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Keeping and balancing a check register (1 Viewer)

Do you Balance your Check register?

  • Yes

    Votes: 40 34.2%

  • No

    Votes: 77 65.8%
  • Total voters
    117
snellman

snellman

Footballguy
I got an e-mail and a letter this last week informing me that my bank was being bought. I could continue my online banking and I would receive another letter with instructions to log into the new site when the takeover is final.

This got me thinking. Back in high school, one of the first lessons in basic accounting was credits and debits and one of the first things we had to do was keep a check register and balance it with the monthly statement. With online banking and debit cards, I can't think of the last time I entered a transaction into a check register or balanced my monthly statement.

I don't even carry a register or checks anymore. Everything is either payed online or with the debit card, and I can check my account daily to make sure all transactions are legit and check my balance.

What say you?

 
I not only keep a register that is accurate to the penny but I have it on a computer spreadsheet as well. I'm an OCD numbers guy. :bag:

 
We don't keep a register, but my wife goes over our statements (credit card/checks, etc). She is a CPA, so it's her territory. I cook!

 
Mr. Ected said:
We don't keep a register, but my wife goes over our statements (credit card/checks, etc). She is a CPA, so it's her territory. I cook!
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does she balance them? I'll scan for unexpected expenses but 99% of what I see I knew about ahead of time. The rest are things like $5 at sonic for happy hour. But we don't check the math.

 
FUBAR said:
Mr. Ected said:
We don't keep a register, but my wife goes over our statements (credit card/checks, etc). She is a CPA, so it's her territory. I cook!
Click to expand...
does she balance them? I'll scan for unexpected expenses but 99% of what I see I knew about ahead of time. The rest are things like $5 at sonic for happy hour. But we don't check the math.
Click to expand...
I don't think she balances them, we aren't too careful with receipts (I know it's bad) I think it's mostly a scan of the AMEX bill (most of our charges go there) and accounts for odd charges. I usually get a list each month if there are ones she doesn't recognize.

 
Statcruncher said:
I not only keep a register that is accurate to the penny but I have it on a computer spreadsheet as well. I'm an OCD numbers guy. :bag:
Click to expand...
Its online already. I do download it and keep a detailed expense category/budget tracking sheet.

 
I did for a while but I never found a mistake so I stopped doing it. I trust the bank to get the math right. And I can spot any fraudulent transactions by glancing at the statements.

 
Statcruncher said:
I not only keep a register that is accurate to the penny but I have it on a computer spreadsheet as well. I'm an OCD numbers guy. :bag:
Click to expand...
Me too. Biggest reason is for checks I write for kids' sports/gear/activities/etc. Often times they sit on them for months. Also, when my debit card processes as credit, it sometimes takes 1-2 days to clear. I need to know my available balances to the penny in all accounts at all times.

 
I do because it helps me budget and save. After my biweekly direct deposit, I enter all of my upcoming automatic withdrawals over the next two weeks, so I know how much I have left. This gives me a good idea of what I can move to savings.

I'm sure there's a better way and this is a waste of time, but it's all I know.

 
I look at my online banking account everyday day or two. I keep a spreadsheet with all my monthly expenses and a running balance of the account. I don't log the hundreds of debit card transactions on my spreadsheets. Rarely write a check.

 
shuke said:
I do because it helps me budget and save. After my biweekly direct deposit, I enter all of my upcoming automatic withdrawals over the next two weeks, so I know how much I have left. This gives me a good idea of what I can move to savings.

I'm sure there's a better way and this is a waste of time, but it's all I know.
Click to expand...
Maybe. I just keep 6-10k in checking at all times. Once we get over 10 (after accounting for pending cc payments in a heavy month), I invest 2k. We don't go below 6k. I know when rent and my cards get paid every month (automatically) and we don't have other major expenses. It's as simple as I can make it.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I'm a CPA and do neither to our personal accounts. I review our online activity for anything suspicious but that's the extent of it.

 
FUBAR said:
shuke said:
I do because it helps me budget and save. After my biweekly direct deposit, I enter all of my upcoming automatic withdrawals over the next two weeks, so I know how much I have left. This gives me a good idea of what I can move to savings.

I'm sure there's a better way and this is a waste of time, but it's all I know.
Click to expand...
Maybe.I just keep 6-10k in checking at all times. Once we get over 10 (after accounting for pending cc payments in a heavy month), I invest 2k. We don't go below 6k. I know when rent and my cards get paid every month (automatically) and we don't have other major expenses. It's as simple as I can make it.
Click to expand...
I try to keep as little in checking as possible. If it's in there, it gets spent.

 
Balance monthly when I pay bills, electronically. Do it in Excel... Pretty simple.

Still write a couple/few one off checks each month (plumber, kids event, etc).

 
I just check my balance on the two cards we have every day and make sure everything is correct. I once called and complained because I got charged double on my $1 drink from Sonic.

 
I become such a nag when someone has one of my checks. I hate having outstanding checks. It's usually for fantasy football or something dumb.

 
I keep my debit card receipts until I see them clear online then toss them.

I haven't scratched a check in over two years.

I budget in excel

 
I heard Mel Kiper say yesterday that he has never had an ATM card nor written a check. (He pulled back a bit after questioning that he had his wife help him with a check.0 I can't believe someone can survive without an ATM. He says his wife gives him an 'allowance' in cash when he travels but most gets put on a card.

 
Mr. Ected said:
I heard Mel Kiper say yesterday that he has never had an ATM card nor written a check. (He pulled back a bit after questioning that he had his wife help him with a check.0 I can't believe someone can survive without an ATM. He says his wife gives him an 'allowance' in cash when he travels but most gets put on a card.
Click to expand...
I can't believe you were listening to Mel Kiper.

 
Long Ball Larry said:
Mr. Ected said:
I heard Mel Kiper say yesterday that he has never had an ATM card nor written a check. (He pulled back a bit after questioning that he had his wife help him with a check.0 I can't believe someone can survive without an ATM. He says his wife gives him an 'allowance' in cash when he travels but most gets put on a card.
Click to expand...
I can't believe you were listening to Mel Kiper.
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Is it worse that it was on Mike and Mike? ;)

 
Long Ball Larry said:
Mr. Ected said:
I heard Mel Kiper say yesterday that he has never had an ATM card nor written a check. (He pulled back a bit after questioning that he had his wife help him with a check.0 I can't believe someone can survive without an ATM. He says his wife gives him an 'allowance' in cash when he travels but most gets put on a card.
Click to expand...
I can't believe you were listening to Mel Kiper.
Click to expand...
:lol: he just has his wife do everything. Kind of like my wife saying she's never paid a credit card bill.

 
bro1ncos said:
Love my bank doing my work.
Click to expand...
I remember a few years ago perusing a client's JP Morgan account... this is the guy's active "cash" account and routinely has a balance in eight figures. I was just scanning for unusual activity after year-end. I got good explanations for most of the items except for one... it was an odd charge to the account in an amount around $750k.

Turns out it was a bank error... charged the client's account by mistake and he hadn't a clue.

The client loved me doing the bank's work after that.

 
I never understood why people have done this, even 20 years ago.

As far as reconciling balances, I just scan through all of my transactions and make sure they are all ones I remember. I trust the math adds up. :shrug:

 
I just remember all the transactions I make, scan my bank account every morning, do the math in my head, and research anything out of place.

 
Put me in the check my online banking frequently and look for things that are incorrect or do not belong crowd. I will assume that the bank can add and subtract correctly, given the items presented to it are correct.

Now I will say that since I work at a bank, I do get people coming in with frequency who have found errors in the encoding of checks, or the random restaurant that has someone goose up the tip by a fair amount and need do dispute things. Mistakes happen and there isn't a need to balance a register, but ensuring that all is hitting the account correctly is still huge.

 
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