What is a good strategy for me to enjoy and even pass accounting?

What helps me… is thinking that it is my money I’m calculating… or for English that I’m entertaining an audience… or driving social change.

There is an elegance to Accounting because when done properly everything balances. yes, its money and numbers, but the numbers let you see how things in the business are connected and relate to each other. Seeing how the money flows through a business gives you insight into the business itself.

So you guys are suggesting that I should buy the books and continue in the class?
and always think of money and numbers to make things easier… also does it matter how good someone is at math?

@nailpolishfanatic I failed accounting twice… math isn’t important as much as logic… I suggest taking a year off of school to find yourself… when you’ve washed enough dishes and cleaned enough toilets… you might become inspired to finish some form of post-secondary studies…not necessarily business… I switched to Liberal Arts for two years and then moved home… now Physics seems interesting.

@talljasperman gosh now I kinda hate being older because of all the decisions that an older person has to take in their life! :(

I don’t think I would like to take a break I just wanna finish it all off :)

If you know you want to be a business person, then sooner or later you will have to learn at least the basics of accounting. This is not optional. You might as well do it now. Don’t let negative thoughts or fear of failure get in your way.

Perhaps you can motivate yourself by thinking about the larger importance of what you are learning. In addition to the mathematical and logical elegance of it, double-entry bookkeeping is a significant cultural achievement. Do you like history? Maybe you could read a little bit about the Commercial Revolution and the transition from medieval society to modern society. Are you interested in politics? Finance is taking over politics in the developed world. It’s a long way from basic accounting to understanding why Iceland’s banks collapsed, but it’s all connected.

Maybe you could make it seem more fun by playing some of those computer games where you run an imaginary business or are the mayor of an imaginary city. That might help you associate it with something more interesting than textbook examples.

It’s good that you are thinking about being your own boss someday. Too many students only think about being someone’s employee. But again, if you’re going to be the boss, you have to understand accounting.

@submariner Yeah I think I should just take this class and see how I do…

The value of the accounting class is now, not in the future. Think of accounting as “How Not To Waste My Money 101.” In order to have money, you need to be able to keep track of money. Otherwise you will always think you have more than you do, waste it, and end up broke. Learning how to budget and plan what you do with your money is the best way to be able do do what you want, and want what you can afford.

@BarnacleBill wow! that’s actually what happened to me last december :/ I thought I had enough money in my account but then when I was out shopping and tried to take out money I found out that i was broke. Guess I should just go ahead and take the class

Basic accounting is one of the best things you can take. Think of it this way – you know how much money you have coming in, and you have an idea over the course of the year what you will need to spend money on. Gas, car insurance, clothing, gifts for birthdays and Christmas, spring break trip, prom, miscellaneous entertainment, like movies and concerts, eating out, whatever.

You have your bank account—Adding cash is a credit to the account, spending money is a debit to the account. You set up books that help you track how your money is going to be spent. You have an account in a ledger called income. When you credit your bank account to put money in, you debit the income account. Say you buy shoes. That comes out of your bank account as a debit, but in your ledger you have expense accounts and one them is clothing. You enter the shoe purchase as a credit in that account. You track by doing a system of debits and credits so that you know where your money is at all times.

Accounting will teach you how all that works. It is pretty cool. If you ever join a club at school, knowing how to do that will qualify you to be the treasurer for the club. It’s handy.