Save Your Receipts!
If your crafting receipts are anything like mine, you might be tempted to immediately destroy them in an effort to conceal the evidence of your prolific shopping. Before you crumple that receipt or stuff it into the bottom of a to-go coffee cup, hang on! You might want to save it. Here are a few reasons why:
- Returns – Although you can’t return cut fabric, you can return many other crafting items. Bought too much yarn or decided you hate the color? You can return yarn as long as it’s not unwound. You cannot return sewing patterns (even if they are uncut), nor can you return knitting needles or crochet hooks. They say it’s for sanitary reasons but I really think it’s because you could so easily use them and then try to return them. You can return most unused craft supplies, such as buttons, notions, seam binding, etc., as long as they are still in the original packaging and unused.
- Budgeting – I never knew how much I was really spending on crafting until I saved ALL of my receipts one year. The final number was absolutely staggering. I could have taken a luxury vacation for the whole family for the kind of money I spent “just a little” at a time over the course of twelve months. Since that eye-opening day, I’ve been a lot more circumspect in my craft consumption.
- Taxes – My new tax guy gave me a hard time over my fabric receipts the first year I used him. He said I could not deduct a “hobby”. However, when I explained the fabric was directly applied to my sewing pattern design business, he recognized those expenses as legitimate. If you have sold a quilt (or even donated it), sell on ETSY or otherwise make a profit from your crafting, you may have a legitimate tax expense.
- Remembering Where You Bought Stuff – Have you ever run out of an important supply but could not for the life of you remember where you had originally found it? Make a note on your receipt and file it away. The next time you run out of those perfect lobster swivel clasps for your fledgling purse business, you can find them again with ease!
Save your receipts. You can recoup funds for projects that didn’t get off the starting block, spend money more wisely and more efficiently re-stock supplies. Although I did say “save” them, I’m not opposed to hiding them!
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