looking for some help

[lnh'smom]

I have been reading ways to save for Disney and a few people have said when they use their debit cards, they round up to the nearest dollar. Do you then take that little bit of money out and if not, how do you balance your checkbook? I feel like I am making this harder than it is, but I just can't seem to "get it". Thanks for any help.

 

[LdyFaile]

I did something similar a while back and this is what I would do.

When I got paid I would mark the balance before the deposit but I would not add the balance and the deposit together. Instead I would work only from the money I got at payday. When it came time to reconcile, I would mark off the credits and debits like normal but I would go back through and find all the markings I'd made from the balance I wasn't adding in. I'd take those numbers and add them to my current balance to match up with my reconciled figure.

So something you could do with the rounding up thing is make a mark somewhere in the register that denotes the amount you aren't including (ie if the purchase was for $5.35 and you record it as $6 then mark somewhere $.65). When it comes time to reconcile, for every debit card transaction you mark off, add up all the change that you've noted and add it into your balance just for reconciliation purposes.

Chances are you'll want to move that money out of your account after you've reconciled so you don't have to go back and keep adding it in every single time.

Dunno really if there's an easier way to do that.

Would love to see how someone who actually does that works it out.

 

[englishteacha]

One of the banks offers a "round up" debit card, where it rounds your purchase up to the next dollar and put the change in your savings account. I think it's Bank of America. I would really like a card that did that for me! We seldom carry cash and use our debit card all the time!

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

It is Bank of America (although there may be other banks that do this, too). It's called their Keep the Change Program . Right now, they're offering to match your change for the first 3 months that you're in the program. It sounds like a great idea for anyone like me who has difficulty balancing their checkbook without complicating it by rounding up the change.

 

[lovemygoofy]

It is Bank of America (although there may be other banks that do this, too). It's called their Keep the Change Program . Right now, they're offering to match your change for the first 3 months that you're in the program. It sounds like a great idea for anyone like me who has difficulty balancing their checkbook without complicating it by rounding up the change.

I have this program and love it but if you are down to the last penny in the checking account this is not the way to go. If you use the card several times in a day, it could add up to a few dollars going to the savings account and some may not be able to swing that. So far I have saved about $150 and will have matching. The bank also matches 5% a year after the first 3 months.

 

[lnh'smom]

I got onto Bank of America's website to see if there are any around here. I can't even find one in Indiana. But thanks for the suggestion. It would work out really well for us since we use our debit card all the time.