balancing the checkbook

[Gerianne]

can be tricky sometimes.
 I recently was embarrassed when my checking account wasn't balanced.
I called the bank for help and changed my mind.
I went to take another look at it and found my mistake.

[Penwoir]

I don't as such balance my check book, but only really because I hardly use a check book any more. What I do balance is my receipts with a manual tally. I ask my husband to always give me a receipt for everything and this enables me to be in a position of knowledge regarding how much actual cash we have in our checking account. It's been working great for us for years.

[missplaymate618]

I haven't balanced a checkbook in years. I also don't write checks for anything I do money orders. I do use my online banking though which I check daily.

[bleyd]

I don't balance my checkbook.  I do online banking and when the bills comes due, i transfer funds funds from savings to checking and bills get paid.

[countrygirl12]

No need to be embarrassed.  I use to work in a bank and for the most part the people who are working in there don't give it a second thought when you come in and need help.  They don't make fun of you or talk about you.  They are usually dealing with the next person's crisis. lol

bleyd- Sounds like you have plenty of money.  Most people can't just transfer money from savings to checking and pay all their bills.  Normal people are struggling to make it and if you have a debit for groceries or something and you write something down wrong, forget to write something down, or miscalculate it can be a head ache.

[tylerbreister]

thats why i only use my debit... it does it all for me

[JaniceSW]

I call my bank's automated customer service "hotline" when I need to check my balance. They provide my balance, checks that will post the day of the call, and the checks, deposits, and debits which have already cleared...including the dates of clearance.

[ladavia89]

The beauty of technology is that most banks now do online banking so you can keep track of it that way. I learned how to do it the old way but I never really had to write checks. I was able to get a debit card when I opened my own account at 16

[pwvogt]

Checks?  What are those? LOL!!  Write so few cheques that "balancing" the cheque book is one of those activities that I was happily able to give up when on line banking started.

[vickysue]

I write most of the checks and hubby balances the check book. I cannot read a lot of his numbers right. He is a left but writes with his right hand, and so we work together.

[jkhanson]

I write very few checks these days as I use my debit card the most.

I always record the amount of my purchase that I used the debit card for in my check register since the debit card is tied to my checking account.  The things I pay for online are also recorded in my check register.

At month end, I balance my checking account the old fashioned way with calculator and pen/pencil.

It works for me!

[hawkeye3210]

thats why i only use my debit... it does it all for me

You're missing the point of reconciling your bank statements. Even if you are just using a debit card, you still reconcile to see if the right amounts were charged and that all your deposits are accurate. That's really the point of balancing a checkbook.

Personally, I reconcile all my bank accounts, credit cards, etc. every month.

[PGS28]

I don't deal with checks, and I'm usually pretty good with keeping tabs on my finances and spending, but recently I called to get a summary of my recent activity and although the balance was what I expected I kept hearing fast food restaurants I was spending at..... subway $8, Sonic's $6, McDonald's $11 and so on..... smh.