Accounting Lessons Journal 1

This is the first of many to come, accounting study summaries. I am using this venue as a place to describe what I am learning in my studies and practice articulating that. I am creating muscle memory in my brain! I have set Boyfriend on my case to make sure that I don't study too much and stretch, as well as to remind me to write in this blog. He'll remind me to be smart about studying in case I forget. Of course this will only work when he gets home but hey some is better than nothing, and I have been doing well so far to keep myself active and healthy.

So on to the topic. Today's topic is from Acc 101 Accounting fundamentals.
GAAP principals

• Business Entity: only the business transactions are recorded
• Cost Principle: Record purchases by the cost at the time of purchase, not value
• Objectivity: only record transactions there is evidence of, ie. invoices, sales receipts
• Continuing-Concern: Value for assets is not recorded unless they are for sale
• Stable-dollar: dollar does not change in value on the books

O.E. : usually "Investing" or "withdrawing"

Dr. is left side and is always recorded first
Cr. is right side and is always recorded second

Asset is Dr positive
Liability and O.E. is Cr positive

Records Section the second section of Accounting 101

After the journal entries are completed, transactions are posted to the LEDGER. This is after everything is picture perfect in the journal.

Ledger: records transactions in groups for easy organization

• Chart of Accounts: list of acc. and account # (Asset, Liabilities, OE. Revenue and Expenses)
• Account Title: separate pg. per account, title and # at the top
• Date Column
• Particulars Column: "Forwarded" carried over from previous time, "opening" first time
• Post Reference: location in journal ("J5") or a check mark if from the ledger
• Dr column
• Cr Column
• DR/CR Column: shows where the balance lies, in Debit or Credit
• Balance Column: Shows the balance of the account

Posting Reference

1. Identify the affected debit account
2. enter the date
3. enter the journal pg
4. enter debit amount
5. calculate account's new balance
6. identify if balance is Dr or Cr 
7. Post Reference in Journal ( the PR is the ledger page)
8. Repeat steps for the credit account

So now my brain feels like mush and I still have a hell of a lot of work to do. Since its getting darker and the boys are home study time is over. There is not a single place in the house I can work without curtailing their activities so I am trying to get this done before they get home for the most part. As far as the material goes, I am astounded by how much I have forgotten over the last two years of stupefying indifference. I'm going to have to work even harder. I am also still trying to get my call answered so I can get unemployment and pay my rent. Its getting very close and I am very worried about making rent. As it is I can afford nothing but the barest minimum of my expenses, ie. no food, gas or well anything that doesn't keep my lights on and the puppy fed.

Thank god for my family and their support, I don't know what I would do without them. I will be able to have the surgery I've needed since I was a kid because my cousin is going to pay for it. So I'll be broke but I'll be able to breathe.  Still looking for work and feeling hopeful and only a little depressed.

Lace and other complicated endeavors

So I finally finished the lace shawl I've been working on, all I have to do is block it and weave in the ends. Of course first I have to find out how I can weave in the ends of a lace project with teeny tiny yarn. This is a good time for this to happen. I like the metaphor, I finish this shawl that I've been working on for a long time as I finish my time at my current job. I have sent out resumes and am applying to every job that sounds interesting. Surprisingly there are a lot of them right now. I am very nervous and excited and scared about this change but I need it to happen. I get tummy aches every morning on my way to work and the night before as well as the time I'm at work, this is unacceptable. So I am doing something about it and being proactive in searching for a job I can be proud of.

First Ever Blog

How does one go about dealing with the stresses of every day life? One of my own coping mechanisms is journaling, which I seem to only keep up when I am overwhelmed. I wanted an outlet, one that would also be a way for me to keep up with my relationships and sharing my life with my loved ones in a format that they can also respond in. Facebook has always filled this need till recently, but as I get more stressed out and my life gets more complicated I decided I needed something a little more encompassing and lengthy. I needed a medium to write things out so I can learn to understand them. I also wanted to get the opinions and comments from others to help me understand more and hopefully untangle and spin my own threads.

I am going to treat this experiment as a way for me to speak candidly with family and friends new and old. I will also be using this as a tool to help me in classes, I always learned better when teaching. Feel free to avoid those posts, they'll be obvious. As far as other things I will probably also talk a lot about spinning, knitting or whatever other project I am working on, my roommates, dog, boyfriend and crappy job. Please feel free to comment liberally, ignore me or point out other interesting topics.

With love, Rhian

There will be no actual names used in this blog to protect identities and my hide in times of duress.