How often do you balance up your checkbook?

Question

I decided today it was time to look at my checkbook and balance it, I havent looked at it for about 2 weeks and what a mess. I am not organized enough to do it everytime I write a check. How often do most people balance their check books and what is the most effective way of keeping track? I pay bills online often , and have my insurance for the car and house automatically withdrawn on the 3rd of every month.

Answer 1

I only write one check per month: my rent check. Anything that _has_ to be mailed off, such as requesting transcripts from a school I went to or requesting documents for my genealogy hobby, I pay by money order. That way, it's a withdrawl that hits that same day, and not a check that may be processed at any time.

All of my utilities can be paid online, my car insurance is paid over the phone with my check card, groceries/clothes/etc are all paid on the check card. A tip: when you have the choice of running something as debit or credit, choose debit. This makes it post to your bank sooner, and you'll have the most up to date balance possible.

That said, I don't have to balance anything except when I go online I may have to remember "that minus rent." It totally works for us!

Answer 2

since you obviously have a computer, and pay bills on line, then you have access banking. You can very well balance your checkbook by accessing your account.

Answer 3

Here are four reasons you should balance your checkbook monthly:
1. Balancing your checkbook is a method of verifying that your records (your checkbook register) match the bank's records, as shown on your monthly bank statement. This will always be an important task, although the method of accomplishing it is changing in the electronic age.

2. Although your bank processes thousands of transactions accurately, it can make mistakes, and you typically have only 60 days in which to inform the bank of the error. If you don't balance your checkbook monthly, you might not even find the error in 60 days. Even more likely is the possibility that you made a math error in your checkbook register, which you're unlikely to find unless you balance your checkbook each month.

3. If you make a mistake or forget to post an ATM withdrawal, debit card purchase, or other transaction in your checkbook register, you may start bouncing checks and incurring fees, which are often $25 or more for each returned check. If you don't correct the problem quickly, you can often incur a number of returned check fees or more than one fee for the same check if the person the check was written to re-deposits it right away in the hopes that your balance will now cover the sum.

4. If there is a problem at some point, it's much more difficult to wade through months of transactions to figure it out. If you've balanced your checkbook every month, the most you'll ever have to do is look at the most recent month's transactions. Sometimes people make such a mess of their checkbook by not balancing regularly that they have to close out their account and open another one.

Answer 4

Honestly...I dont balance it. I do online banking and every transaction I do is available to see once I sign in to my account. I hardly ever write a check because I use on line bill pay.

Answer 5

Do you use online banking and do you get a mailed copy of your bank statement. If so use your online banking to check your balance regularily and balance your book once a month when you get your statement. I would write down any checks you write throughout the month though so you don't overdraw.

Answer 6

I would certainly keep track of all transactions during the month and balance when you get your monthly statement.

Answer 7

nearly every day. with the use of online banking and keeping track of financial obligations and spending in an excel doc, i find it very easy. to be honest i actually find it invigurating to know my habits and achievments.

Answer 8

never - i just look at it online - but never balance

Answer 9

Using the monthly statements I receive, I balance my checkbook every month. Sometimes I don't get to balancing it for a few months, but I check my account online frequently throughout each week, in order to monitor activity. I can relate to how tricky it is to keep track of certain transactions, especially those automatic withdrawals and debit card purchases.

When I physically write checks, of course, I always make the entry in my checkbook. As for automatic deposits, well, you usually know when your payday is, so that's easy enough to write in. We have an automatic funds transfer into another higher interest bearing account, and I know that transfers every Wednesday, so that's also predictable. I do find it necessary, though, to keep checking online every couple of days to find those easy to forget transactions, like ATM withdrawals, in order to enter them, too. One system my husband and I use is to make sure we get receipts for everything (ATM withdrawals, deposits made at the bank, or debit and credit purchases) and put them in one designated place in the apartment. I then try to review them and enter those transactions in the checkbook once or twice a week. After I see online that those transactions have shown up in my account, I shred those receipts (except for any I may need for taxes, warranties, returns, etc.).

It's a good idea to have a regular "desk day" every week to take care of your household management. That would be the day you file, act on, or toss papers that have accumulated, clean up that pile of junk mail, and deal with your checkbook. Many people like using Quicken, which enables you to download transactions from your bank online, but you still have a certain amount of personal responsibility in error-checking.

All the best...