Individual Diary Feasibility Study

CE Individual Diary Survey (Mobile)
User Guide
May 2014

CE-FLD 10283-4

Thank you for agreeing to participate in the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE). We understand that this task takes
time; however, your information is very important to us and will be used for many purposes that affect all Americans.
Among the most important, it is used to help calculate the Consumer Price Index, or CPI, which is a basic measure of the
rate of inflation. For more information about the survey, visit: http://www.bls.gov/cex and http://www.census.gov.
By law (Title 13, U.S. Code), we must keep your information confidential; we use it for statistical purposes only. If you have
comments regarding this survey, please send them to: Division of Consumer Expenditure Surveys, 2 Massachusetts Avenue
N.E., Room 3985, Washington, DC 20212.

The CE Diary can be accessed at: https://respond.census.gov/cedm
Username and Password
Logging in to the CE Diary requires a unique and secure Username that is assigned to each eligible member in your
household. For security reasons, your password is enclosed in a separate envelope provided by your Field Representative.
Respondent Name: _________________________________________________________
Line Number: ________________________ Username: ____________-_____________
Start Date: ___________________________ End Date: ___________________________

Note: It will be helpful to create a shortcut from your home screen. This will make it easier to access your diary each day
as you are entering expenses. See the instructions on the back of this user guide for how to create a shortcut.

Questions?
Field Representative’s name: _____________________________________Telephone: _____________________
CE Help Desk: (877) 744-1522 or e-mail@address.placeholder
Monday-Friday 9am-10pm, Saturday 9am-7:15pm, Sunday 11am-9:15pm EDT

U.S. Department of Commerce
Economics and Statistics Administration
U.S. CENSUS BUREAU
census.gov

Start Date and Email Address
After the first time you log in, you will select your scheduled start date which can be found on the front of this user guide.
If your start date, for example, is July 15, 2014 you will record the expenses that you made from July 15, 2014 through July
28, 2014 (fourteen days). You can also enter your email address to receive email reminders regarding the survey. Tap on
the
button to learn more about the CE Survey.

Complete the CE Diary for the entire two weeks, enter EVERYTHING you spend money on each day – the products you
buy, the services you use, the household expenses you have during the week – no matter how large or small they are. If
you are the main household respondent, you will also enter expenses for household members who are not keeping a diary
such as children under the age of 16 and those without internet access.

Home Screen
This is an example of your home screen. To add an expense, tap on
. After you’ve added an expense, you will
see it listed here. At any point in the diary, you can tap on the
button to return to this home screen to see a summary
of your entered expenses. To view, edit, or delete any of your recorded expenses tap on
next to that expense. You
can also tap on the column heading to sort the items to help you find a particular entry.

Change Password
If you would like, you may change your password by tapping on the settings button
on the home screen. Make sure
your new password meets all of the requirements that are specified on the Change Password screen.
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Adding Expenses to Your CE Diary
Every time that you add a new expense, you will see the screen below.

To logout at any time,
tap on

To return to your home
screen, tap on
For help topics while
entering your
expense, tap

Select the date of
the purchase
purchase
Enter the cost.
Include tax and tip for
Food and Drink Away
from Home. For all
other categories, do
not include tax.

Check if recorded
for another
household member

To cancel and return
to your home screen,
tap on

Describe the expense. If
Food and Drink Away
from Home, describe
the meal. For all other
categories, describe the
item. See examples on
the next two pages.

Select the category.
After you select a
category, additional
questions specific to
that category will
appear below for you to
complete. See
examples on the next
two pages.

To save the expense
entry tap on

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Category specific questions
After you select a category for your entry, additional questions specific to that particular category will appear on the lower
half of the screen. The next four screenshots show what the additional questions are for each of the four CE Diary
categories.

Food and Drink Away from Home
Select the date of the purchase
Enter the cost of the meal
with tax and tip

Describe the meal (e.g. coffee,
buffet, drinks from cash bar,
sandwich and chips)

Check if recorded for
another household member

Select the type of meal

Select the category Food
and Drink Away from Home
Select the type of vendor

Indicate if alcohol was included
(select all that apply)

Enter the total cost of the alcohol

Food and Drink for Home Consumption
Select the date of the purchase

Enter the cost of the item
without tax

Check if recorded for
another household member

Check if purchased for someone
outside your household

4

Describe the item (e.g. whole
milk, eggs, cereal, bananas, 12
pack of beer)

Select the category Food and
Drink for Home Consumption

Select the type of
packaging

Clothing, Shoes, Jewelry, and Accessories
Select the date of the purchase
Describe the item (e.g. jeans,
soccer cleats, ring, baseball cap)

Enter the cost of the item
without tax

Select the category Clothing,
Shoes, Jewelry, and Accessories

Check if recorded for
another household member

Select the gender for whom
the item was purchased

Check if purchased for someone
outside your household

Select the age range for whom
the item was purchased

All Other Products and Services
Select the date of the purchase
Enter the cost of the item
without tax
Check if recorded for
another household member

Describe the item (e.g. electric
bill, dry cleaning, area rug, DVD,
car insurance)

Select the category All Other
Products and Services

Check if purchased for someone
outside your household

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Food and Drink Away from Home vs. All Other Categories
Something you should keep in mind when entering your expenses is the distinction between the Food and Drink Away
from Home category versus all of the other categories. In the Food and Drink Away from Home category, you will enter
the entire meal/purchase as one entry and enter the total cost of the meal including tax and tip. For all of the other three
categories, you will enter each item purchased as a separate entry and enter the cost of the item without tax. See below
for examples.
Food and Drink Away from Home

All Other Categories

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Helpful Tips
Receipts

If you have receipts for expenses, we encourage you to use them to aid in entering expenses. We find receipts to be a useful way to
ensure that all expenses have been entered. We would prefer that you enter your own expenses, however you may give receipts (or
a copy of them) to your field representative; particularly if a receipt has 5 or more items on it.
Video Tutorials

Video tutorials are available at http://www.youtube.com/user/uscensusbureau
Logging Out of the CE Diary

To protect your privacy, the CE Diary will automatically log you out if there is inactivity for more than 15 minutes. You will need to
re-enter your Username and Password to log back in each time. To prevent losing data you have entered, please remember to save
your entries. You can also logout at any time by clicking on the “Logout” button in the top left corner.
Do NOT Record





Expenses while you were away from home overnight
Business or farm operating expenses
Descriptions using abbreviations

Frequently Asked Questions
1. What should I do if I forget my Username or Password?
Call the CE Help Desk number listed on the front of this User Guide.
2. How detailed should my descriptions be?
For Food and Drinks Away from Home, briefly describe the meal (e.g. Coffee, Sandwich and Chips. Dinner at Italian Restaurant).
For all other expenses, including groceries, briefly describe the individual item(s).
3. How can I delete or make changes to an expense that I’ve saved?
Go to the Home Screen and tap on the “Edit” button next to the item.
4. What should I do when I use coupons, discount cards, or loyalty cards?
Enter the amount you paid, after any discounts.
5. How should I record multiple quantities?
If the items are identical, you can combine them in the same entry and enter the total cost of all the items.
6. How should I record pre-payments such as a subway fare card?
Record the expense when you pay for it, not when you use it.
7. How should I record credit card purchases?
Record the individual expense the day that you use your credit card to pay for something, not the day you pay your credit card bill.
8. What about gift certificates or gift cards?
If you buy a gift certificate to give to someone, enter it as a regular expense. If you buy something using a gift card, enter the full
amount that you paid, including all payment methods.
9. What do I do about returns and exchanges?
If an item is bought and returned during the diary period, it can be selected on the Home Screen and deleted on the Edit Screen. If it
was bought outside the period and returned during the period, do not make any entry. If an item is exchanged during the period,
select the item on the Home Screen and make the necessary changes on the Edit Screen.
10. Should I record subsidized/reimbursed expenses?
Only record any extra amount that you or someone in your household paid. Do not record any amount that someone not in your
household has or will pay for.
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Adding a CE Diary Shortcut to the Home Screen of your Smartphone
This will make it easier to access your diary each day as you are entering expenses. Although web browsers vary across
brands and versions, the steps for creating a shortcut are usually similar. To create a shortcut to the CE Diary:
Android Smartphones

Have a QR code reader?
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Access the CE Diary quickly
by scanning this QR code

iPhones