Poll: do you balance your checkbook?

marytini · January 2011

Do you?[Poll]

cookiemonster03 · January 2011

I see no need for this in the age of internet banking.

jaimebeth9 · January 2011

I do - although I don't keep it in a checkbook register.

Pat and I have a spreadsheet on Google docs that we update so we both have access to it (although I do 99.99%). But on that spreadsheet one tab does reconcile if we have anything outstanding, but it's also our general "everything" spreadsheet.

MrsC968 · January 2011

I want to vote special snow flake. I balance my checkbook register but not with receipts. I keep the receipts in case I want to return something or am incorrectly charged. But I balance my checkbook register by basically going online and adding the charged in once they appear. I do that maybe once a week (or 2 if I'm being lazy).

A lot of stuff I buy goes on my credit card anyways, not debit or checks.

Kendra Rose · January 2011

cookiemonster03:
I see no need for this in the age of internet banking.

This

SugarhillHnA · January 2011

I balance ours every month using Quicken, but that's the anal accountant in me. No need to save receipts and do it the old fashioned way.

Jules08 · January 2011

I did maybe the first month that I had it ... when I was in high school Indifferent

with the internet, I see no need. I keep track of my balance in my head and I an usually right on: within $1.00 or so.

jaimebeth9 · January 2011

Also, definitely no saving receipts.

andreay82 · January 2011

I'm learning to ease up on some of the receipts that are for things that can't be returned, and gas but I balance my checkbook.....almost every day.

The super-anal accountant in me takes over when it comes to our money.

NineTwentyOhEight · January 2011

I only write like two checks a month, if that...otherwise I use my debit card and I am just mindful of the balance and check it two or three times per week. Mostly I use my charge card and just pay that off at the end of the month. way easier and I get points :-)

jenndawnp · January 2011

I don't in the traditional sense, but I do write down my checks and check my online account so see if they deducted and check them off.

I also watch our account like a hawk and look for any thing out of the oridinary and get JT the third degree about all his purchases.

xojo1 · January 2011

MrsC968:
I want to vote special snow flake. I balance my checkbook register but not with receipts. I keep the receipts in case I want to return something or am incorrectly charged. But I balance my checkbook register by basically going online and adding the charged in once they appear. I do that maybe once a week (or 2 if I'm being lazy).
A lot of stuff I buy goes on my credit card anyways, not debit or checks.

I do this, too. The only reason we balance our checkbook (we each keep our own registers for our joint account) is because, at the end of the month once everything is accounted for, we transfer the remainder minus our cushion to savings. It helps us keep track of what that number is better since we are usually paid our paychecks that start the next month before things for the previous month actually clear. I hope that makes sense.

I don't keep a register for my individual checking account. But, it has much less activity.

reps14 · January 2011

I don't, I should, and my mom thinks I do.

Mrs.Keith2B · January 2011

Yes, and I'm sort of obsessive about it.

I record all debit card/check transactions in the register I keep in my wallet. Then, I check my online banking every morning to see if any items have cleared my account. If they have, I highlight that entry. At a quick glance I can see what is still pending/outstanding, and can easily deduct those amounts from what my bank accounts says I have in it to see if that number matches the balance I have written down in my register. If that makes sense....I also round up all of my transactions, so every few months I'll move that "fluff" into savings. It's an easy way to save a little extra cash!

I even do this for automatic deductions. For example, at the beginning of each pay period I record certain transactions in my register that haven't happened yet. For example, I'll record the amounts for my car insurance and homeowners insurance, even though they might not be set to clear for another few days. When they do clear my account, I'll go back into my register and highlight the entry so I know it's done.

Yes, I'm a freak. Hehe.

abvernon · January 2011

I do not balance my checkbook the old fashioned way but a hybrid of sorts. Like Amanada, I do write all debits/credits and then check them off when they are cleared. I write 2-3 checks a month, at most. The rest is either by debit, cash or automatic. This is for my personal checking account. DH and I have separate checking accounts and a joint one but it is only for the car payment & transferring of $$.

Since all of the bills (gas, water, eletric, etc.) were in my name when I moved, they all come out of my account, so he will transfer money $$ for to cover his portion.

If I had to do this for a joint checking account, I would go insane as DH never keeps receipts or a balance (he has a rough idea and does it mostly through online banking)

This month, I am making a list of everything we buy and keeping the receipts to see how much we really spend on stuff (incl. bills). Our spending has gotten out of hand the past few months (not related to the holidays).

wendy29** · January 2011

Mrs.Keith2B:

Yes, and I'm sort of obsessive about it.

I record all debit card/check transactions in the register I keep in my wallet. Then, I check my online banking every morning to see if any items have cleared my account. If they have, I highlight that entry. At a quick glance I can see what is still pending/outstanding, and can easily deduct those amounts from what my bank accounts says I have in it to see if that number matches the balance I have written down in my register. If that makes sense....I also round up all of my transactions, so every few months I'll move that "fluff" into savings. It's an easy way to save a little extra cash!

Yes, I'm a freak. Hehe.

I am a freak right along with you Amanda. But I check my every night..

MrsT2008 · January 2011

I voted no, because there is no balancing involved, but I do record each check I write in the register so that I can remember to check to see if it was cashed. I don't keep track of any total account amounts in there though.

firewife9278 · January 2011

Mrs.Keith2B:

Yes, and I'm sort of obsessive about it.

I record all debit card/check transactions in the register I keep in my wallet. Then, I check my online banking every morning to see if any items have cleared my account. If they have, I highlight that entry. At a quick glance I can see what is still pending/outstanding, and can easily deduct those amounts from what my bank accounts says I have in it to see if that number matches the balance I have written down in my register. If that makes sense....I also round up all of my transactions, so every few months I'll move that "fluff" into savings. It's an easy way to save a little extra cash!

I even do this for automatic deductions. For example, at the beginning of each pay period I record certain transactions in my register that haven't happened yet. For example, I'll record the amounts for my car insurance and homeowners insurance, even though they might not be set to clear for another few days. When they do clear my account, I'll go back into my register and highlight the entry so I know it's done.

Yes, I'm a freak. Hehe.

Aside from the rounding up (we don't do that because part of each of our paychecks goes into our savings and our roth automatically already) ... this is DH exactly. He manages our checking account. We have a ledger book kept in the office closet. He still uses all the receipts to record the charges. We use our debit card for nearly 100% of our purchases, and we pay all of our bills online. The only time we write an actual check is for a wedding/graduation/birthday gift. (so why he feels the need to keep the paper ledger, I have no idea).

I manage my business account exclusively online.

I think I'll look into the google docs option for us though, since we're now using our google calendars on our phones, it would be easier to share and less clutter!

Poll: do you balance your checkbook?

Re: Poll: do you balance your checkbook?

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