=Keeping of accounts.=——This has been called by many, drudgery and tedious routine. Many business men go through much such drudgery to attain their goals, why should not the housewife be willing to make a similar sacrifice in her home for the sake of the service she is rendering the members of her household? The aim in keeping the accounts is to register the amounts spent for various purposes so that all phases of life will be considered and so that the manager will be able to profit the second year because of the experience of the first year. This makes housekeeping interesting and businesslike. The expenditure is made to produce the maximum of value received and is accompanied by the greatest possible pleasure. In keeping accounts there should be some method of showing the receipts and expenses, the income and the outgo, so that a balance can be made at any time. The items should be so listed, too, that it is possible to tell what expenditure has been made for any one item, as rent, or food, or other necessities. It is only in this way that the accounts become of value for future use. There are many ways of keeping such accounts. The simplest one for the housewife is the best if it shows the points mentioned above. The envelope system is used by some when the income is small, and a certain amount of money according to budget plan is put in labeled envelopes for various purposes, as rent, food, operating expenses, etc. As sums are drawn from the various envelopes, a slip of paper put in the particular envelope registers the amount drawn. It is easy at the end of the month to balance the accounts. This system necessitates the presence of a good deal of money on hand, and sometimes of confusion of accounts, if money is borrowed from one envelope for use in another. +-----------+-------+------+-----+----+---+-----+-------+------- | |BUTCHER|GROCER|BAKER|MILK|ICE|LIGHT|SERVICE|FUEL AND | | | | | | | | |OTHER HEADINGS +-----------+-------+------+-----+----+---+-----+-------+ACCORDING TO | _January_ | | | | | | | |EXPENSE | | | | | | | | | | Jan. 1 | | | | | | | | | Jan. 5 | | | | | | | | | (Dates of | | | | | | | | | expendi- | | | | | | | | | tures) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +-----------+-------+------+-----+----+---+-----+-------+------- | Totals | | | | | | | | +-----------+-------+------+-----+----+---+-----+-------+-------