Do you journal the cost of having a horse.

Christmascinnamoncookie

Christmascinnamoncookie

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My OH has a very detailed spreadsheet with all outgoings. Bloody terrifying, especially during the strangles period-5 months, including multiple scopes/vet visits/increased hay/bedding bill plus new toys to keep him occupied.

An average year was about £5K, but he had daily danilon.
 
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onemoretime

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Yes I keep it all on the computer have done for years. Last years came to 11,289.75K. but I bought a new Andrea Hicks dressage saddle which was just over 2k so that bunked it up a bit. There is no livery costs as I have my own little yard but that covers food, hay, farrier, vet, entry fees, fuel in lorry etc etc.
 
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Annagain

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Annagain said:
I did in 2014. I recorded everything in my diary and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I spent about £3500 during the year on DIY livery, hay, feed, wormers, shoes, lessons (riding club group lessons) occasional competing, the odd purchase, vet's bills (jabs and the odd minor thing) insurance and trailer maintenance. The only thing I didn't count was fuel (both back and fore the yard and to transport the boys) as it was impossible to calculate alongside my daily use. At the time I had a sharer for Archie (who paid £60 a month so I recorded that 'income' too) and I shared Monty paying his ridden costs - so shoes, saddle fit, extra feed etc. They evened each other out so tt worked out pretty much the same as it would for one horse. I don't scrimp and they get everything they need but I'm not frivolous (e.g. I have three numnahs, two brown and one white for dressage) and they're good doers so don't need lots of food.
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ETA - it will be a lot more now that I have two although Arch costs little more than livery (including haylage in winter) feet trims and wormer. Since retiring 2 1/2 years ago he's seen the vet once.
 
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Tracking_up

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AShetlandBitMeOnce said:
I always did, but then again I am both an Accountant and a micro-manager of Finances. I had to be to save up enough to match the equity OH has in his flat so we could buy together and to overcome ADHD impluse related spending..

I have a 'life' spreadsheet as I call it which has my overall income per month mapped out against my regular monthly expenses for the financial year (I also map out future months and add/remove things as and when). I have another sheet on that same file which contains data re: my investments, pensions and savings pots for things which are short, medium and long term and how much I have in that pot vs the goal as a %. I then also have a sheet which I input my spending transaction by transaction which then SUMIF's onto another page by the month so I can see what my spending is like in each category compared to month on month or any outliers or things I need to watch (with annotations for anything that is unusually high)..

God I sound sad.. I definitely also don't have a sheet dedicated to the grocery shop with a stock take of the fridge/cupboards on it, nor one for all the house costs and a list of houses we viewed and what we did/didn't offer so I can have a look in 6 months' time on the land registry to see what they actually sold for.. nor another list of the exact items we need to buy with links and prices for when we move into our new house in November along with the solicitors costs and inspo photos when I come across them online. I definitely don't have one already fille dout with people I need to buy for for Christmas with a budget and ideas posted under each name already, which I fill out when ordered/delivered when the time comes.. That would be weird. ;)
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I'm similar in that I have monthly budgets for for various items, including the horse, Christmas presents, holiday etc ie various 'pots' that get saved into, and monthly purchases get set against those pots. So I set my horse expenditure against that pot, and it goes up and down accordingly to spend but other than trying to keep expenditure below the savings that go in, I don't do too much analysing!

I also keep a 'horse diary' that track activities, feelings and achievement and occasional schooling learnings....
 
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Abacus

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AShetlandBitMeOnce said:
I always did, but then again I am both an Accountant and a micro-manager of Finances. I had to be to save up enough to match the equity OH has in his flat so we could buy together and to overcome ADHD impluse related spending..

I have a 'life' spreadsheet as I call it which has my overall income per month mapped out against my regular monthly expenses for the financial year (I also map out future months and add/remove things as and when). I have another sheet on that same file which contains data re: my investments, pensions and savings pots for things which are short, medium and long term and how much I have in that pot vs the goal as a %. I then also have a sheet which I input my spending transaction by transaction which then SUMIF's onto another page by the month so I can see what my spending is like in each category compared to month on month or any outliers or things I need to watch (with annotations for anything that is unusually high)..

God I sound sad.. I definitely also don't have a sheet dedicated to the grocery shop with a stock take of the fridge/cupboards on it, nor one for all the house costs and a list of houses we viewed and what we did/didn't offer so I can have a look in 6 months' time on the land registry to see what they actually sold for.. nor another list of the exact items we need to buy with links and prices for when we move into our new house in November along with the solicitors costs and inspo photos when I come across them online. I definitely don't have one already fille dout with people I need to buy for for Christmas with a budget and ideas posted under each name already, which I fill out when ordered/delivered when the time comes.. That would be weird. ;)
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I love this, as it makes me feel just slightly less odd. I don't do anything in the last paragraph. But I do all the rest. I am a numbers and spreadsheet person anyway as well as a control freak :p. That said I don't have a detailed horse spreadsheet. I have a few line items in a monthly budget for hay and feed, shoes and extras. They are at 'home' so no livery costs but a line for maintenance stuff. If only I had a pension worth making a spreadsheet about...
 
honetpot

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I have a diary that I put major expenses in, and at the end of the season, April, I add it up. Extras used to be whether I could afford or not on a monthly basis.
I worked last year to buy Mundcontrol Mats, I do not earn much, but try to pay for everything myself for the animals, if I sell anything it goes towards running costs. Maintenance I class as household costs, so that comes out of the joint pot, when the kids were riding that came out of there.
 
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staffylover

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I record all horse expenses and have done for years. I need to know the worst, and it's pretty bad.... It also means I can calculate a fair amount to ask my sharer for a financial contribution.
 
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Boughtabay

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Abacus said:
I love this, as it makes me feel just slightly less odd. I don't do anything in the last paragraph. But I do all the rest. I am a numbers and spreadsheet person anyway as well as a control freak :p. That said I don't have a detailed horse spreadsheet. I have a few line items in a monthly budget for hay and feed, shoes and extras. They are at 'home' so no livery costs but a line for maintenance stuff. If only I had a pension worth making a spreadsheet about...
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I also do this as I’m an impulse spender & find having it all in a spreadsheet helps my brain understand “you need to stop now” when there is a visual for each category!! Horse stuff comes under “hobbies” but it is my only hobby atm so I could change that, but “hobbies” makes it sound less bad that I’ve spent x amount just on my horses ? it also helps me plan for costs e.g. dentist/saddle check etc. and adjusting spending on non-essentials accordingly. I never used to but needs must at the moment!
 
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Ratface

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I'm impressed by your financial diligence, you lot!
I have a calendar and a jotter. The calendar has spaces to record Old Horse's upcoming routine expenses and their date, so no nasty £££ surprises. His full livery money goes out via Standing Order, each month on the first day. I record next farrier/dentist/supplements/ vaccinations dates as soon as I know them and use the jotter to work out the income in/costs out. Same system for Kevin Kat/Car/Hairdresser/Credit card bill.
This method keeps me relatively calm when I'm having an "Oh, my ears and whiskers" type panic whilst rattling furniture and turning out pockets in a Private Pike "It's Doomed - it's All Doomed, I tell you!" moment.
So far, it works reasonably well.
When in danger, drink strong tea and have a biscuit. Worked for my family, years ago. Works for me now.
 
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McFluff

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I’m in awe at the spreadsheet wizards.
My computer says no.
My justification is that my horse is a pet, and I don’t add up what the cat costs…
In denial, me???
 
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Lois Lame

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I've always been careful with money but I make an exception here and there.
ETA: Well, that was a bit short and didn't mean much, did it?

Horse *tick*
House *who cares* (as long as it's more or less habitable)
 
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scats

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No chance! I know roughly what they cost a month so I can work out my annual total and that’s scary enough.
I am careful with money when it comes to me- I’ll um and ah over whether to buy a £9 pair of jeggings from matalan… yet I happily chucked £250 away to try a girth that everyone was raving about.
 
meleeka

meleeka

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onemoretime said:
Yes I keep it all on the computer have done for years. Last years came to 11,289.75K. but I bought a new Andrea Hicks dressage saddle which was just over 2k so that bunked it up a bit. There is no livery costs as I have my own little yard but that covers food, hay, farrier, vet, entry fees, fuel in lorry etc etc.
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Wow ? I thought you were going to say that includes full livery!

I don’t think I can particularly cut day to day costs, so what would be the point in knowing? Luxuries depend on the household finances, so if we’ve got it spare I can have it, if we don’t I can’t. I don’t spend money other than horses, so I don’t think i’m frivolous.
 
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