Is balancing a checkbook passe?

[shizane101]

I still balance my checkbook, but it easy because I don't have many monthly transactions since I buy almost everything on credit.

[DebbieL]

I only write 2 cheques a month (one for rent, one for daughter's guitar lessons) and I know what they are, so no I don't bother balancing a cheque book. I am online checking everything almost every day anyways. I've never found a bank error so far.

[disneysteve]

For all of you who don't balance your checkbook, do you still keep a register (either with paper and pencil or computerized with Quicken or some other program) so you know your true current balance? I could never keep track of all the money coming and going from our account if I didn't maintain a register of some sort. The online balance is meaningless because it doesn't reflect all of the outstanding transactions.

[DayByDay]

No way would I ever trust the bank. I check online and balance my checkbook/Quicken (I record in both) usually weekly. I have caught several mistakes by the banks. One of the big ones was a $600 cash deposit I made. It never showed up in my checking account even though I had the receipt. And it was a good thing a keep all my receipts, otherwise I would have been out of luck. I've also discovered checks that were processed with the wrong amount from what was written on the check. I've also found fees that I shouldn't have been charged. The latest mistake was a $30 or $40 charge for a leather checkbook cover that I got in the mail but never ordered. I brought it to the bank and had the fee taken off. (I got to keep the cover for my trouble but I couldn't care less what material a checkbook cover is made out of; I would have rather had money for the gas I spent to get to the bank.)

[scfr]

I record all transactions and balance my checkbook. It has been ages since I balanced by writing down outstanding transactions; since I don't have very many transactions each month, I just look at the register and add or subtract outstanding transactions to make sure my balance and the banks matches. It only takes a minute.

I sometimes find that I have made a mistake (such as recording a deposit as a check, or vice versa), and have found that the bank charged me a fee in error (such as charging the monthly service fee even tho' I met the minimum balance requirements). I call them up and get them to credit my account, and I usually check on-line the next day to make sure they did it.

I refuse to pay bank fees of any kind, so keeping a record is important to make sure I don't go below the required balance.

And neither the bank nor I am perfect, and that is why it is important to balance my checkbook.

[Tree0164]

I do balance my checkbook each week. It only takes about 2-3 minutes. I have online banking that I check almost every day so I am on track of the money.

I do about 5 handwritten checks a month-the majority of my transactions are online banking or debit/atm cards.

[disneysteve]

My daughter is balancing our checkbook as I type this post. If a 12-year-old can handle it, surely everyone else can. And she's been doing it for 2-3 years.

As scfr said, neither the bank nor any of us is perfect. That's why you need to check. The very first transaction on this statement, she found an error that I made. I recorded an automatic payment for the wrong amount. It was off by nearly $200.

[PrincessPerky]

No way would I ever trust the bank. I check online and balance my checkbook/Quicken (I record in both) usually weekly. I have caught several mistakes by the banks. One of the big ones was a $600 cash deposit I made. It never showed up in my checking account even though I had the receipt. And it was a good thing a keep all my receipts, otherwise I would have been out of luck. I've also discovered checks that were processed with the wrong amount from what was written on the check. I've also found fees that I shouldn't have been charged. The latest mistake was a $30 or $40 charge for a leather checkbook cover that I got in the mail but never ordered. I brought it to the bank and had the fee taken off. (I got to keep the cover for my trouble but I couldn't care less what material a checkbook cover is made out of; I would have rather had money for the gas I spent to get to the bank.)

Sounds like you need a new bank...in the years when I did balance the checkbook (before ING) I never once found a mistake...oh one time they charged me a fee for having them send me the checks back at the end of the month, but that was easily fixed...I called complained and they never sent me my checks back again. (I would have seen the charge online, so not found due to balancing - actually I would have seen it sooner online than waiting for the statement at the end of the month)

[DayByDay]

Sounds like you need a new bank...in the years when I did balance the checkbook (before ING) I never once found a mistake...oh one time they charged me a fee for having them send me the checks back at the end of the month

The examples I gave were from various banks. I'll never trust any of them.

[pearlieq]

I don't sit down with a paper statement and formally "balance my checkbook" in the same way my mom and grandma do. Nothing wrong with it, of course, but I do think it's going the way of the dinosaur.

I keep an Excel register and reconcile it against my online banking details a few times a week. They still send paper statement and I dutifully file them every month, but I rarely look at them. I prefer to work closer to real time. I track my "real" balance (how much money is left after everything I've spent) and a "bank" balance (how much the bank says I have depending on what has cleared).

We rarely use checks or debit card. If it weren't for the cleaning service, we would have no regular occasion to write a check. Small purchases are handled with our weekly cash allowance and all other transactions are made with our CC.

[Caoineag]

The examples I gave were from various banks. I'll never trust any of them.

Good choice given the messes they have made. My banks biggest error was a double posting which they cleared up on their own within 2 days. All of my transactions have been accurate and within 15 minutes of spending on my debit card, it posts as a pending transaction. Its the checks that cause problems by not posting immediately but since they are few and far between, my online balance is almost always accurate. The sticky note of bills is the only thing I balance and that is just to make sure I don't forget to pay a bill. I am 24 though and I do know that my father does the checks and register thing but he also has come close to bouncing checks before so I can't say that the paper register impressed me much.

The method is only as accurate as the user.

[myself]

WIth the advent of online banking, I'll admit. . .I just check my balances pretty much every other day to see if checks clear or there is something suspicious.

How many of you do this or still balance their checkbook on a monthly basis?

Is online banking a substitute since you get a real-time balance of your checking account?

Other than the occasional check for church (I usually give them one large check every 6 months or so), and the occasional check for the kids' activities, we don't write checks.
Even if the company doesn't accept electronic checks, I still make online payments, since they'll print up a check for me and send it to the payee.

Keep in mind I use Quicken and download all transactions (and check to make sure everything looks right before I accept the transaction). I recently did balance our checkbook, and come to find out I hadn't balanced the checkbook for 7 months.

As for using the paper register, we only record the check we use, the payee, and the amount of the check. No calculations are necessary. Isn't that why we have computers?

[Gruntina]

I don't like the idea of seeing how much money I have by checking the online account each day and living it one day at a time. I like to know ahead of time. I don’t believe the check book balancing was only for writing checks, I see it as tool to track income/outgoing finance activities.. I still use this took even though I only write two checks a month for my tithing.

I get paid every other week. That is when I pull out my balance book (either the one that came with the checkbook or the online excel home made one). I enter all bills that are due until the next pay cycle. I know exactly how much I have left over after bills are "paid" even though they have not cleared online and this is for all types of payments in checks, electronic transfer or automatic bill payer. I also jot down each purchase when used the atm or credit card (I pay credit card in full so I still enter amount as it will be taken out of the bank account sooner or later).

I enjoy knowing how much money is left over after bills are paid ahead of time because it’s like a fun game for me. Knowing that exact figures makes me more conscience of it and also the less I try spending it, the more can go to my savings. This motivates me to save.

If I need to know at any specific moment, I will know exactly how much true money I have to the cent.

[Gruntina]

I just wanted to add, I prefer the check book balancing over excel. excel is pretty cool and can check for accurancy in calculations and have longer list to put in more entries.

However, I am generally busy and very much a busybody. I like to have the balance book with me and jot down my spending as soon as possible so I dont forget or procrastinate.

[anonymous_saver]

I balance my checkbook every time I make a purchase of any kind and I am 25 years old.

One time when I used to be a server I tried to deposit a large amount of cash at my credit union. The teller read the total to me as they deposited it was somewhere in the $1,200 range. I said instantly, "Ummm no. It's more like $657.20.". Yes, I corrected the banks error in their favor. The teller told me she would have lost her job if her till was off by that much. There was another time this happened and I didn't realize it until a day later... although it was only a $24 difference (that the bank lost). Too be honest, I didn't tell them about that one. After the approx. $600 error though, I didn't only come in there with a total of all the money, I literally made a chart that I filled out with X amount of 20's, X amount of 10's, etc. This explaination was way more than this post was about though!