Does anybody else NOT balance their checkbook?

[mamalle]

The online banking is great and if I didnt have that option than maybe I would go back to the old way of balancing a checkbook but thank goodness I dont have to anymore.. I check online at least every other. I pay our bills every friday and of course I know what is in each account so that always helps...

 

[disneysteve]

we have a 9-year-old DD who could be doing it. Can't wait to get her started. Maybe she'll start turning some lights out when she sees all that money leaving us each month.

That is another benefit of her doing it. She is learning how much it costs to run our household. That's a lesson I think a lot more parents need to be teaching their kids at a young age. Especially today when we get cash by sticking a card in a machine and pay for everything with plastic, it is important to explain where the money comes from and where it all goes.

 

[juliegirl]

Glad I'm not alone in this world


A lot of great suggestions here. I use a combination of a lot of them. I think where things broke down last week is with hubby working 3rd shift (and 7 days/wk lately) I barely see him to say hi, how are you - Much less, hey don't write any checks til Friday, there are 3 debits and 1 ATM transaction I haven't recorded yet.

So I have re-dedicated myself to write down every transaction before I retire at night and "reconcile" to the bank's balance at least once/month. I've also put a big fat rubber band around my ATM/debit card, so I have to make a conscious decision to use it, I think that will make me more likely to keep better track.

 

[MELSMICE]

Haven't balanced our checkbook in years. We always round up. About 6 months ago DH figured out that we had about $1500 extra in the checking account. There's probably a few hundred more by this time.

We write a lot of checks & also use our debit card for gas & some groceries & like I said, we always round up the amount.

Just seems to work for us. Maybe some day we'll close that account, use the money for something & start over again!

 

[poohpcgirl]

Since online banking and an extra 1500 bonus one time, I have not balanced the account in years. We got that bonus and I stuck it in the account as a buffer. I check it online a few times a week and make sure we do not go below our buffer. I also have 401k every pay period and 150 a month dropping into savings. Its worked well for us. Since we have been married I have only overdrawn us once. And that was before we got the buffer.
It works for me.

 

[Shanan]

I do look at my statement when it comes in but I don't balance/reconcile it. I see what the credits and debits were. If we spent too much then I cut back the next month. I also roll up what my debits are - if I wrote a check for $14.32 then I subtract $15 from my balance. With deposits, I roll those down. I do pad my account. I will subtract $10-$20 from my balance at least every other week. I know that it is not the financially responsible thing to do but it seems to work for us also.

 

[funnygarcia]

I keep my account "padded', round up for debits, round down for deposits.

I also have no problems with over drawn account, no arguing about money or need to ask DH how much he has spent.. we have seperate accounts!
We had joint account in our first year of marriage and he did a horrible job of keeping track, drove me nuts!
We have been very happily married with our own bank and savings accounts for the past 12 years

 

[buzz5985]

I have used Microsoft Money for about 8 years. So I do balance my checkbooks once a month. Takes about 5 minutes. I also track my cash spending. What I like most about the program and I am sure Quicken is the same way, is at tax time I can get a report showing how much I spent on Childcare with the date, check number, amount and total for the year, printed out in 10 seconds. It takes awhile to set up, but well worth the time.

 

[Free4Life11]

I just created a simple Excel spreadsheet. Anytime I write a check or use the debit card, I enter it in the spreadsheet and use a formula to keep a running balance. I am studying accounting and am ridiculously anal. If it's even a penny off, I look for the error. By doing it in Excel, it makes it so easy to figure out where I went wrong.

 

[momof3disneyholics]

I'm another one that keeps track of it online. I haven't wrote a check in years and most of my bills come out automatically. I try to simplify things as much as possible.

 

[disneysteve]

I do look at my statement when it comes in but I don't balance/reconcile it.

For those who do this, what about errors? I have found numerous errors over the years while balancing my account. I've found checks that I wrote for one amount but the bank cashed for another amount. I've found that I forgot to enter a transaction in my register. I've found math errors. If you don't balance/reconcile your account, how do you know if the statement is right or if you actually have the amount you think you have.

 

[summerrluvv]

For those who do this, what about errors? I have found numerous errors over the years while balancing my account. I've found checks that I wrote for one amount but the bank cashed for another amount. I've found that I forgot to enter a transaction in my register. I've found math errors. If you don't balance/reconcile your account, how do you know if the statement is right or if you actually have the amount you think you have.

I don't know about others, but I check my account online almost daily for checks cleared, check card purchases and deposits. It's never wrong online, so there is no reason it would be wrong on the statement so my statements never get opened.

 

[MELSMICE]

For those who do this, what about errors? I have found numerous errors over the years while balancing my account. I've found checks that I wrote for one amount but the bank cashed for another amount. I've found that I forgot to enter a transaction in my register. I've found math errors. If you don't balance/reconcile your account, how do you know if the statement is right or if you actually have the amount you think you have.

We do compare our statement to our checkbook. We also save all receipts from any debits for gas or groceries from the checking account.

When comparing the statement, if there are errors or something that forgot to get recorded we have the paper trail in the form of the receipt to double check. This has rarely happened though.

We just do what works best for us & rounding up and having additional funds in the checking account instead of being balanced to the penny is what has worked.

 

[raksha2]

I have found it quite interesting reading some of the differences between banking systems either side of the pond.

We have been struggling to balance to our budget, but things are getting eaiser, DH decided to go for a career change at the tender age of 36. He has passed the first exam of his new career, so the potential to earn more is at least there, and he now has to work w/ends too.

We don't pay for normal banking here in the UK. Cash Machine (we don't call them ATM's) withdrawals are usually free, unless you use one in a late night store and then you will pay at least £1.50 per withdrawal.
most bank accounts have an automatic overdraft facility of around £250.
They will only charge you if you go over this limit, normally about £25 plus a letter telling you they have charged you £25 for doing so, and the letter will cost at least £10!

Majority of people are paid monthly by transfer into their current account.
And again most people pay bills by direct debit or Standing orders, some companies over here have in the last couple of months said that they will no longer accept cheques - the main one being Shell.

Cheque fraud is the main reason that they are not used over here I think, with the advent of debt cards taking the monies straight from your current a/c they have died out. Also security has got better on the debit cards as you don't have to sign the card charge. you enter your 4 digit pin number into a special machine which you put your card into to confirm the transaction.
This means that shop staff / wait staff etc do not handle your card at all, you put it into the machine, add pin and then remove it on completion.
[DH's card was cloned whilst we were on holiday once, they took the card to swipe, and swiped it through another machine that "captured" the information
they then used that info for fraud - fortunalty C/C is protected]

our mortage is tied into our current accounts & saving's account, the credits within those accounts is offset against the balance owing on our mortage. We pay interest on the balance owing on a daily basis.

It does help the budget to know you have a set amount going out on a monthly basis, all mine go out within a few days of being paid, so i can spend (no,no no, you have to SAVE it - thats were i am going wrong!)
what is left.

Toni

 

[Shanan]

"If you don't balance/reconcile your account, how do you know if the statement is right or if you actually have the amount you think you have?"

I usually balance my checkbook right before tax time. In the past 3 years, I have had a surplus of around $400-$500. I move 2/3 into retirment account. Due to cushioning throughout the year with taking more money out from check payments and not "putting" all the money from deposits, I have more money then what is on my checkbook register. Everybody had different systems. Some people are not discliplined enough to write down all the checks, ATM, and debit purchases. If you miss writing down some debit purchases or ATM's then, I feel that you should try and balance your checkbook. As long as you don't bounce a check, then I think each individual's system works best for them.

 

[disneysteve]

As long as you don't bounce a check, then I think each individual's system works best for them.

I don't balance my checkbook to avoid bouncing checks. I balance my checkbook to find and correct errors, either mine or the bank's. So do those of you who don't balance your checkbook just assume that both you and the bank are always correct in your transactions? Because I can tell you from repeated experiences that banks DO make mistakes and so do we. I don't know about anyone else, but if my bank makes an error in their favor, I want to find it and get it corrected promptly. I'm always surprised by how many people just take the bank's word for it and adjust their balance to match what the bank says they should have rather than taking the time to find the reason for the discrepancy.

 

[summerrluvv]

I don't balance my checkbook to avoid bouncing checks. I balance my checkbook to find and correct errors, either mine or the bank's. So do those of you who don't balance your checkbook just assume that both you and the bank are always correct in your transactions? Because I can tell you from repeated experiences that banks DO make mistakes and so do we. I don't know about anyone else, but if my bank makes an error in their favor, I want to find it and get it corrected promptly. I'm always surprised by how many people just take the bank's word for it and adjust their balance to match what the bank says they should have rather than taking the time to find the reason for the discrepancy.

I've never had an error in the six years I've been with my bank. If I didn't have online banking and the ability to look at my account at will, then I would most likely look at the statements sent each month to make sure there were no errors.

 

[Steven'sMom]

I work at a bank, and while I am always surprised about people who dont balance there checkbook, I figure it is their choice. Whatever works for them. However, what bothers me is that when SOME people dont balance their checkbooks they also dont even check their statements and with all the fraud and ID theft that goes on, I have seen on numerous occasions, a customer coming in and saying that they have been charged "X" dollars every month for something they didnt authorize. I always ask them if they have been checking their statements and they almost always say NO. And the bank only has so much time to be able to get your money back for you. So for everyone who does not balance their checkbooks, PLEASE always check your statements for unauthorized withdrawals!!! ID theft and Account number theft is getting more and more common.....
Sorry if I was rambling..........

 

[disneysteve]

what bothers me is that when SOME people dont balance their checkbooks they also dont even check their statements and with all the fraud and ID theft that goes on, I have seen on numerous occasions, a customer coming in and saying that they have been charged "X" dollars every month for something they didnt authorize.

My cousin is a bank VP and frequently tells us these types of stories. Someone will come in and say they just noticed an unauthorized transaction and it turns out it has occurred monthly for the past 2 years but they never bothered to check their statement. They expect the bank to correct it and get all upset when told too much time has passed.

 

[chasbos]

While I do not balance my personal account as I stated before I do check daily through on line banking for what has come off. So I would notice an unauthorized transaction.

I just do not know the daily balance of this account because it does not really matter.

My business account is a different story - it gets balances daily. But those are very large dollars - and they matter.