My mom and dad said I could not get a checking and or savings account until I can understand why it is important to balance a checkbook and learn about savings accounts. I have $600 saved from newspaper and chores and I want to put in my own account in my name.
2006-07-25 06:06:09 · 6 answers · asked by EJ M 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Personal Finance
You need to balance your accounts so that you know how much money you have in the accounts. If you spend more money than you have, you will have bounced check fees from the bank, and from the person to whom you wrote the check. That can add up to $30-80 per bounced check!
You also want to balance your checkbook to make sure that all of the transactions received from the bank are your transactions. If you don't balance your accounts, someone could steal your money and you might not notice. Also a check or debit amount could be entered incorrectly by the bank. You might not notice if you don't keep your account balanced.
You need to balance all of your accounts, not just a checking account. Also, make sure you record all transactions in your account register.
2006-07-25 06:12:11 · answer #1 · answered by Mama Pastafarian 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Good for you for earning money and wanting to start your own bank accounts.
The best reason why you should learn to balance your checking account is to avoid high fees if you are overdrawn. It's not uncommon to wind up with a $29 overdraft fee, even if your check is only a penny over your account balance.
Another good reason is just to have a general idea at all times where your money is going and how much you have.
Lastly, part of balancing your checkbook is reconciling it with your monthly statement. That means verifying the checks cleared, for the amounts you wrote, and that the bank made no errors. It's also the only way to catch fraudulent activities in your account.
2006-07-25 14:15:15 · answer #2 · answered by Uncle Pennybags 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mama is right. Add this: sometimes YOU might make a mistake when you log something into your checkbook (add when you should have subtracted, or the other way around).
It is a lot of responsibility, and you should know what is going on with it.
2006-07-25 14:01:12 · answer #3 · answered by Sharingan 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
So you know where your money is at all times. Bank could make a mistake and all your money disappears!
2006-07-25 13:10:36 · answer #4 · answered by Wounded duckmate 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
One big advantage is that by doing it it can keep you out of jail for deposit account fraud.
2006-07-25 13:09:37 · answer #5 · answered by oleswampbear 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To know how much money you have at all time
2006-07-25 13:12:38 · answer #6 · answered by tp 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋