Do you balance your checking account?

Non-investing personal finance issues including insurance, credit, real estate, taxes, employment and legal issues such as trusts and wills.

Do you balance your checking account on a regular (monthly, annual) basis?

Yes.
137
51%
No.
132
49%
What checking account?
2
1%
 
Total votes: 271

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Cosmo
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Do you balance your checking account?

Post by Cosmo »

With the advent of online banking over the last 10-15 years, combined with the shift away from writing checks or even doing debit transactions, I am wondering if this is also changing the way people do things when it comes to their checkbooks? Me? While I certainly keep close watch on my account, I only have around 10-15 transactions per month so I find that I no longer balance my checking account.

Cosmo
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TomatoTomahto
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by TomatoTomahto »

I replied yes, but I leave the actual work to Quicken. I watch my accounts pretty closely (checking and credit cards), daily, just to be sure that nothing untoward is going on.

So far, the only breaches I've had were Paypal (took a month to correct) and a billing mistake by a dentist (after an indignant "can't happen" response from the office, a quick correction).
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
StaTiK
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by StaTiK »

I haven't balanced my checkbook/account in the traditional sense in years. The account is the central hub of my finances, but only a few transactions a month and I have alerts set up to notify me if anything out of the ordinary happens. Mint lets me watch trends over time and generates any reports I'm interested in.

How is it the central hub with only a few transactions? My credit card handles 95% of the individual transactions with one paid-in-full payment to the card at the end of the month. If rent and daycare would accept a credit card I'd only have one outbound transaction per month...
eschaef
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by eschaef »

I don't balance my checking account in the traditional sense, but I am aware of every dollar in my account and its purpose, and keep track of when and where it goes. So, no. But, yes.
sscritic
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by sscritic »

eschaef wrote:I don't balance my checking account in the traditional sense, but I am aware of every dollar in my account and its purpose, and keep track of when and where it goes. So, no. But, yes.
Exactly. I don't keep the balance in my checkbook, but I record the amounts. My bank has the images online, so I can see if the amounts I record, the amounts on the checks, and the amounts taken from my account match. And I do look, so yes I balance my checkbook, but in the modern way.
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grabiner
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by grabiner »

I enter all my checking transactions in Quicken, then reconcile against the bank statements. Sometimes, I catch my own entry errors (forgetting to enter an ATM transaction, check for the wrong amount), but I have caught a few bank errors (same check cleared twice, payee cleared check for the wrong amount).

Another reason to do this is that I try to keep my checking account balance low. My bank will tell me that there is $2000 in the checking account today, but it won't tell me that there will be $500 next week because my credit card is due and two checks I wrote last week haven't cleared yet. My paycheck goes to my savings account, not my checking account, where it earns a bit more interest. When the checking account won't have enough to cover transactions I expect to make soon, I need to make a transfer (usually online) from savings to checking. And when I intend to make a large transaction (for example, moving money to my brokerage account so that I can buy a stock), I need to know the balance of my checking account including any outstanding checks or bills to be paid soon.
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gkaplan
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by gkaplan »

I balance my checking account every monthly statement.

I use Excel to keep track of my transactions and to balance my statement.

(Edited to add second paragraph.)
Last edited by gkaplan on Sun Feb 16, 2014 1:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Calm Man
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by Calm Man »

Young people and now many older people do not. My 27 year old daughter who is otherwise proficient in life never has. I have tried to explain to her that the one issue she will have is when she needs to find documentation of things, for example, charitable contributions, estimated tax payments, tax payments, etc. Although it will be available online, if she has no record of what the month or approximate doate of the check was, well how will she know to find it or even if there is an it? Well she does none of these things yet. But I suggested that she keep a tax folder and a handwritten piece of paper to record such information once it becomes a reality.

Come to think of it when I used Cash Management Type accounts, even at Vanguard, like sscritic I wrote down the check information but there was no real point in balancing as there were so many flows in and out.

So to those who do not keep a checkbook at all, how do you know where, when or what checks are out there that you might need?
clubby
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by clubby »

TomatoTomahto wrote:I replied yes, but I leave the actual work to Quicken. I watch my accounts pretty closely (checking and credit cards), daily, just to be sure that nothing untoward is going on.
This. Exactly.
rec7
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by rec7 »

I have got lazy over the years and just look at the stores now. I see the amounts but do not add them up. I look at the stores to make sure it is a place I go to. But I do look at it every month.
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Sheepdog
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by Sheepdog »

Of course, I balance my checking account (the check book and on my Microsoft Money file) with every transaction, including for what the money was spent. Of course, I always have. How else would I know how to budget? How else could I have known how to plan retirement? How else could I know how must to distribute from my accounts in retirement effectively? The checking account is a part of that along with keeping track of credit card accounts..
Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered you will never grow. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Levett
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by Levett »

Now I know for sure I'm an old-timer.

The very question strikes me as absurd.

Lev
jebmke
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by jebmke »

Sheepdog wrote:Of course, I balance my checking account (the check book and on my Microsoft Money file) with every transaction,
It is not practical to balance a bank account without a statement. Balancing a checking account is another term for a bank rec (accountants term). It involves reconciling your version of the truth (the check register) with the bank's version of the truth (the statement). Technically you could do this daily and reconcile your register against an online balance but I'm not sure what the point would be - especially if you rarely have reconciling errors.
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
ajcp
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by ajcp »

Calm Man wrote:Young people and now many older people do not. My 27 year old daughter who is otherwise proficient in life never has. I have tried to explain to her that the one issue she will have is when she needs to find documentation of things, for example, charitable contributions, estimated tax payments, tax payments, etc. Although it will be available online, if she has no record of what the month or approximate doate of the check was, well how will she know to find it or even if there is an it? Well she does none of these things yet. But I suggested that she keep a tax folder and a handwritten piece of paper to record such information once it becomes a reality.

Come to think of it when I used Cash Management Type accounts, even at Vanguard, like sscritic I wrote down the check information but there was no real point in balancing as there were so many flows in and out.

So to those who do not keep a checkbook at all, how do you know where, when or what checks are out there that you might need?
I keep my receipts for those types of things until I do my taxes.
likegarden
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by likegarden »

Yes, I balance my checking account, I do not trust anything and anybody. I want to know the check values actually paid by the bank and compare to the value I had written on the check, and mark off the check when it is cashed in my checkbook.

A few months ago one contractor cashed a $1,600. check only after January 1, 2014, with me waiting for that event for 3 months. Several years ago during a change in an order a salesman of a big box store got paid twice $1,100, though I only bought for one $1,100. The store had to pay me back. I want to know what really is going on, and if my $600 buffer is still in there. I do not want any overdraw charges. As we know, not all deposits and withdrawals in a checking account are via checks. There are automatic withdrawals and deposits. Crooks can find out the bank routing number and your account number from one of your checks and might be successful withdrawing money. I want to know about that then and correct it.
Last edited by likegarden on Sun Feb 16, 2014 1:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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frugaltype
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by frugaltype »

jebmke wrote: It is not practical to balance a bank account without a statement. Balancing a checking account is another term for a bank rec (accountants term). It involves reconciling your version of the truth (the check register) with the bank's version of the truth (the statement). Technically you could do this daily and reconcile your register against an online balance but I'm not sure what the point would be - especially if you rarely have reconciling errors.
I balance my checking account about once a month, not against the statement but against the web.

I am astounded that some people don't do this - how do you know exactly what balance you have left to write checks against if there has been an error on either your part of the bank's. A few minutes saves a possibly overdrawn account.

Also, this lets me catch any instances of a check not making it through the mail, and it gives me the opportunity to print off images of checks that I want to save for tax purposes.
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frugaltype
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by frugaltype »

ajcp wrote:
Calm Man wrote:Young people and now many older people do not. My 27 year old daughter who is otherwise proficient in life never has. I have tried to explain to her that the one issue she will have is when she needs to find documentation of things, for example, charitable contributions, estimated tax payments, tax payments, etc. Although it will be available online, if she has no record of what the month or approximate doate of the check was, well how will she know to find it or even if there is an it? Well she does none of these things yet. But I suggested that she keep a tax folder and a handwritten piece of paper to record such information once it becomes a reality.

Come to think of it when I used Cash Management Type accounts, even at Vanguard, like sscritic I wrote down the check information but there was no real point in balancing as there were so many flows in and out.

So to those who do not keep a checkbook at all, how do you know where, when or what checks are out there that you might need?
I keep my receipts for those types of things until I do my taxes.
And hopefully for ten years afterwards.
aquifer
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by aquifer »

I have not balanced my checkbook in years. No need to anymore. I look at my account online every day and verify each transaction mentally. I rarely write checks, bordering on never, so everything I see is everything there is. I know what bills are coming up via autopay, and I keep the bills until they are paid so I can verify that the correct amount was debited from my account. Budgeting? I monitor myself based on how much is left at the end of the month. I first invest for retirement, then pay the bills, and what's left I put in savings or invest toward earlier retirement. If the money left at the end of the month seems small, I go back through to see what abnormal expense went through.
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cfs
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by cfs »

Leaders, good morning/afternoon/evening

Good conversation. And my answer is a big yes. I keep track of everything on my checking account, using a big notebook, pen, ink, calculator and on hand, the old fashioned way. All our automatic payments are deducted from our checking account. All our investments with Vanguard are deducted from our checking account. Plus, several of our bills are paid with checks via USPS. This method is--still--working for us.

Thanks for reading.
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sscritic
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by sscritic »

The problem is that a checking account is not for checks. A checking account is for ATM transactions, debit card transactions, direct deposits, ACH transactions, automatic bill pay transactions, and other bill pay transactions (I may have left some out). What does balance mean in these conditions? I look at my account online about once a week. If I go longer than a week, I may not remember what each item was and won't know if the amount is correct.
dad2000
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by dad2000 »

Like most other respondents, I monitor the account transactions and balances daily, but don't literally balance.

Other than small cash purchases (coffee, etc.), 95+% of my purchases are electronic, so maintaining a ledger in my checkbook would serve little purpose.
Jill07
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by Jill07 »

I balance the checkbook every month the old fashioned way. My bank still sends me a paper statement each month with a copy of all the checks that were processed that month (they are scanned in & it usually is only 1 page of paper). At the end of the year, I save the pages containing my checks.. it's provides a record for charitable contributions, taxes paid and all the medical expenses paid. Since we are saving the money in our HSA account, this record of medical expenses will be essential down the road.
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JPH
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by JPH »

No. I no longer bother.
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Sheepdog
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by Sheepdog »

jebmke wrote:
Sheepdog wrote:Of course, I balance my checking account (the check book and on my Microsoft Money file) with every transaction,
It is not practical to balance a bank account without a statement. Balancing a checking account is another term for a bank rec (accountants term). It involves reconciling your version of the truth (the check register) with the bank's version of the truth (the statement). Technically you could do this daily and reconcile your register against an online balance but I'm not sure what the point would be - especially if you rarely have reconciling errors.
When I say balance, I mean that I know the account balance of my checking account at all times to the penny, and reconciling with the monthly statement every month is mandatory for me.
In addition, credit card statements are reconciled with receipts every month.
Have I found errors, on either the bank and/or credit cards? Yes, the bank has made an error or two, as have I in my entry, but they will be corrected.. And several credit card entry errors have been found, including fraud and accidental entries by the merchant. I found one this month...a double entry by a merchant. It is critical that they are reconciled monthly
I won't trust them that they won't make an error. I will know that they don't make an error.
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Louis Winthorpe III
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by Louis Winthorpe III »

Calm Man wrote:So to those who do not keep a checkbook at all, how do you know where, when or what checks are out there that you might need?
I write fewer than 5 paper checks a year. Probably average about 3. Pretty much everything else I pay electronically in some form or fashion. The paper checks I just referred to do not include 6 checks that Capital One 360 / ING Direct mails out for me after I "write" them from their website. Those go to pay my property taxes 2x per year and my water bill 4x per year. The timing of those 6 is set by the calendar, so it's easy to know when to look for them. The fact that I write so he few real paper checks means I can remember pretty easily what they were for and when they happened.

To the broader question, I worked for one of the Big 6 accounting firms back when there were six, and fewer than half of my coworkers balanced their checkbooks. One said, "I do stuff like that all day long; I don't want to do it on my free time."

Someone made the comment about how would I save for retirement without balancing a checkbook. For me that's easy. I pay myself first, setting aside what I think I need to save. Then I more or less spend what I want. Then I save the residual as a supplement to what I set aside first.

I make most charitable donations via credit card, and I end up getting a "thank you" receipt via e-mail. I use the label feature in g-mail to categorize things like that under "taxes". Makes it pretty easy to find what I need when I need it.
ddunca1944
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by ddunca1944 »

Yes, of course I balance my checking account. I no longer keep a paper register, but I keep a register in YNAB (You Need A Budget software). Between debits, auto payments and checks, I am anal that way.
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pennstater2005
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by pennstater2005 »

No. I look online a few times a week to make sure everything is actually mine. I use to balance a checkbook but once online banking/bill pay came along it slowly faded away.
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mevertsen
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by mevertsen »

I don't wait for the statement to come in to "balance" the checkbook. I do not rely on the amount of what is shown online as accurate because I have several bill payments, transfers, and EFT's that come out at various points throughout the month. So, every payday, I put in my paycheck in my book, pay bills online that change amounts every month, subtract all of the set bills that come out automatically, and that is what I have left. I used to rely on what was online, but got messed up several times because some would only show a $1 withdrawl at a gas station, or a charge might hit, and then disappear before re-appearing a couple of days later, which would put me in the red. This has not happened since I just went off what I have in my book, and use more cash and credit card, instead of my debit card.
montanagirl
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by montanagirl »

I don't know how to answer. I go online, check off the checks that have cleared, along with all debits, and compare the bank's balance with mine.
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Ged
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by Ged »

Not in the sense that I compare checks written in a register with a monthly statement like I did 15 years ago. I write maybe 3 checks a year these days.

I do look at the statements to make sure there are no fraudulent charges (ATM, bill pay etc).
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Cosmo
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by Cosmo »

sscritic wrote:
eschaef wrote:I don't balance my checking account in the traditional sense, but I am aware of every dollar in my account and its purpose, and keep track of when and where it goes. So, no. But, yes.
Exactly. I don't keep the balance in my checkbook, but I record the amounts. My bank has the images online, so I can see if the amounts I record, the amounts on the checks, and the amounts taken from my account match. And I do look, so yes I balance my checkbook, but in the modern way.
+1 to both. So we essentially still balance our accounts, we just do it in a more modern versus traditional way.

Cosmo
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Cosmo
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by Cosmo »

Levett wrote:Now I know for sure I'm an old-timer.

The very question strikes me as absurd.

Lev
I have to agree with you; this question would have been absurd to me for many of the years on my own -just until more recently. Given my switch to cash reward credit cards and very few checks written, it didn't make as much sense balancing in the more traditional sense since my transaction count can be less than 10 a month at times. Most of my energy is now placed into checking all of my credit card transactions (there are many), which as I found out, there can be many mistakes.

Cosmo
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wilpat
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by wilpat »

I use an excel spreadsheet and enter every transaction on it daily. I use many debit card transactions and ACH in and out.
When a transaction is done I place it in a "pending" column until the bank posts it to my account.

My credit cards are done in almost the exactly manner.

This takes me about 2 minutes per day and it is NEVER EVER wrong.
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JStephens
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by JStephens »

I somewhat do. I compare my projected cash flow for the month with what actually happened. I mainly do it on the 10th after all the credit card payments have been made.
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midareff
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by midareff »

I voted NO since I probably write less than 6 checks a year, and follow balances online closely. Most everything is on auto pay these days and I use the cash back cards for as much as possible, which is almost everything, and auto debit for the rest.
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by Sidney »

It would help if the OP had clearly defined what "balancing a checkbook" means. Normally, it means reconciling the checkbook balance with the balance on the latest bank statement. There are different ways to do this. But, maintaining a running balance is useful but not "balancing a checkbook".
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by Gnirk »

Yes. Mine and my mother's checking accounts. Mine because I feel it's the prudent thing to do (I write several checks plus have numerous automatic deductions) and my mother's because I have fiduciary responsibility.
Woodshark
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by Woodshark »

Levett wrote:Now I know for sure I'm an old-timer.

The very question strikes me as absurd.

Lev
My thoughts exactly. The first thing I thought was "of course I do". I cannot imagine not balancing it. I've caught way too many mistakes in the past to give it up.
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by abuss368 »

gkaplan wrote:I balance my checking account every monthly statement.

I use Excel to keep track of my transactions and to balance my statement.

(Edited to add second paragraph.)
Hi Gordon,

I have been thinking about using Microsoft Excel as the checkbook by creating a simple spreadsheet as the check register. I would record transactions here rather than writing them in a register in the checkbook. Is this what you are presently doing?

If so, how has this worked for you?
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bengal22
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by bengal22 »

I balance my checkbook but do it versus online updates rather than a monthly paper statement.
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Cosmo
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by Cosmo »

Sidney wrote:It would help if the OP had clearly defined what "balancing a checkbook" means. Normally, it means reconciling the checkbook balance with the balance on the latest bank statement. There are different ways to do this. But, maintaining a running balance is useful but not "balancing a checkbook".
My original intent was balancing in the more traditional sense that you are describing but I recognize that some people have answered yes to this even though they don't reconcile their bank statement with their check book anymore. Instead of changing the poll, I recognize that maybe there are more modern ways of balancing one's check book to the penny.

Cosmo
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by abuss368 »

I selected "yes" to your poll.

We balance our checking account every week or two. This takes a few minutes as there are minimal transactions reported. We simply record transactions in the check register and check them off as they clear. All purchases are placed on the credit card.

Since this is more of a "real time" reconciliation, I do not reconcile to any month end bank statement. In fact, we stopped printing bank statements over a year ago. We had thought about this for sometime and finally decided to stop printing bank statements. We would print the statements, punch a hole and place in the binder, and never look back at them again. In addition, there are many years of bank statements online if they are needed.

We do print investment statements, the mortgage, and line of credit.

We do not print credit card statements either for the same reason as noted above with the bank statements.

We have saved a lot of paper and ink as a result and a lot less is placed in binders.

Simplicity.
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jfn111
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by jfn111 »

My wife has always handled the checkbook. She would balance against the monthly statement until I showed her how to do it online. I'm slowly dragging her kicking and screaming into the 21st century.
Van
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by Van »

Absolutely yes, but my wife never does. She has not balanced her account for years.........I just don't get it.
sscritic
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by sscritic »

abuss368 wrote: In fact, we stopped printing bank statements over a year ago. We had thought about this for sometime and finally decided to stop printing bank statements. We would print the statements, punch a hole and place in the binder, and never look back at them again.

We do print investment statements, the mortgage, and line of credit.

We do not print credit card statements either for the same reason as noted above with the bank statements.

We have saved a lot of paper and ink as a result and a lot less is placed in binders.
What is this print that you do (it is a verb, right)? I have never printed a statement. I don't really understand the concept. I save paper and ink (my own) by letting the United States Postal Service deliver mail to my house.
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BHCadet
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by BHCadet »

I balance my checking account using Quicken.
As soon as I write a check, post a future payments to my credit cards or post future transfers between my savings and checking accounts, I update Quicken immediately with the future dates.
So, I can adequately forecast my future balance.
Of course, for immediately payments and transfers, I updated Quicken immediately too.
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Riceman
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by Riceman »

Woodshark wrote:
Levett wrote:Now I know for sure I'm an old-timer.

The very question strikes me as absurd.

Lev
My thoughts exactly. The first thing I thought was "of course I do". I cannot imagine not balancing it. I've caught way too many mistakes in the past to give it up.
I think this is a very revealing thread. I don't know what balancing a checkbook means. I have checks, since I need them to get cash at the Consulate I work at overseas, but I had to google "how to write a check" a few years ago. When I received checks in the mail, I threw the balancing sheet (right word?) into a filing cabinet, since all I needed were the physical checks.

I occassionally check at stores for incorrect transactions when using cash, and if I had unusual credit card transactions, they would be easy to spot on Mint, onto which transactions are uploaded automatically.
likegarden
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by likegarden »

Doctor's offices and other offices bill you and usually then get paid with checks. When you write a check and mail it, there is a delay of several days to weeks until it has been cashed at your bank and your checking account at the bank's website updated. So when you do not balance a checkbook before you write another check you would not know the actual balance of checks issued by you. When you think that the bank's checking account on their web shows actual money in there, all outstanding checks could theoretically get deposited and paid the next day, and then your account would be overdrawn. That's why balancing your checkbook is so good.
Billionaire
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by Billionaire »

I balance to the penny, every month, from the bank statement to my checkbook. I have a method of making entries to my checkbook and timing of mailing any checks, to make sure that the only entry I have to make to balance, is adding the interest earned for the month.
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abuss368
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Re: Do you balance your checking account?

Post by abuss368 »

sscritic wrote: What is this print that you do (it is a verb, right)? I have never printed a statement. I don't really understand the concept. I save paper and ink (my own) by letting the United States Postal Service deliver mail to my house.
Thank you for your follow up question. We do not have any paper statements delivered via mail from any financial institution.

Please follow up with any additional questions or concerns you may have or PM me.

Best.
John C. Bogle: “Simplicity is the master key to financial success."
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