How do you keep track of the amount of money you have in your third generation F body? I am a bad record keeper and I want an easy way to keep up with my expenses for my new 1988 IROC.

Please share your ideas with me.

 

I have a box next to my door for receipts. As I buy stuff I put the receipt in the box. If I ever want to know what I spent I can go back and add everything up. But I think is better not to know how much I'm spending

 

I just make a file on my IROC just as I do for my other cars. I store all the receipts in it for future use.

 

I tried keeping reciepts, then I forgot where I put most of them. I lose things easier than anything. I could lose a tool I just picked up andset down less than a minute earlier. Anyways, thankfully I created an excel spreadsheet. I just add what I spent, breif description, and cost. Then I just set up a formula to do total cost to make it simple, but I do agree with above, sometimes I wish I didn't look at the total, LOL.

Jon

 

I keep a couple of things......

I have a folder that I keep all the reciepts in and real world documentation like the title and such. I also keep a notebook that is almost like a diary for the car. It shows mileage, date and what was performed, complete with part numbers. Sometimes I just play with things, such as adjusting the t-tops or something. This way I have a record of it and next time I need a part, its right there. Last thing I do is keep an Excel spreadsheet that I enter the date, costs, mileage and work performed in. This way, I can manipulate the data and I have a quick reference to see things like when the coolant was flushed last. Maybe a little overboard, but I've had a few cars and this is the easiest way to do things instead of digging through an endless pile of receipts.

 

Keeping the receipts is one thing. But, how do you value your time? Do you go for minimum wage, semi-skilled or skilled? Parts costs are easy, but the intangibles really add up!!!

 

I have been doing restoration work, and an engine swap....I think I would prefer not to know what the costs have been. Paint job sure but the rest of it....it adds up real quick. I personally don't care what I am spending on this one...its a keeper anyway after being in the family for close to 20 years.

 

I do pretty much what Rumblin does - whenever I buy another vehicle, no matter what it is, I label a file folder for title, etc., and then start a 'book' on the car - ring binder, usually, in which I document as much of it's history as I know, and add to it as I go along. I'm working on my '90 'vert right now, and have pages for engine mods, suspension, stuff I need from the junkyard, and so on. Makes it easier to remember where I'm at if I have to devote time to other things for a bit . . .

 

I have folders with all the paperwork I got for the car, and any receipts as I buy stuff. I havent done much as far as a restoration in a while (like before I had a computer), but using a program like Excel to easily find items and add up costs might be worthwhile. Definitely a good idea to keep all your records in case something bad happens, to back up what you have invested. You may not want to know, but might need to.

 

I got a question. I keep all my receipts in a folder, quick glance i got well over 1500. When my car is all done, can i take it and all the receipts to an appraiser to get a value of what its worth? Or will the cost of suspension/exhaust make no difference to the value of my IROC?

 

I think that if the car is being appraised and you have all the receipts for what you have done, the appraiser should take that into consideration. Either way though, all this information will add value to the car. These receipts and information provide a 'history', showing mileage and such. Documentation in some sense.

I know that if I was looking at two identical cars and one had reciepts and the other one didn't, I'd pick the one with the documentation, even if it was a little more. The person I picked my IROC up from had 10k in reciepts over the 11 years and 90k miles he had the car.

 

I just keep a file at work so my wife can't find it- As long as I can hide it, it doesn't matter how much I spend!

 

i wish i thought of this when i got my car. i've already spent a few thousand in restoring her and i started saving receipts recently. well occasionally

 

I hope the appraiser puts some consideration into what i spent on the car to get it this nice.

I kept EVERY SINGLE RECEIPT, including the receipts for little stuff like VHT paint . My car goes away to paint tomarrow...quick addition of receipts = . I'm hopeing to have ALL costs under 10-12K. (thats including the price of the car)

 

I kept receipts on my 79 T/A, but I haven't kept any on my 91 so far. Most of the money I've spent on it was for wheels, seats, motor, tranny, rear axle, etc....that I bought from other members in my local club.

I keep a fairly accurate running tab in my head on this one though. I also take into account the stock parts that I sell once they're upgraded. I subtract the money I make from parts from the money that I've spent. I only count out of pocket expenses.

 

every time i buy something i usually go on the computer and open up my little "notebook" and put down what i bought and how much it was. then i total it. i got 1120 so far. and my car still looks like junk lol

 

I do the exact same thing except I "hide" the cell with the total in it...

 

no thats the garage monster eating your tools or moving them


but yea like everyone is sayin keep a file folder, put stuff in it, if you buy off line print off a page with info on it and stick in there

pics of all the work is nice to have to

 

Now that's the kind of records that I keep. I take tons of pics of every little thing that I do to the car. I have a huge folders of pics on my laptop dedicated strictly to each of my vehicles. Then there are around 20-30 sub folders in each one of those. I literally have thousands of pics of my 91.

 

http://cardomain.com/ride/2674905/2

i have cardomain to put pics of wat i do...and i keep a journal in a word document.

all the pics are of course backed up on the computer and a flashdrive too.

i keep reciepts for warranty and return purposes on parts but i dont keep track of prices cuz i dont give a damn.

 

I keep all my reciepts in a box and also pull up excell and write down what I bought+ the price. I got it set up so I can see the total any time.

 

I keep a notebook with dividers (interior, exterior, etc.).
At the front of each section is a list of expense/receipts,
and the receipts are then taped onto pages. Keeping a
running total WOULD be depressing, but this way, when
I get finished (and some would argue the validity of that
assertion...), I can determine a total expense.

I take pictures of all major activities, mostly to chronicle
the project, and then download onto my PC.

Everyone evaluates their time differently. But trying to include
that as part of the expense doesn't make sense to me.
Besides, if I wasn't working on the car, I'd be rotting-brain
in front ot the TV, or p*****g it away in a bar.

 

I have a simple, one page Excel spreadsheet that chronicles the 3 years I've had the RS and every receipt logged in, with what the receipt entailed. I know down to THE EXACT DOLLAR what my RS has cost me...and yes, it depresses me.

This was supposed to be a $10k project, including the $1,000 purchase price of the car. While it looks brand new, is mechanically 90% (needs front end work to be 100%) and is getting a new stereo, alarm, carpet and headliner this Spring, I've overshot that budget to almost $15k

But in the end, I'll have a brand new looking and driving '91 Camaro with over $4,600 in mods alone I never thought I'd take this car to this level, but in the end it'll be awesome. I bought it originally to keep miles off my 30th (neither are DDs, but at least having the RS to enjoy keeps the 30th in the garage even more!), and figured I'd have fun bombing around in it, making it look nice, etc.

What I've ended up with is what I always wanted my first car ('89 RS 2.8 AT) to be...a bright red, bolt on V8 powered, 17" Torq Thrust riding jukebox on wheels This is the car I wanted when I was 16 back in the mid '90s.

To me, that is priceless...to hell with what the spreadsheet tells me

 

For me, keeping track of maintenance is more important than actual costs. All the vehicles I own get driven quite a bit, so I need records to remind me when I've done certain things. I record the mileage on the car when doing things like timing belt (on my honda), fuel filters, transmission oil, diff oil, etc etc. Otherwise I'd simply forget.

Oh I also have the garage monster problem. I also drove around with a wrench in my engine bay for a month.

 

I keep track of everything in an Excel spreadsheet as well. Its a huge one though. I keep a log of what I've already done, what I plan to do, what I've spent and what future upgrades/mods will likely cost me. I do like looking at how much I've spent because right beside that is the column telling me how much I've saved by buying parts online or at the JY or from other sources. I don't count my time in there because that isn't important to me. I want to track my $$ costs, not my time costs.

How do you guys keep the receipts from fading? My receipts from the parts stores are usually unreadable after a month or 2 so I don't bother keeping them anymore. Warranty pieces are kept track of in their computers anyhow.

 

Photocopy them on to a piece of normal paper...add that to file

Been doing that since I bought this one, and its saved me!

 

Who puts together a budget? All we were talking about was keepin records.......