Prescriptive literature on household accounting and personal finance
invariably advocate accounting as an aid to betterment and the construction of
an orderly and composed existence. Money management systems are often
advanced for individuals and families as ``part of the art of living'' (Allen, 1973,
p. 16). As Fagerberg recognised, and Haskins before him, personal accounting
has a pervasive social and behavioural significance in everyday life. Its practice
serves ``to strengthen economic morality, self-reliance and discipline. The
greatest social contribution of personal accounting . . . is that it symbolises
Social Rule No. 1 to Unit No. 1, which is: First, put your own house in order''
(1954, p. 364).