slo’s MONDAY 1/13 poll - Balancing Your Checkbook 💲📝

[Robber Baron]

I balance it once a month when I have to write that ONE check

 

[GAN]

I used to balance it religiously but about 3-years ago I stopped. I have very few transactions besides a few credit cards that I pay off every month, so there isn’t much to balance. I do check my account a couple times a week to be sure everything looks right.

 

[jo-jo]

I don’t, DH does. It’s not that I don’t know how, just that he does some things, i do other things.

 

[soccerdad72]

Like most, we just keep an eye on our accounts and make sure that payments post timely. Most payment are electronic - the handful of checks we write often are done electronically through our bank app as well.

 

[Dan Murphy]

It's been a very long time since I've balanced our accounts. I check our accounts daily. I write several checks a year. Marie writes more but still very few.

 

[disney212]

I do my checkbook on an excel spreadsheet, and it is auto-reconciled every time I write a check or a draft/deposit is entered.

Several years ago, my SiL (who is a whiz with excel) built a spreadsheet which keeps a running total of the checkbook and the bank balance. Every few days, I will go online and check my online bank balance vs my spreadsheet. Whenever my monthly statement comes in, I do another reconciliation.

I keep my paper checkbook up as a backup.

Many folks who get in financial trouble neglect the few minutes a day it takes to keep up with spending vs income. It's not that much work if you stay current.

I credit Uncle Scrooge McDuck for teaching me the basics of financial planning.

I do the same thing in an excel spreadsheet I created years ago!

 

[nene0182]

I haven’t written a check since my son was in school almost 4 years ago. At the end of every month I go through and pay or schedule my bills for the next month. Everything is kept in an excel spreadsheet. A few times a month, I go in the spreadsheet and add deposits and anything that’s been put on the credit cards. I also keep a spreadsheet that I breakdown all purchases into categories. I never really ensure anything is balanced just that debits and credits are accounted for.

 

[design_mom]

When I used to write physical checks, I would balance as I wrote checks, then reconcile it with the bank records each month.

Now, I write so few checks, that I keep a little bit of money in the checking account "just in case" but I pretty much transfer enough to my checking account from savings to cover checks (or more often electronic payments) as I write them. If I notice my balance is significantly higher than my baseline amount, I will go in and investigate, but otherwise, I don't.

 

[lovesmurfs]

Other. I don't balance my checkbook per se (with adding the debts and credits and coming to $0.00). I do keep a budget and make sure there are no unknown charges, pretty much daily.

 

[NannyBeBe]

I balance my checkbook once a week, when I pay whatever bills need to be paid. I pay bills by billpay. The only checks I write are for donations to charities.

 

[amcnj]

I still keep a paper check register, mainly to keep track of the now few checks I do write each year. I monitor accounts online now, but do still make sure the totals match with what I think they should be. I guess old habits are hard to break.

 

[tvguy]

My first question is, do people even still write their spending down in a check book register anymore?
I haven't balanced my check book since online banking started. I do, however, compared the balance in my check book register with the online balance every day.
I used to balance my checkbook monthly, even when I started using Microsoft Money.
I have two bills that are auto paid from my checking account, because it was the only option. I absolutely hate auto pay. I want to pay my bills, online when I deem it time to be paid not when the creditor wants it.

 

[fla4fun]

I have my budget set up in Excel, and one section allows me to enter the current balance according to the bank and it compares to the spreadsheet total, showing me if there is a variance. I update the bank total once a week. I do a complete reconciliation the last week of the month, after all my payments have cleared and any interest has been deposited. The only check I physically write every month is to my lawn service, and I occasionally write a physical check if I have any repairs done to the house.

 

[slo]

My first question is, do people even still write their spending down in a check book register anymore?
I haven't balanced my check book since online banking started. I do, however, compared the balance in my check book register with the online balance every day.
I used to balance my checkbook monthly, even when I started using Microsoft Money.
I have two bills that are auto paid from my checking account, because it was the only option. I absolutely hate auto pay. I want to pay my bills, online when I deem it time to be paid not when the creditor wants it.

For Me - Yes
I just recently ordered more of them off Amazon.

 

[wabbott]

Furthermore, Disney's master of all things financial keeps watch over my ledger activity...

 

[tvguy]

For Me - Yes
I just recently ordered more of them off Amazon.

I just pick them up at my bank when I need them. It's walking distance from my home. I have noticed that every teller window has a slot filled with check book registers to give out. I have noticed there are fewer pages in them.

 

[amcnj]

I just pick them up at my bank when I need them. It's walking distance from my home. I have noticed that every teller window has a slot filled with check book registers to give out. I have noticed there are fewer pages in them.

The bank a relative uses no longer has registers. Due to electronic banking they phased them out. The individual is over 90 years old and does not have a cell phone or computer. So ordered them some registers online at Amazon.

 

[slo]

I just pick them up at my bank when I need them. It's walking distance from my home. I have noticed that every teller window has a slot filled with check book registers to give out. I have noticed there are fewer pages in them.

Sadly, my bank doesn’t give them out anymore. I’m starting to think I’m one of the only people that use them - LOL!

 

[RedAngie]

I just glance at my app or electronic statements occasionally to see if everything looks reasonable. It always does.

I suppose someone could be skimming $100 or so from my account weekly and I’d never catch it.

 

[MillauFr]

I use Quicken. All of the charges are downloaded.