Save by spending?

Well, I work at LMRU (Large Midwestern Research University - you've probably read about us in various social research papers). Anyway, one of the perks of being a grad student is getting to take prospective grad students out for free meals. So, usually 2 or 3 current students go out with a prospective student to talk about the program and the unofficial side of graduate study.

A year or two ago, a message came down that someone had abused the system and spent way too much on one of these dinners, so we were all admonished to spend less on these dinners.

Well, when I went out a couple of days ago, I was informed that the university was no longer reimbursing for receipts of less than $50. So, we were instructed to spend at least $50 on the meal. This was easily enough done at a nice restaurant with 4 people, but still, I thought it was funny to be told to spend a minimum, rather than a maximum. (The meal ended up costing around $60, for those who are curious.)

I guess that means that I will never again buy 4 calculators at the dollar store, but rather buy them somewhere else for more, buy more than we need, or both in order to get the reimbursement.

Apparently, the justification for this new university policy is that it costs the university too much in accountants to go through smaller receipts. I suppose that the results will be that departments will keep larger chunks of change in the "petty cash" box. (I'm not really sure if the petty cash box is even legal, but it's a necessary institution.)

It will be interesting to see if the reported/reimbursed amounts increase or decrease with this new policy.