the bank or credit card company for something I didn’t know about… and it makes my day
GF has never understood why I would track something separately (and twice) if it’s already available online. One of my many explanations is, you cannot trust the credit card company or the bank to do things that best affect your money. But the truth could be that I am … just like you
I came up $6.00 short in my cash account for July. It’s still driving me nutso trying to remember where I spent that money. Six bucks is about right for a fast food lunch, but where dang it? where?!
In the 70’s, the first job I had after high school was being a secretary to a man who demanded we all had to have our accounts correct down to the last penny before we could leave at night. While I am not that severe with my own accounts today, they still have to be within a dollar or it drives me nuts. Early habits and teachers do matter (and I am glad to see there are 1 or 2 more of you like this!!!). I thought I was the only one.
Hey Carmen, thanks for the comment… Yeah, I’m a nerd… I do balance my checking account to the penny and on-line access allows me to balance anytime I want to. I love it!
Dave