Do you balance your checkbook?
I balance my checkbook faithfully every month, along with the one for our joint account. I get paper statements, so I literally sit and make a checkmark beside each transaction on the statement as I make the corresponding checkmark in Quicken. This makes it easy. (Especially compared to the days of doing it within a physical check register.) And nearly every month I find some small thing that I missed, even though I always think that I’ve entered all my receipts.
But I often hear people comment that they never balance their checkbook. Instead, they just rely on the online balance and a general idea of how much they should have in the account. Is this common?
Do you balance your checkbook?
February 11th, 2008 at 7:52 am
Those ATM/debit cards have been a trial for my husband and I. We finally have it down, very little gets by us now without being entered in the balance. It’s quite a little job, though, all those little receipts. Gotta save em, enter em–where’s the convenience in all that??
February 11th, 2008 at 8:45 am
I only use my online statments to track what I spent, which is not a wise thing to do, I agree, but I can’t even stay motivated enough to keep my budget spreadsheet updated.
February 11th, 2008 at 9:26 am
I never used to, because I check the statement online everyday.
We are in FPU right now and last nights lesson was about budgeting, and how important balancing the checkbook is, so we are planning to start.
February 11th, 2008 at 10:32 am
I don’t balance it, per se, at the end of the month, because I am constantly doing mni-balances. Every time I log into the website, I check the recently cleared transactions, mark them ‘cleared’ in my register, and review what’s yet to be cleared. But then… I’m compulsive like that. ;)
February 11th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
I never actually balance my checkbook, but I’m constantly checking the register online for my checks and credit cards. I have a pretty good idea of the transactions I’ve made and usually spot issues if anything is out of place. I don’t feel that spending the time to actually match up every last one is worth the return.
February 11th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
I balance mine every month to make sure it is accurate. I make my budget with an Excel spreadsheet and also include what my checking balance should be based on my spending for the month. Right now, my excel spreadsheet and my checkbook are in sync.
February 11th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
When I saw the title to this entry, I thought that my answer was going to be that I don’t really have to much anymore because I leave myself a $250 cushion.
But it turns out your most extreme answer is balancing it every month. I used to keep track of everything diligently because I really did have to know if I had seven dollars available to buy something. But now I only check when my credit card payments are due, to make sure I have enough to cover them, and then after my paycheck comes in so I know how much to transfer into savings.
So my current answer is usually only a couple-three times per month instead of after every transaction like before.
I do think you have a biased sample here, though.
My impression is that most people check their balances online if they are about to make a big purchase, to make sure that they have enough in their account, and they try to keep track of their big purchases and check whether those have cleared before deciding whether they have enough to make another big purchase.
February 11th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
I balance mine each month against the statement.
I didn’t before I took FPU a couple of years ago.
February 12th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Its been a struggle since I’m not a crazy detail oriented person but I track all of my spending now, down to the penny.
February 12th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Interesting, a lot of people have replied that they do it more often than once a month. I track my money every day too (inputting receipts into Quicken and my spreadsheet) but to me that isn’t the same as balancing my checkbook. I always figured that I need to actually see my statement for that.
February 15th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
I never balance my check book. The only thing I use my checking account for are my rent check with is sent using an eletronic check directly from my checking account, and my student loan payment which is an automatic transfer. Everything else I pay for by credit card and I pay those on line from my savings account. I track all my spending on excel on a daily basis, so I know where all my money goes, and I check all of my accounts on-line at least four times a week. Occasionally, I need to deposit a random check into my account, or take out $40 because I need some cash, but that is rare. Balancing a check book just seems redundant to me, since I hardly ever use hecks and I always know exactly how much is in my account.
February 29th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
I don’t balance it becasue I check my accounts almost every day so I don’t keep a check regiater. In a way the “online banking site” does my reconcilation for me.
March 3rd, 2008 at 5:48 pm
You didn’t have an option for it, but I balance my checkbook (Excel spreadsheet) about every 4-5 days. I simply display my online statement that is updated a couple times per day and put my updates in Excel.
April 8th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Who writes cheques anymore, anyway? I write just one, for the rent. And I check my balance online regularly (2-3 times a week).