Budgeting My Time

I use Quicken to balance my checkbook. I place the check number, the amount, the payer and even the category of expense. I use it to keep track of my plastic purchases as well. You know, you can add categories so that you can keep track of what you are spending money on. Well, I guess it would be good for budgeting, to track one's expenses. And we occasionally run reports to see where we spend our money.

Well, if you are categorizing expenses, you can sort of decide the categories. I, for instance, put makeup, haircuts and other things under the heading "healthcare." I really did not know how this impacts our budget numbers until recently. Hubbie was putting together a report the other day, and the healthcare number sort of popped out. When you spend $60 on makeup every once in a while, you don't realize that it adds up quickly. Oh, and I had no idea I was spending so much on creams, on my hair, on a lot of things. Once you annualize things, it puts some things into perspective.

Well, I wish there was a Quicken program that kept tract of time. I would love to see that. To see where I spend my time. To know if I spend my time doing the things important to me. Important to my values.

Oh, for the want of a good day planner.