I'm a financial mess!! Can't account for $10k+ of expenses!

[doralzuela]

Hi, I'm a total financial mess.

 

I took a large $15k BT 'convenience check' loan (with promo APR at least) -but now about 5 months later I'm having trouble paying it back as planned.

 

I took it out to buy iPhones which I was selling on eBay (perfectly legal btw) --and I made about $3,500 profit in the couple months selling them.

 

But I was mixing all my iPhone expenses/paypal deposits (income) with personal expenses --basically, just mixing EVERYTHING and not keeping account whatsoever of my spending.

 

Long story show, I literally don't know where the heck over $10,000 of spending went. Haven't made any large purchase.

 

It's so bad I'm thinking of hiring an accountant to look thru ALL my credit card statements, banks, ect.. and try to give me an organized report of everything. That will obviously cost me, but I'm beginning to fear I was unknowingly scammed out of money.

 

I know I come off as an salamander here, just please put that aside. It's very likely I'm dyslexic when it comes to numbers. I'm determined to not let this happen again and need to get organized asap.

 

 

So my question, if it's unmanageable for me to find out where the spending went (believe me I've tried), could someone recommend a solution.

 

Perhaps a software/program that'll walk me thru it?

 

My idea thus far would be hiring the accountant. Besides, I still need to do my taxes. I just don't know WHAT to tell the accountant so he can do what needs to be done. I guess I need the technical word for the report/procedure recommended in my case so I can tell the accountant more accurately what I need. (Otherwise, just explain it to him like I am here!).

 

 

Thanks

[breeze]

It really isn't hard to go through $10k in 5 months without buying anything big.

 

There a several free software programs listed. Maybe you could try one of those before you go buy something expensive.

[angeleyeskkhr]

first of all, I think you need to separate your "business" (selling things) from your "personal"

 

Get a SEPARATE account for when you sell things. It'll make it MUCH more manageable IMHO.

 

I'm not sure what an accountant can do NOW, I mean, if you can't go through your bank statements and credit card statements and figure out whether that Best Buy purchase was an accessory for the iPhones or something else you were selling as opposed to an iPod for yourself, then I'm not sure a third party could.

 

You might want to look into Quicken or Microsoft Money, for your personal stuff. I think QuickBooks is more for businesses--so you might want to check that out to track your business/selling income and expenses.

 

ETA: It may be hard to find a reputable and experienced accountant right now, since it's becoming crunch time for the tax season.

Edited March 7, 2008 by angeleyeskkhr

[Cactus Flower]

Business needs to be separate from personal.

 

I hope you know that the profits you made on your eBay i-Phone sales are considered INCOME and are taxable...

[Maxine]

An accountant isn't going to be able to look at a credit card statement and tell you where the money went. CC statements list stores, not items. If you spent $500 at Wal-Mart, only you know if it was spent on a whole lot of fruit or video games.

 

It's really easy to lose track of money when you don't keep track of it.

[brubaker]

Be sure to look at the Ebay and Paypal fees associated with your sales. Also, look at what you charged for shipping and what is actually cost. You may think you made good money, but when you look at what it cost you to sell and ship the item, it may not be so.

[Kevin20]

The technical term you're looking for is "Shoe box". As in, buy everything with a credit or debt card, keep the receipt, and toss the receipt into a shoe box. Actually balancing your checkbook before dropping the receipt into the shoe box is a plus. But even if you don't you can reconstruct your spending later, because all the evidence is in the shoe box.

 

If you want to get all space age, then use a checking account with online banking. That way you can log on and see an ongoing statement of your account activities.

[54regcab]

One word "Budget"

 

No budget means your money will walk away every time, you will never know where it went.

[radi8]

One word "Budget"

 

No budget means your money will walk away every time, you will never know where it went.

 

A budget is just doing the preliminary accounting before the fact. It tells you where your money is supposed to go, not necessarily where it went. Have to keep track of actual expenditures for that.

[54regcab]

My point exactly. If you don't tell your money where to goyou will wonder where it went

[radi8]

My point exactly. If you don't tell your money where to goyou will wonder where it went

 

Right. But the OP is asking where the money went after the fact, at this point a budget won't help with that. What he/she needs to do now is find receipts, statements and the like and start reconstructing.

[EasyRhino]

How much of your spending and income was cash? That stuff will be harder to track.

 

I'd probably recommend grabbing a copy of Quicken or MS Money. But an Excel spreadsheet might do in a pinch. then grab ALL your bank statements, paypal histories from as far back as you can, and go on a data-entry rampage, entering the transactions and assigning them categories. (you can probably download much of the account activity from most banks and maybe paypal... treat paypal as a "bank account").

 

I had a case where I hadn't balanced my personal checkbook in like 3 years. It too me about one week of evenings after work to get everything straightened out (and I was off by a grand or so).

[Jen23514]

One word "Budget"

 

No budget means your money will walk away every time, you will never know where it went.

 

A budget is just doing the preliminary accounting before the fact. It tells you where your money is supposed to go, not necessarily where it went. Have to keep track of actual expenditures for that.

 

exactly.

 

 

OP, do you tend to use your debit card a lot? when I got in a "how the hell did I get this broke" period about 2 years ago, I downloaded from my CU and USAA all my spending for the previous 3 months and broke it down into categories in excel.

 

As for the shoebox idea. It works... at least then you know where your receipts are, and it's easier to reconstruct.