I would agree now that entertainment is not quite an expense and
debatable, I stand corrected on that. We could debate all day long over
the "WHAT and WHY" any costs should be considered an expense. In order
to alleviate some of this confusion I'll list the main expenses below,
minus any incidentals. If you gave me the leeway to make a rule it would
be...
"If money spent while in the field was related to hunting and necessary
to provide the time and resources needed to hunt and/or recover
meteorites on the WI meteorite hunt, then that money shall be considered
an expense."
Most hunters I know eat out at restaurants 2-3 times per day (due to
convenience and time constraints) so food should be included as an
expense simply because eating at restaurants is not an "everyday"
expense as most people don't eat out "every day" much less 3 times per
day. This increases your regular food cost by a large percentage.
However, as Rob Matson pointed out, sometimes it's less expensive as in
this example for California it is very expensive to eat out. This is an
exception rather than the rule I think. I would say at least 75% of all
food cost perhaps the full 100% is fair to include as an expense since
the average is higher while traveling vs eating at home.
Alcoholic beverages need not be included as they are not necessary to
the recovery of meteorites. Perhaps this might be debatable too... ;) lol
This includes:
---------------------------------
Food & Drink (non-alcoholic)
Gas/Fuel
Hotel
Car Rental
Airfare
Purchases (equipment, clothes, boots, rain gear, meteorites, newspapers,
etc.)
Fees (charged by landowners to hunt)
---------------------------------
I hope this list clears things up. We'll see...
Regards,
Eric
On 5/9/2010 12:42 PM, Bob Loeffler wrote:
I disagree. Entertainment and food should NOT be counted as field expenses.
As Ryan mentioned, you have to eat food no matter whether you are out
collecting meteorites or staying at home watching TV. I would understand a
*percentage* of food costs should be allowed because the cost of food in
some areas will be higher than normal, but I don't know what a "good"
percentage would be.
As for entertainment, that should not be allowed because that could skew
your numbers drastically. For example, if Geoff, Steve #1 Arnold, Ruben,
etc go to a nudie bar and drink shots of alcohol, the total bill could run
into the hundreds or thousands of $$$ (hahaha) and that shouldn't be
included since they could do all of that in Tucson. That's an extreme
example, but I know that there is always at least one "get together" on
these types of field trips. Only expenses that are in addition to what you
would normally have from your daily lives should be included.
You (Eric) are the one who is compiling this list, so you make the rules,
but I (and many others) won't believe the results if you include stuff like
that. When I go on a trip for my company, they want all receipts and an
expense report and then they go through each item one by one to see what
they will reimburse me for and what they won't. Most entertainment expenses
are NOT reimbursed because the Federal government has rules and regulations
that companies have to abide by.
Regards,
Bob
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Meteorites
USA
Sent: Sunday, May 09, 2010 12:16 PM
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] WI Meteorite Hunting Statistics
Food is still an expense. As is entertainment while on a business
trip... All expenses should be included while on the road, as they are
still "expenses". Many hunters don't have time to go to the grocery
store, so to save time they eat out, which adds to the total. Any money
spent on the recovery of meteorites in the field are expenses.
Regards,
Eric
On 5/9/2010 11:00 AM, [email protected] wrote:
Hi Eric...
Just wondering why food should be included for expenses. Don't people eat
when they're not on a hunting expedition? Sure, eating out may be more
expensive, but this isn't exactly fine dining were talking about here. -
Standard fare.
Ryan
Sent on the SprintR Now Network from my BlackBerryR
-----Original Message-----
From: Meteorites USA<[email protected]>
Date: Sun, 09 May 2010 10:30:10
To: Meteorite-list<[email protected]>
Subject: [meteorite-list] WI Meteorite Hunting Statistics
Hi listees and fellow meteorite hunters in the field. I'm back from the
field and I'm compiling (unscientifically) some statistical data that
I've not yet seen anyone attempt to calculate in any way but a cursory
manner thus far. If you've hunted the WI meteorite fall, and have data
you'd like to share, please send me an email with your hunting
information/statistics.
Primarily what I'm looking for is totals, hours hunted, days hunted,
meteorites found, and costs associated with this hunt. I'd like to do
this while WI is fresh in everyone's minds and I think that will provide
the most reliable information, and also give some an idea of the costs
in time and money that go into recovering meteorites from the field.
Please send in the following format to make it easier to add all totals.
If you can think of any other data that should be included in this list,
please feel free to respond on-list so others can add their input.
I will be including all my totals as well in this data.
Total Days In The Field:
Total Hours Hunted Per Day:
Total Miles Walked Per Day:
Total Costs: (including airfare, hotel, rental car, food, fuel, cost of
meteorites purchased, miscellaneous expenses; i.e. "pay to hunt"
expenses) This need not be itemized, and can be a total cost for your
hunt...
Total Number of Meteorites Found:
Total Weight Found:
This survey is completely anonymous, and your identity will be kept
confidential, all you need send is totals/numbers.
In addition, those of you who'd like to share coordinates that would
also be appreciated, again, your anonymity will be kept unless you state
specifically that you wouldn't mind releasing your identity publicly in
association with your data.
All this information will be published on my site and on-list to share
with everyone in a completely transparent and "open" manner.
Thank you all in advance for your cooperation.
Regards,
Eric Wichman
Meteorites USA
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