Do you balance your checkbook/reconcile your account?

[MonkeyMama]

Help me understand "push the button to reconcile". If I make a deposit, I write that deposit in my register. When the statement comes, I make sure that deposit got entered into my account. If I pay a bill electronically, I check the statement to make sure that payment came out as it should have. How does that get done electronically?

I use software that basically has an electronic check register. The first of every month I put in every transaction for the month. It's not a lot since we mostly charge credit cards. (I paid 8 bills in October; 4 of those were credit card payments for various reward cards).

"Pushing the button" is just downloading bank activity. The software automatically matches up to the transactions I entered and makes a reconciliation. That's really all I do to reconcile. 99.99% of the time the bank balance matches my register balance. But I don't run very much through our checking account. Mostly depositing paychecks and paying off credit cards monthly. Any difference is mostly just waiting one day for an electronic deposit or payment to clear.

(& only now I see the post just before mine. It's just one button to download transactions and reconcile, in the software that I use).

[Jluke]

I check my credit union and stock accounts everyday using auto download in Quicken. I've been using quicken for about ten years.

Capital one and my credit card do not auto download, but I can download from their website. CC when a new transaction appears. CapOne is usually once a month because I rarely use that account.

At the end of the month when my measley interest is paid out I enter the total for all savings accounts in my excel file and determine if I was positive or negative for the month.

I recently stopped using paper or check registers to record transactions.

[GoodSteward]

I reconcile almost daily. I use a simple program I reference often called Ynab. I enter in stuff, but it also pulls automatically and matches to what I have. It works better than mint, and I reconcile quickly. I can't stand not knowing where I stand all the time. The few times in my life I have overdrawn are when I wasn't keeping a check on things as I should.

I don't believe anybody can budget properly if they are not keeping up with things daily, and reconciling at least every 2 or 3 weeks to make sure nothing is missed(I say weekly should be the longest you wait). If you only budget 250 every two weeks for food for instance, and two people are pulling out of it, you have to stay on top of that or you will overspend. I suppose if you are single, or your spouse never spends without you, then this may not be nearly as much of a concern.

I would imagine those who don't keep up with their budget this close probably leave a lot more in the common categories than is necessary. You budget, but you don't really restrict yourself, which still leaves money on the table(overfund to avoid having to restrict yourself). That's the only way I can see someone not keeping up very close but still "budgeting."

[HundredK]

I check my credit union and stock accounts everyday using auto download in Quicken. I've been using quicken for about ten years.

I used to be a big fan of Quicken, but now I like Quickbooks so much better. You'll have to keep us in the loop though. I am curious if Quicken gets better or worse now that Intuit no longer owns it. I'm no huge fan of Intuit in general, so I think it could go either way.

[disneysteve]

I don't run very much through our checking account.

I do quite a bit through ours. I just checked my last 2 statements. Last month had 29 transactions and the month before that had 40 transactions, so there are a lot of things to keep track of.

I tried doing things electronically in the past and I just found it so much quicker and easier to do it on paper. It took a lot of extra time to enter everything on the computer.

[HundredK]

It took a lot of extra time to enter everything on the computer.

That's one reason I use a program that automatically downloads transactions for you. Then you can simply choose what category (which the program can also remember for you), and you're done. Super simple.

[disneysteve]

That's one reason I use a program that automatically downloads transactions for you.

What gets downloaded automatically? I mean if I deposit a check with the mobile app on my phone, don't I have to enter that transaction somehow? What about if I write a check? Or have a bill that auto-charges my account?

I know I'm doing it the dinosaur way but I've never bothered to look into all of the newer options that are out there.

[bigdaddybus]

I barely use my checking account. I pay 95% or more of my expenses with a cashback credit card for the rewards or cash. Very, very few transactions actually use my bank account.

I do monitor my credit card charges biweekly for any unrecognized charges. Its nice as the cc company categorizes the expenses, gives me pretty graphs, etc. Since I use spreadsheets and all kinds of software for my job all week, honestly the last thing I want to do is spend much time doing online banking, quicken, etc. I just want quick, easy, and accurate.

[disneysteve]

I just want quick, easy, and accurate.

Same here. I'd say it takes me maybe 10 minutes once a month to balance my checkbook. I'm not sure how much quicker and easier it can get.

[HundredK]

Same here. I'd say it takes me maybe 10 minutes once a month to balance my checkbook. I'm not sure how much quicker and easier it can get.

Probably because you have your financial situation well under control. I hope to get there someday too. I need something a bit more powerful to help me manage the multiple payments going out to creditors and help with tracking total debt and goal setting and things like that.

[bigdaddybus]

Same here. I'd say it takes me maybe 10 minutes once a month to balance my checkbook. I'm not sure how much quicker and easier it can get.

Sounds like that works good for you. I really like the way the cc company breaks up expenses by category for me. My wife keeps an eye on my home improvement and automotive purchases and I keep an eye on her clothing purchases.
Its a good way for us to keep an eye on one another without having to ask. We used to have a rule that if either one of us spent over $100 we would run it by the other first. We dont really do that anymore, as we just kinda got in tune with each other on spending.

[sblatner]

Always. Have fond memories of helping my mom find her penny errors when I was little. Don't trust the banks or credit card companies!

[Petunia 100]

What gets downloaded automatically? I mean if I deposit a check with the mobile app on my phone, don't I have to enter that transaction somehow? What about if I write a check? Or have a bill that auto-charges my account?

I know I'm doing it the dinosaur way but I've never bothered to look into all of the newer options that are out there.

If you use Quickbooks, you log on to your bank's website and download your transactions into a QBO file. Then with your Quickbooks software, you click on banking<online banking< import web connect file and your transactions are imported.

Poke around on your bank's website; you'll find the link. There's usually one for Quicken too.

[QuarterMillionMan]

I always reconcile mine by cross checking the check register with my bank's statements. I problem though that I perceive some people having is when their account balance goes from 5 digits to 6 digits. The check register is made to accommodate 5 digits (ie, up to $99,999). At $100,000 it will be difficult to squeeze those 6 digits made for a 5 digit check register. That would be a good problem to have.

[HundredK]

If you use Quickbooks, you log on to your bank's website and download your transactions into a QBO file. Then with your Quickbooks software, you click on banking<online banking< import web connect file and your transactions are imported.

Poke around on your bank's website; you'll find the link. There's usually one for Quicken too.

Not in the newer quickbooks - no need to import anything. Just click a button and it all downloads.