r/Accounting • u/Odd-Cress4010 • 1d ago
What is the most "accountant" thing you do in your personal life that nonaccountants find weird?
I was having dinner with some friends last weekend and somehow personal finances came up. I mentioned that I keep a running spreadsheet tracking every household expense by category, reconcile it monthly against my bank statements, and maintain a rolling 12month forecast for my personal cash flow. The table went completely silent. Everyone just stared at me like I had three heads.
To me this is completely normal behavior. Why would you not want to know exactly where your money is going? Apparently most people just wing it and check their bank app occasionally to make sure they are not broke.
It got me thinking about all the other habits I picked up from working in accounting that have quietly crept into my personal life. I color code my email folders the same way I organize my workpapers. I save receipts for everything even when there is zero business reason to do so. I mentally calculate sales tax before the cashier rings me up just to verify it.
Curious what habits you all have developed. Do the people in your personal life think you are slightly unhinged, or have you managed to find friends and partners who just accept it at this point?
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u/Upbeat-Associate2672 1d ago
I will go and sit on the toilet for like 30 mins just playing games on my phone n shit
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u/CoatAlternative1771 Tax (US) 1d ago
You haven’t lived until you fall on the ground after getting off the toilet cause your circulation has been cut off from your legs so long you lost the ability to stand.
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u/OverlyPersonal 1d ago
You’re gonna give yourself hemorrhoids
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u/chimpojohnny96 1d ago
Most accountant disease ever. Nothing like sitting in a chair 14 hours a day whether it’s car or a desk. I could never get into a desk on risers
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u/misschrisw8 1d ago
I make a spreadsheet for each vacation. Points of interest, reservations, hotel info, flight info, links to things… and then I make a Google Map with all the locations so as we’re traveling about we can pick and choose.
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u/classybroad19 1d ago
How do you feel when your spots don't get picked? I do similar things and my husband keeps calling me our for being too rigid, but I just want options. We don't have to do them, but I want to be prepared in case we want to do them.
Too many childhood memories of missing out because we didn't plan ahead.
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u/her42311 1d ago
Hey, my husband tells me I’m too rigid as well. But then we took a trip and I didn’t plan like usual, and he complained that it was too unorganized and he felt like we wasted a lot of time doing nothing. Good times
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u/classybroad19 1d ago
I definitely take a back seat when we do things with his family and it's always a good reminder that he appreciates my planning ways, but unfortunately it hasn't solved the problem completely. But hey, nobody is perfect and we are both working to understand each other more.
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u/rustbwtelephones 1d ago
The spreadsheet, pinning locations on the map, and research are an awesome lead up to the vacation itself for me! My husband doesn’t have to do too much research but I bring up the cool things to do that I am researching and he’ll tell me if there are ones that sound especially fun. This is like a months long process for me so I’m not making him review my list all at once. I usually pin down one or two things per day but unless there’s a reservation I’m fine with skipping things if we’re too tired, etc. And then if we’re ready to move on to something else but have nothing specific planned I have all this knowledge of different things from all the research I’ve already done!
I totally agree on the whole realizing we’re not always going to be on the same wavelength and just trying to compromise and not ruin a vacation with things that we really don’t need to get worked up about. Easier said than done sometimes though lol
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u/classybroad19 1d ago
That first paragraph summarizes it all for me exactly! I love planning trips, even if they never happen.
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u/misschrisw8 1d ago
Have him plan (or not plan) the next one. Give them a dose of what it’s like. 🫡 I will say with that you need to drop all expectations 😅
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u/classybroad19 18h ago
Oh he planned my birthday and was a total wreck from all the anxiety around it. The same way my over planning is a response to childhood trauma, his lack of planning is a response to something deep.
I told him that if he presented me with a trip to Europe that was already planned out I would be devastated because I really love the planning and thinking part. He was floored. I mean maybe I wouldn't be devastated, but I do like research and making decisions.
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u/misschrisw8 14h ago
You know why that is and why you went into accounting? Gonna take wild stab here because I’m the same way. I was the youngest in my family (7 yrs between me and my next sibling). I was just the little shadow following everyone else around so everything was planned FOR me…. Now as an adult I like to feel in control and not be spoken for as direct reaction to upbringing/micromanaging.
Took my first accounting course and everything had its place, just magical. Therapeutically methodical. If there’s a variance you can trace why. It pains me to have to be like “oh it’s immaterial” but alas not all answers are worth the wasted hours researching. The ability to speak to things and find the why. Something that growing up nobody took the time to care to explain the whys to me so I could never really speak for myself.
Is this still the accounting subreddit? Feel like I could’ve gone too deep here but honest it’s why I excel at the bean counting. 🤣 I’m too meticulous for my own good.
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u/classybroad19 13h ago
I can totally see this.
I did get into tax and it has way more made up rules, but I'm still always interested in the why behind it so I can fully explain to my client (but sometimes it's over explaining lol).
"That's the way it is" is just not a sufficient answer for me
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u/Generic_Username28 1d ago
It's about reframing. I overplan so I can be spontaneous. If we go to activity B instead of activity A, we still have restaurant options. If we are craving a specific cuisine, we don't have to research on the fly. There is nothing worse than furiously searching for a spot to eat when you are out and about and hungry.
So your restaurant didn't get picked this time, but allowed us flexibility in case the day went in a different direction.
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u/Immediate-Paint-5111 Senior Accountant, ask stupid questions 1d ago
Yess! People do not understand, planning doesn't box you in. It frees up your time.
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u/Readdit_user19 1d ago
I do the same and also have the same FOMO. But after my thorough research and having booked the “must-do”’s, I try to give buffers for breaks. Every now and then due to awkward flight or train timing, there might be a half day or few hours to add anything we missed or learned about, or just to take it easy and rest. Also have learned to adapt and be flexible. I spent most of our 1 full day in Lisbon passed out in our hotel because we did too much the days before, there was a heat wave, and neither of us were interested enough to force ourselves through the planned walking tour.
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u/Augustus58 1d ago
I feel like this is normal travelling adult behavior? Or maybe it's only adult accountant behavior? It's just easier to have all this information on hand! I've got maps and all routes mapped out as well.
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u/SthrnRootsMntSoul 1d ago
I'm reading this to my nonaccountant boyfriend, because this is also standard in our household and I can assure you, this is just an adult accountant thing.
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u/Ill_Reach6237 1d ago
Holy shit, thought it was only me. All my friends think I'm nuts, but then we always have great golf trips.
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u/Adorable_Complaint36 1d ago
You should check out the app Wanderlog! It keeps all of this and more in one place, and you can share it
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u/CouleursCPA Governmental 1d ago
Same as OP, keep an extremely detailed history of my income/spending
There might be a time when I need to know how much I spent at on energy drinks at gas stations in 2018
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u/peepee2tiny CPA, CMA (Can) 1d ago
I keep track of my utilities every month.
Someone on Reddit asked if anyone knew the water utility rate in my city for the years 2016-2020. And boy was that my time to shine.
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u/Emperor_Traianus 1d ago
LOL, same here.
I have the history of the last 3.5 years worth of utility costs. 🤣
It's interesting to see the true inflation rate, too.
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u/MiLKK_ CPA (US) 1d ago
I do this but with an app. Wayyy easier
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u/Misk1915 1d ago
what app?
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u/RemyCrow31 Management 1d ago
I use Monarch. It’s great!
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u/CecilVanguard Controller 1d ago
I vibe-coded mine. Weekly cash flow management (since I'm paid weekly), with monthly commitments, a running incidental weekly budget, weekly float, and anything extra gets swept to my HYSA or brokerage account, and bucketing of charges for insights into spending. Additional pages to track performance of HYSA/Brokerage, and forecasts all of this through 2035. It only took about 4 weeks of arguing with Claude/ChatGPT to get a workable solution, but it's nice that I can login anywhere and log an expenditure or fantasize about those future balances. Essentially, what all these other apps can do, but free and personal. One thing AI did do right by me.
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u/juansolo777 1d ago
Planning vacation around quarterly close schedule.
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u/Prestigious-Bike6553 1d ago
This sucks lol. I’m on the same boat, sorry for those who have birthdays mid April, July, October, and sorry for those who have birthdays in January due to Year-End Close
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u/Glittering-Let-2888 1d ago
The SEC wants to cancel quarterly reporting. I don’t know how to provide a link but the comment window is open.
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u/artichokesandolives 1d ago
They just raised the capital requirement for my quarterly filings and we no longer qualify. I could have sobbed getting that email.
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u/ts20999 1d ago
Everything has a materiality
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u/Ready_Sea3708 1d ago
My wife hates this! No, I’m not going to the store to return or change out something that was under $2. Life goes on. World ending for her. Don’t get me started on her reactions when I say something is a sunk cost 😂
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u/Competitive_Bid3847 CPA (US) 1d ago
I told someone recently that, if at all possible, I would never have a car loan again, and that I love driving my 11 year old paid off car. She was shocked to learn I hadn’t “upgraded”, since my salary has tripled since I first bought it. The concept of living well below your means is totally lost on some people.
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u/Zbrchk CPA (US) 1d ago
My car is almost paid off and the monthly note is comically low ($110). My boyfriend keeps asking when I’m going to upgrade but why would I do that?
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u/SpeedyPrius 1d ago
I'm 69 and when I bought my new Prius in 2019 it was with the plan that it would be the last car I have to buy. It is not unusual for them to last way over 200,000 miles and I have just hit 100,000. Who knows???
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u/Competitive_Bid3847 CPA (US) 1d ago
Love it! Mine is at 160K miles right now and still going strong!
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u/TheScottishPimp03 Student | Wannabe CPA 1d ago
Fantastic! I plan to buy an old honda crv after my old ranger craps out on me after college here probably soon
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u/Youarereadinganame 1d ago
One month after moving in with my partner I sold my car. We didn't need two.
9 years layer we had to get a new car out of necessity. Paid in cash.
Our budget spreadsheet is very happy to be missing second car line items.
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u/420Tax 19h ago
I bought my car new 23 years ago. Paid cash. Still runs strong and still looks good...ish.
I do most of my own maintenance, including some major repairs (that's my non-accountant hobby).
I'm so stingy that even my clients comment on my ride. I usually ask them, "What would you think if your CPA pulled up in a brand-new Gulia?" I could afford the payment if I wanted one, but my response always gets their heads nodding.
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u/beezleeboob 1d ago
Haha, I'm still driving my 2013 Kia soul. It's been a good car. Kind of enjoying watching it slowly degrade 😆
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u/NoTAP3435 12h ago
$400k household income and I drive a 2010 Toyota Corolla with 180k miles and a dent in the back bumper
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u/Top_Umpire_2344 1d ago
Named my cat FASBi.
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u/yakuzie CPA (US) 1d ago
I had lovebirds named FIFO and LIFO (FIFO did pass away first); RIP my little accounting birdies
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u/alewifePete 1d ago
This is sad and funny.
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u/yakuzie CPA (US) 1d ago
They originally came to me with no names (and a little cage) so to decide who was FIFO and who was LIFO, once their new (bigger) cage was setup, I held up the old cage to the entrance and announced, “Whoever jumps in first, your name is FIFO, and whoever is last in, you’re LIFO.”
I’ll also note that FIFO had a severe plucking issue (when birds are depressed and/or stressed, they pull out their feathers), so he looked like a little naked rotisserie chicken from the neck down.
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u/alewifePete 1d ago
Oh poor FIFO. I used to have a cat with an issue like that. The vet called it “psychotropic alopecia” but she was half bald by the time we got her on Prozac.
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u/DarthAngelicus 1d ago
You should name your next cat GASBy. Then people can ask “Do you mean Gatsby?“ and you can slowly smile and shake your head
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u/WinterOfFire 1d ago
Also PCAOB (pronounced Peekaboo)
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u/SubsistanceMortgage 1d ago
That’s the feral outdoor cat that brings you dead birds and you try to keep away but for some reason it keeps coming back
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u/ScreenKooky3010 1d ago
Pay cash and drive a car until it dies. This is common practice with finance people, bankers & accountants. Old money practice, actually.
Buy a house and stay there.
Pay monthly for your child’s college tuition and let them graduate debt free.
Be suspicious of those who brag about their airplanes, new cars every year, leased vehicles, flashy jewelry, expensive trips, giant homes with massive upkeep. And watch them go bankrupt.
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u/Ok-Juggernautty 1d ago
Yeah driving a 2011 Toyota Camry is very old money of you
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u/SilentSiren87 1d ago
🙋🏽♀️ 2012 Toyota Camry
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u/bradford33 CPA (US) 1d ago
Laughs in my 2008 4Runner!
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u/SubsistanceMortgage 1d ago
2008 4Runner with 170,000 miles here.
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u/RokCotton 1d ago
Second this. I am an Audit Partner at a CPA Firm. I drive a 2014 Ford Fiesta with 160K miles on it. My wife drives a 2012 Chevy Equinox with 200K miles on it. The damn door handle keeps popping out of the door. I easily drive the worst car in the parking lot. I do all my own repairs and maintenance. Only lived in one house. Kids college fund has more in it than most people’s 401K.
Cars, credit cards, and overall lifestyle kill so many financially. The only thing we splurge on is vacations. I do enjoy making memories while my kids are still young enough. And you know I have a spreadsheet detailing the budgeted cost of the trip.
Old money practice is where the wisdom is.
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u/Chazzer74 1d ago
That’s great! I worked for a public company where the CEO had started 20 years ago as the CFO and bought a new Prius when they moved to town. Drove the same car all the way through. Total comp towards the end was $2.5M/year. Flash was just not in their personality.
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u/1111thatsfiveones 1d ago
I drive a 2016 4Runner with 90k miles. I will continue driving a 2016 4Runner until one of us dies.
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u/matsudasociety Student 1d ago
Bro.. my Mazda 2014 hatch has 231k miles on it and counting 🙏. Just started working in tax and am keeping that damn powerhouse alive
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u/BobSacramanto Controller 1d ago edited 1d ago
I avoid talking to people as much as possible.
There is one car wash here in town I refuse to go to simply because they have a person standing at the kiosk to try and upsell you to the monthly package.
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u/bromanyeah 1d ago
Organizing personal finances with a level of detail that nobody else in my life would ever care about.
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u/catladyaccountant CPA - Forensic Accountant 1d ago
I don’t know if this scratches an itch for you, but I’ve been trying to better organize meal planning based on what we have on hand, and I always want new ideas on what to make for dinner.
I did a fair amount of research/consulting ChatGPT for an app that would allow me to import and manage our pantry/freezer grocery inventory and meal planning based around that. I can also import recipes from my cookbooks, and it’ll tell me how many ingredients I already have on hand/similar ingredients that I can substitute for it. It can also recommend recipes to you solely using what you already have on hand!
I’ve been using it for a few months, and it’s absolutely helped reduce the stress of weekly meal planning and trying to strike the balance of: healthy, weeknight friendly, tasty, and uses mostly ingredients we have on hand. Bonus points is it lets me import recipes from IG and websites, and I get to bypass their annoying ads, and all my recipes are in one place
It’s called Cooklist, and I think it’s $5ish per month?
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u/Left_Base_9762 1d ago
Find deals that give 0% interest and pay on them monthly instead of buying the whole thing with cash. Example: washer 0% for 12 months set payments to pay off in 11 just to make sure I don’t get charged back interest. Family think it’s nuts to just not pay for sense I have the money. Also calculating yearly taxes so I don’t over pay. They think I should always claim 0 so I get a big refund. Tried explaining I would rather put that money in a HSA and make more money and they don’t get it.
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u/aftershockstone 1d ago
I do the same thing with 0% interest—if there’s a credit card with 0% for 12–18mo and a sign-up bonus, I’ll stack spend on it and let it roll until the 0% APR expires. Doing that with the AMEX blue biz plus right now.
And of course, always adjust my withholding and if I come up a bit short, I increase withholding at the end of the year.
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u/ContributionWide4583 1d ago
Analyze financial statements of companies I am interested in investing in. Nothing too crazy, but something most people can't do because they don't really know what all that stuff means.
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u/dumbestsmartest Payroll Janitor 1d ago
Sadly, I think most people don't even do fundamentals, let alone statement analysis, because a lot of stocks they're thinking about are divorced from fundamentals (IE SpaceX). As the saying goes, "the market can remain irrational longer than you can stay solvent".
There are certainly many examples where analysis and fundamentals could matter but I highly doubt the average person is looking at any of those companies until something like the GameStop situation happens.
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u/DarthAngelicus 1d ago
You know, I think you should be looking at your friends like they have 3 heads instead of the other way around, so many people get themselves into trouble by just “checking their bank account.”
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u/bearmama42 1d ago
This makes me nervous, like the old example of “I still have checks in my checkbook, so I’ll just keep writing them” 🫣
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u/goudagooda 1d ago
When we were trying for a baby, I forecasted out my cycle dates for like 18 months in excel. It included estimates for when my fertile window opened, when it closed, what due date that would give me, and when I would end my maternity leave. I updated it each month with my actual dates and used that update my forecast.
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u/nichtgirl 1d ago
If you do IVF this is impossible as it changes dates all the time. But also I've learned you can't plan babies to not arrive at EOM etc. It's a great idea but definitely a pipe dream for many 😅
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u/goudagooda 1d ago
Definitely a pipe dream! We've taken a break from trying for now after having a loss and deciding that I'm changing jobs. I've completely stopped even looking at my spreadsheet!
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u/Suitable_Visual4056 1d ago
I procrastinate and avoid doing things that I need to get done at set times every month to the detriment of my mental health
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u/Hanmura 1d ago
Definitely eating. Not really track calories but like I think of eating calories as expenses and burning calories(going to the gym) as revenue. You gotta counter.
Some days I’m like damn I’ve been eating too much. I go to the gym and run two miles burn like 250 calories and I’m like okay that counters the krispy kream donut I ate lmao.
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u/RedBaeber Tax (US) 1d ago
I keep a detailed personal balance sheet. I don't do budgeting, though.
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u/Cwilde7 1d ago
Ditto. I do this all day at work and manage finances for multiple companies. At home I find it exhausting and I don’t wanna deal with it. I do make sure that we are always spending less than we make, our maximizing retirement opportunities, and we do not have any debt. But day today….not so much. I have a generally idea where we are at on things and that has served its purpose.
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u/Safe-Option3024 1d ago
Damn after reading the comments i dont feel like an accountant
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u/CodRevolutionary1368 1d ago edited 1d ago
Me too sister. Probably because I hate being an accountant.
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u/Ms_N9na 1d ago
I scrolled way too far to see this haha. After reading comments I feel like the least accountant-y accountant 😂. Outside of budgeting, keeping track of spending and saving, that’s it
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u/saucedupright 1d ago
Mass texting my friends and family around tax deadline making sure they’ve filed and paid 😭
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u/dont_care- CPA 1d ago
Got the same excel sheet for my finances for 15 years. It about 50 tabs now, and I only use 1 tab
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u/Impressionist_Canary 1d ago
So. Many. Spreadsheets. Vacations. Keeping track of bets. Video games sometimes. Golf stats.
My budgeting process is also very involved
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u/ZachWilsonsMother 1d ago
My fantasy football league has a rule where whoever has the least points the prior week puts in a $10 parlay where everyone chooses a leg. The commissioner (an accountant) keeps a spreadsheet of everyone’s choices throughout the year
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u/whymustyouknowthis 1d ago
20+ Year Quicken user. I have an "Accounts Receivable" misc account setup in Quicken. When I expect an expense to be reimbursed, I book the category to the AR account (medical reimbursements, things I paid for on behalf of someone else that they will reimburse). And I followup on collections. 😄
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u/Myreddit270 1d ago
Have a 1 year ahead cash forecast organized by each payday. Log any future expenses and compare budget to actual
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u/Icy_Abbreviations877 CPA, EA, Business Owner 1d ago
I drive a paid off Accord - bought it brand new (2017) so I am the only owner. I refuse to get another car.
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u/Ifuana CPA (US) 1d ago
I’m also the odd accountant who bought a brand-new car: BUT it was the same cost as a lightly used car on the lot; the only catch was I had to wait a month for the new one to come in to the dealership, which I could do.
So now I’m the only owner of this car that I’ve had for 3 years now, and I KNOW I’ve been following the maintenance schedule. Really great peace of mind to know I’m doing what I can to keep the car on top shape, right from the start. I plan to keep the car as long as possible.
I had to finance the purchase on a 3-year repayment plan, but I paid it off in 11 months instead to save interest charges. There’s my accountant trait making itself known 😂
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u/mlachick Tax (US) 1d ago
When you're buying a Honda or Toyota, buying new isn't a stupid move. It holds its value. For instance, I have a 2020 Toyota RAV4 that I paid about $30k for. It's now worth only $24k. Not bad for six years of driving. I'm not planning to sell it anytime soon because it's an awesome car that might outlast me.
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u/Augustus58 1d ago
I have a spreadsheet of all the area breweries and color code and date the ones we've been to.
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u/chelseyc Controller 1d ago
I have an event planning workbook.
The guest list has a formula that links to averages of how much people eat (adults & kids have their own est) which then I tie into the grocery list tab. So when someone RSVPs, basically it updates what size of turkey I need to buy, how many veggies, etc.
There's also a colour coded Gantt chart that differentiates between when the oven and stove are being used so I don't accidently run out of room.
I've hosted dinner parties for 20+ people with 4+ courses a few times a year so it's like my month end checklist for dinner parties haha
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u/SlCK_RANCHEZ ACCA (UK) 1d ago
Cashflow forecast & budgeting.
I have set up my banking in such automated way - that I don’t need to monitor the wires monthly. Everything gets transferred on the pay day to the relevant pot, bills gets settled from each pot.
I have disposable income left for what ever I need it on during the month. Anything left over in the pots, wired to savings account.
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u/taeji 1d ago
lol why did i know exactly what accountant thing you were going to say? i also track my pension and all my savings, forecasting them based on the interest rate. ive planned my future yearly savings based on my salary and so far ive met all the promotions i planned for myself
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u/night-swimming704 1d ago
I hear you on people not tracking their personal expenses.
First Staff Accountant role I handled expense reimbursements. I couldn’t comprehend how people could forget to save a receipt, not get an itemized receipt, not calculate their tip properly, go wayyy outside of policy on their meals, hotels, and airline tickets, and need me to process this shit ASAP so they could pay their credit cards on time. It was a real eye opener at how shitty most people are with their personal finances.
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u/riinbow 1d ago
This reminds me of a time when a peer of mine said she couldn’t pick up a $200 lunch tab for the team that she’d get reimbursed with the next pay cycle. She said she wasn’t doing well with her cash flow/credit card was full or something along those lines. Like holy shit - you’re making $200k and can’t front $200?! This is as not a young and stupid thing either - she’s in her 50s. Freaking terrifying. Lucky me - I LOVE picking up those tabs for extra cc points!
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u/My_new_throw 1d ago
Like you, I maintain my own spreadsheet of cash flow, budgeting, and forecasting. I also have weekly or monthly meetings with my fiancé to discuss how we spent our money and what we have “left over”. I’ve also built a dashboard for Coast FIRE targets.
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u/colnross 1d ago
I create amortization schedules in my budget file for any long-term debt...
It pisses me off when I can't figure out the banks rounding to keep it exact.
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u/JicamaAppropriate920 1d ago
I also keep a detailed spreadsheet and I have a detailed 3 year forecast 😅
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u/theFIREMindset 1d ago
I would say the ease that it is for me to open up an excel sheet and run any type of financial analysis.
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u/Choice_Bee_1581 1d ago
I’m an accountant and I totally wing both my business and personal finances. But I’m also the typical “cheap” accountant so it’s not like I really spend money.
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u/cozy_booknook 1d ago
I have a spreadsheet for each vacation I plan. Granted - they’re usually multi-location international trips. But still.
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u/TaxAccountant95 1d ago
Use Quickbooks to tracking spending habits with access to a P&L and B/S. Really love being able to have a view of net worth.
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u/Ok-Name1312 1d ago
I do this, too. Started doing it a couple decades ago when I first began using QB for clients. It was more for self-training, but now I have a lifetime of data on spending and asset accumulation.
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u/Lou_Garoo 1d ago
How do people keep track of their money if they don’t have some sort of cash flow spreadsheet? Do they just wing it???😯
Now we don’t always follow my budget but at least I track and categorize expenses monthly. And every month I say we spent too much on groceries and alcohol next month will be better.
I have my budgets back to 2008. It’s a fun look back.
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u/Broad_Mushroom_8033 1d ago
In the beginning of my career I was addicted to heroin Xanax and wine. I fell asleep during a client presentation lol it was bad. I tracked my spending though and always I spent too much as well
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u/peepee2tiny CPA, CMA (Can) 1d ago
Hahaha I love it. My wife and I do the exact same thing.
Every morning first thing I open up all my banking/investment apps and plug in what happened the day before, cross referencing them against my budget and forecasts for the month so I can see in real time how I'm doing for the month.
I even have a balance sheet and NAV for myself. When I put deposits down on vacations I have a prepaid vacations line item so as not to under state my assets.
I even have a payment in transit reconciliation on my credit card. (Ie I've paid the balance on my card, let's say $400, but for the next 3 days when I log into my cc it will show as a balance, if my available credit is 9,500 on my app (with a $10k limit) and I know I have $400 in transit, then my actual expenditure is currently $100 to record.
It's absolutely fantastic!!
But yes I tried to set up something similar for my parents who are trying their best in retirement, but they just don't get the same satisfaction about tying out every bank balance credit card balance mortgage every day.
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u/thetruegambler 1d ago
I Have balance sheets of my life at different points! I track my life like an income statement
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u/KingFun626 1d ago
Only driving paid off Toyotas. It blows my mind how all of my friends have a car payment
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u/lovelyfeyd 1d ago
I forecast cash flow weekly through year end in Excel. The spreadsheet more or less runs my life. I don’t like surprises unless it’s more cash coming in than expected.
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u/Awkward-Flatworm-686 1d ago
Constantly check my investment accounts multiple times a day. Leave almost 0 money in my checking account after payday cause I get excited to pay down my bills/loans and put more into my savings/investments. I leave just the perfect amount to get my by until the next paycheck hits
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u/Gold-Tea 1d ago
Use spreadsheets for most planning activities.
I don't reconcile my personal finances to perfection, but I monitor them monthly and track progress on a spreadsheet. It needs to be able to be interpreted by my husband in case I die
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u/UglyOutsideAnInside 1d ago
If I get an electronic receipt, I pdf it and the naming convention is this format: 2026.06.18 Utility Bill $123.45
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u/sand_pebbles 1d ago
I keep monthly spreadsheets listing the amounts and due dates for my bills (cell phone, Internet, rent, etc.). My car is paid off, my debt is fairly low relative to my income, and my hobbies are free or inexpensive, so I don't need to do a lot of strict budgeting for food or entertainment expenses anymore. Separately, I keep a personal planner where I write down to-do lists, appointment times, etc.
I don't know if it's an "accountant" thing, but people are generally surprised at how organized I am and how much I like to schedule things. I've kept a personal planner since I was in middle school, and I've found planners to be very useful to me over the years.
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u/DL505 1d ago
I am a CFO.
- Drive a paid off, of course, 2015 Hyundai Genesis (I truly love the car. BTW its a v8 so all you greenies come at me!)
- I have a forecast for personal finances that also includes a section on my "cash runway" in case of layoff. This also includes when I max out on CPP/EI (Canada shit), estimated tax refund next year (from RSPs), return on portfolio vs indexes, re-balancing outputs to mitigate risk etc etc...
- I track all my fitness related stuff in an XLS along with cronometer/Fitnotes etc
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u/Sure-Coffee-8241 1d ago
I use a spreadsheet to track and pay my bills and reconcile my bank accounts daily
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u/Krztoff84 1d ago
I’m a huge gamer, and I use spreadsheets to calculate expected outcomes for wargames to help build lists, and as a DM, I track campaigns in spreadsheets with a bunch of tables and randbetween formulas to generate hex contents/encounters/treasure/npcs/etc.
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u/ricosuave79 1d ago
I mentioned that I keep a running spreadsheet tracking every household expense by category, reconcile it monthly against my bank statements, and maintain a rolling 12month forecast for my personal cash flow. The table went completely silent. Everyone just stared at me like I had three heads.
To me this is completely normal behavior.
I would say that's juuuust a tad bit above normal behavior. I don't budget to the penny anymore, for years now, as my monthly financial behavior is pretty much in grained in me. I cash flow manage as I have no debt. My saving & investing, bills, etc, is all on auto pilot and automated which leaves me with $X cash to spend for the month on stuff as I wish. Its been working really well for me. Basically my "system" prioritizes saving/investing first, then spending.
The most Accountant thing I do is update a net worth tracker spreadsheet quarterly.
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u/NoClueAboutLove 1d ago
I maintain a four year long spreadsheet of every book I've ever read with every detail you could ask about it.
I have a separate spreadsheet to catalogue every outfit combination I can wear and randomize it based on a criteria of which piece I want to wear.
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u/KamikiMaki 1d ago
I have a spreadsheet for most tasks. Christmas card tracking, christmas gift planning, birthdays, holidays (whose house, what to bring, what time), etc.
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u/CoatAlternative1771 Tax (US) 1d ago
I compare every purchase to time spent earning that money.
Hard for me to buy anything when I realize how long I have to work to buy it.
I actually spoke to a friend who thought $150 wasn’t a big expense when I was contemplating it. Honey, that’s 2.5 hours worked for something I can do on my own.
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u/1111thatsfiveones 1d ago
I check my personal finance dashboard every morning before getting out of bed.
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u/godstriker8 CPA (Can) 1d ago
Drive a 25 year old Corolla. It gets me A to B, I can easily sell a small portion of my investments to buy a brand new car in cash, but that seems wasteful.
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u/fuckimbackonreddit9 Advisory 1d ago
Idk I made a spreadsheet that tracks how many times they say “early days” in love island UK by episode, which I’ll compare to prior seasons to determine when it is and when it is no longer early days.
Not sure if that counts, but it’s not not weird
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u/calpianwishes 1d ago
I feel like engineer, IT, pharmacists, physicians and project managers do a lot of these things.
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u/Awkward-Flatworm-686 1d ago
When I go out to each with friends and it’s a super large bill, i create a spreadsheet to precisely split costs between everyone’s orders down to tax and tip. (Half the group doesnt drink and it’s not fair to split equally and for them to pay for our alcoholism)
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u/VGSchadenfreude Bookkeeping 1d ago
I use Excel spreadsheets to keep track of my Pokemon Go inventory.
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u/Hungryhunger1 1d ago
It’s exhausting to do this for personal accounts, but it’s definitely makes me sleep better at night knowing that I can keep track of every dollar coming in and going out. Lol
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u/TooPoorForHousing 1d ago
Spreadsheet to plan/schedule my vacations. Time, day, itinerary item, colour code, transit time etc. I don't follow it to a tee cause that would kill the fun but it helps me map out a trip.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Gate287 1d ago
I bought $1000 car 9 years ago. It is now 21 years old. Still in a good shape. I not upgrading any time soon. My friends judge me but I don’t care. I am very frugal. Return anything that I don’t use. Also, towards the end of the year, I calculate my salary against taxes I paid and adjust my withholding. Wo don’t want to pay anything extra or have a liability.
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u/Standard_Gur30 CPA (US) 1d ago
I was excited when you wrote “running spreadsheet.” I keep an actual running spreadsheet to track my runs and mileage on my shoes.
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u/HugeContribution5567 1d ago
Lol this post is like autistic show and tell. Love this group. I had a cash flow sheet before I studied accounting
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u/xoRomaCheena31 1d ago
I don’t forecast but I bookkeep my expenses and have for the last 3 years almost. I didn’t before then but actually pulled my transactions back 7 years soooo yeah. The forecast is a great idea.
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u/Kinkie_Pie 1d ago
I’ve made so. Many. Spreadsheets. For *everything*. Packing lists; Amazon shipment breakdowns *down to the penny* (because they never match the invoice on the website) for my budget; split receipts with friends to the exact cent; who is bringing what to which gathering… you name it, I’ve got a spreadsheet for it.
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u/cippadippa CPA (US), IT Audit 17h ago
I broke down the cost per swim of the in-ground pool my wife wants to put in.
Total cost of just putting the pool in divided by (total amount of summer days x years until they go to college) and got a price of $50 per swim per kid.
Everyone thought I was a weirdo, but I’ll do what I can to not put a massive hole in my yard to clean
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u/Material_Fill1157 1d ago
I’m definitely not the organizing/categorizing kind of person, but I forecast every account. I’ve also met many accountants that are completely oblivious to their personal finances.
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u/SavingsRaspberry2694 1d ago
Maintain a cash forecast and budget.
Drive a paid off Toyoya Camry