Yeah, exactly. The first or second example in any explanation should be buying a banana that you immediately eat. That way the reader sees that an "account" doe

Yeah, exactly. The first or second example in any explanation should be buying a banana that you immediately eat. That way the reader sees that an "account" doesn't have to be a bank account nor even a collection of physical goods that exist, it's just a virtual bucket made to keep track of certain transactions. Until I figured that out, double-entry made no sense at all. This is all exacerbated by the common "Assets = Liabilities + Equity" equation which hides expenses entirely. All of this is, of course, a problem about pedagogy in the quick guides found all over the internet. (Including the one linked to here, though the second example is at least an expense but not in the way that would enlighten a beginner.)