Keeping track of your costs

[Steve NW WI]

Read most of these posts at work, and thought about em, since they don't pay me to think, I spend a lot of time thinking of my own stuff

Looks like a well thought out spread sheet.

If I may suggest another line of formulas for comparison? Cost per BTU value of the wood you are getting comparing that to the cost per BTU of your "other" source of heat be it NG, Oil, Propane etc etc. Assuming you have multiple forms of heating your home.

This would help in the "is it worth it" picture.

Like the BTU idea, I'll see what I can do. Please be patient. The fuel comparisons are already out there in many places, most wood stove companies have one on their site, just plug the numbers from this one into the wood cost portion.

Everyone else is saying to add this or that to the spreadsheet to make it more true to real life, but I say you need columns to subtract things as well.

While I like and agree with your thinking, I'm just trying to figure the cold hard cash cost of making the wood. You can add deductions as needed. Fact is it costs money to cut wood, I just want to get an idea how much.

It would be interesting to see what the actual savings is from going out cutting your own, or doing like me buying 10 cords logger load of oak delivered for $800 right to my cutting and stacking spot next to my garage. I know it cost me almost $9 to drive my pickup to work and back about 40 miles.

That's something this sheet will be good at, once you have a solid set of numbers to work with. I'm just guessing on numbers right now, and will fill mine in with actual data as I go along. From helping the guys on the Interfaith cuts, I know I can block up a cord an hour pretty easily, but splitting and stacking are variables to put times with.

(edited for length)
Regarding equipment, you really do want to capitalize your gear - even if you don't do it professionally. A $1000 saw (say a 372) should last a certain number of years. You need to pay attention to the amortized cost of your gear to avoid being stupid with the money. I would love to keep buying saws, but that would be just plain silly (but easy to rationalize in the heat of the moment).

I have simplified my calcs - if the wood is more than 35 minuntes away (one way) then I don't bother. If there is not enough to make at least 2 trips with the trailer (16,000lbs or more) then I am likely not going to bother. If the wood is all punky or pine then I am likely not going to try to get it.

From some searching the 'net, including a couple of threads here, it seems most loggers and tree companies just expense their saws. They're not a huge cost compared to the "big" things like trucks, etc. I can and probably will come up with a way to depreciate them, just because to a homeowner, a saw or splitter is a relatively larger investment that should be considered over time.

Your calcs show your experiences, and most of the reason I came up with this was to not have to have the bad experiences to set my guidelines by

Neat spreadsheet; I did one years ago when we landed Downeast on this woodlot. Money turned out to be the least important factor.

(edited for length)

I don't think about the cost of saws, PPE, skidding gear, ATV, or even the programs taken years ago. I'm having too much fun out there. For you sophisticates, it's a Gestault. Nice.

Like I said above, many of us here agree with your thinking. Heck, cutting trees that fall on my fields could be an expense if you look at it from the other side.

I personally think that it's a responsibility of owners of wooded land to make use of it, whether it's just hunting/recreation, firewood, commercial timber or whatnot.

More to come

 

[Steve NW WI]

sorry, I was a little cranky this morning...

as for my comments, it wasn't so much for tax purposes, but you have to figure in your equipment costs to find a true cost per cord (or a "close-enough" number that's actually accurate.

a saw is good for 10 years or 150 cords? I dunno, you tell me. You have to account for buying a new one when the old one is dead. so if you buy a $900 saw and it lasts you 10 years, your cost per $90/year. However, if you want to be able to buy a new one at year 10 you need to figure it actually @ $180 per year.

a splitter is good for 3000 hours or? 300 cords? 3000 cords? 30,000 cords? depends on your setup. again, double your cost per hour to be able buy a new one when you need to replace it.

lets say you use 12 chains a year@ $25/pop.

Those nickels and dimes add up to big numbers in the end.

Wasn't trying to pick on ya too much, more pointing out that little comments come out sounding wrong often on paper or the 'net.

The how long will it last/how fast do I depreciate it/what will it cost to replace is hard to debate. I think when I work on that, they'll be user inputs, let the individual decide. For those working for a profit, their accountant may very well have some IRS guidelines for depreciation of different pieces.

At least on the vehicle (assuming it's a pickup), I can include an option of using the "Standard Mileage deduction", which right now is $.555/mile of business use, which is allowed by the IRS in place of accounting for all costs related to the vehicle. That should cover truck, fuel, liscense, insurance, common repairs, etc.

I'm with the other guys pickin on ya about the chains. I've got maybe a dozen chains for my 3 firewood saws total, purchased over the last 3 years. Maybe one or two will need replaced this year. That's on an average of 20 full cords cut per year for myself and others. Regardless, if I buy a chain, it goes in the expense column.

Just gonna check my inbox, and send it off to anyone that requested it, and head for bed. Gonna be a good day to make some firewood tomorrow, don't want to sleep through it.

Steve the spreadsheet junkie signin off!

 

[cnice_37]

Steve - the XLS version link doesn't work. Makes me log into gmail, and then no document found.

 

[Steve NW WI]

Steve - the XLS version link doesn't work. Makes me log into gmail, and then no document found.

Give it another try now, I had a privacy setting set to private. Sorry, it's my first experience with google docs. If I'm reading right, you shouldn't even have to log in to get it now.

 

[woodbooga]

Easy to ignore labor, just put 0 in as your labor cost.

Good thinking on that line item delta.

Otherwise I was going to suggest running over your saw with the truck. You could have withheld wages owed to account for replacement costs. That way you'd come out even.