Checking Account! Do You Make it a Habit to Balance Your Checking Account??
By artistry
@artistry (4151)
United States
February 11, 2010 1:00pm CST
Is it important to you to balance your checking account? Or are you like some of us, who keep a running amount in our head and don't worry about the exact balance? Are you more satisfied, when you account for what should be the correct balance? Let us know your thoughts.
1 person likes this
12 responses
@Downwindz (2537)
• Netherlands
12 Feb 10
I dont check my balance that often, but maybe because currently i dont have any money to spend, im officially broke, so therefore i avoid spending any money at all.
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@Downwindz (2537)
• Netherlands
14 Feb 10
Thanks for your best wishes, i feel confident that i will reach payout from MyLot in March, Hurray!
I certainly understand it better if it was an account connected with checks, in Denmark and also the Netherlands we dont do so much in checks anymore as the credit cards seem to be more in use. In Denmark especially the VISA is a huge thing.
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@artistry (4151)
• United States
15 Feb 10
...Hi Downwindz, Excellent that you will be receiving your payout in March. That makes you feel good and encourages you to do more. Keep up the good work. Credit cards are becoming the way of the world for payment. I really think that we are headed for a cashless society, all payments will be made by numbers. Your salary will be deposited, your bills will be paid by computer, we may never see dollar bills. Take care.
@artistry (4151)
• United States
13 Feb 10
...Hi Downwindz, Your fortunes hopefully will change for the better in the near future. Every now and then I will call on the telephone to tap into the computer to find out what my balance is, in my checking account. Especially if I am looking for a check to come through the account and clear. Sometimes it takes longer than I think it should, and I have a bad habit of forgetting that a check is out there and when I hear the balance, I am saying to myself why the change? Short term memory loss. Thanks for your response, good luck with eventually having a large amount in your account. 
@AjaySinghBaghel (5506)
• India
12 Feb 10
Yes i do check my account very often as I do not trust banks. I had a history where bank deducted some money and later I had to fight to get that money back credited in my account. They keep changing their rules regulations and if we are not updated enough with those changes, they deduct money as soon as they get chance. So, I prefer to check my account very often, may be 2-3 times a week. There is just one credit and its always maximum entries in the other column which is debit:)
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@artistry (4151)
• United States
13 Feb 10
...Hi AjaySinghBaghel, If I am not mistaken, I used to watch a tennis player who was very good, named A. J. Singh, did you use him for your username? People think that banks are infallible, but they are not. They make mistakes sometimes and you should be on top of your finances or you will not even realize a mistake if it happens. Someone had broken into my apartment and stolen some of my checks without me being aware of it. I drove up to the bank window to cash a check and the teller said that my account was overdrawn. I was shocked. Came to find out a woman had come in many times withdrawing 500, 300, 400 dollars at a time until they had drained my account leaving nothing in the account. The signature on the checks looked nothing like mine. They returned all my money, but it took time, I was totally peeved, because although I should have been aware, with the theft and closed the account, the signatures for multiple withdrawals were never compared with the signature card at the bank. Thanks for your response, take care.
@AjaySinghBaghel (5506)
• India
13 Feb 10
No, My name was given by my grand father and heard this tennis player name form you :)
Its good to keep track of account transactions, so I do that for good and suggest that we should do that.
Trust but verify:)
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@LaurenInLA (2270)
• United States
11 Feb 10
OMG! I could never keep a running balance in my head and I couldn't do what one of the previous posters said that they do. Don't write anything down. Just check the balance on line. I keep my checking account on spreadsheet and I balance the statement every month to the penny. I also maintain a monthly budget vs actual spreadsheet. That's the only way that I can keep track of where my money goes and make appropriate adjustments.
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@LaurenInLA (2270)
• United States
12 Feb 10
DH and I took an extensive trip along the New England coast last summer and I fell in love with it. I thought that I would love to love there. That was until this last snowstorm. OMG. It finally stopped raining here and don't hate us but we're expecting temperatures in the 80's next week. The one thing that I forgot to put in my response is that balancing to the penny is in my blood. I used to be an accountant by trade. Try to stay warm!
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@artistry (4151)
• United States
12 Feb 10
...Hey LIL, I recognized the excellent traits of a bookkeeper or an accountant, you can't hide. Enjoy the nice temperatures. I am looking forward to April. I hybernate from November to the 1st of April. Just call me bear. Right now my car is buried beneath a mound of snow all over it. More is supposed to be on the way. I am thankful, because a lot of people are without electricity and some without heat. I keep praying, knock on wood, so far so good. I think that Hawaii may be the best state to live in, I don't know what the temperatures are like in the summer, but I haven't heard of too many earthquakes there or any snow "o). The lower 48 are all going through changes. Take care.
Enjoy the nice temperatures. I am looking forward to April. I hybernate from November to the 1st of April. Just call me bear. Right now my car is buried beneath a mound of snow all over it. More is supposed to be on the way. I am thankful, because a lot of people are without electricity and some without heat. I keep praying, knock on wood, so far so good. I think that Hawaii may be the best state to live in, I don't know what the temperatures are like in the summer, but I haven't heard of too many earthquakes there or any snow "o). The lower 48 are all going through changes. Take care. @hagirl (1295)
• United States
12 Feb 10
I have access to my checking account online so I can see everything that is taken out or put in.... It keeps me from having to call the bank everytime I turn around.... Also it lets me see if I have made mistakes or if someone has taken out money unlawfully (like something automatic you cancelled)
@artistry (4151)
• United States
13 Feb 10
..Hi there hagirl, I think that kind of makes it easier. You can look at all the transactions and check them against your own record. It is good to see what is going on in the account. The part about unlawful debits is most important, there are more hackers out there than a little, always trying to access some account if they can. You have to be aware of what is taking place as best you can. Good for you. Take care it easy and thanks for sharing.
@airasheila (5454)
• Philippines
12 Feb 10
Good day to you Artistry,
I do make it a habit to check the balance of my account. No matter what type it is, I do make sure that I always check the balance. Especially now a days, we should be vigilant in the balance of our account due to some bank frauds.
@artistry (4151)
• United States
13 Feb 10
....Hi there airasheila, You make a good point about the fraud on the part of the banks, I had not even thought about that aspect of it. Only thinking about unintentional errors. There are as you say, intentional things that are done to deprive you of your money as well. You cannot be too cautious in your concern about your finances, a lot of damage can be done in just one day. Thanks so much for your response. Tke care.
@venkatachary (1165)
• India
12 Feb 10
Always it is necessary to check the account. Human error may happen. The checking will help us to correct the error at the earliest. If error deducted very late the correction also will take longer time because the error to be verified and the causes of error to be ascertained. This may be one of the reason in MYlot the earnings are given at the top, so one can make note on login MYlot.
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@artistry (4151)
• United States
13 Feb 10
...Hi venkatachary, You are quite right, errors do happen. If you do not check your
account balance or you do not calculate what your balance should be at any particular time, then how would you know if your account had the correct balance?
Errors go unnoticed every day I am sure and the bank, though I am sure they may not be intentional errors, move right along and we just accept that everything is fine. In the meantime our money is lost in space. You have to check. Take care, and thanks for your reply.
@goldeneagle (6743)
• United States
12 Feb 10
I used to be really good about balancing my checkbook, but for some reason, I have gotten away from doing it. I really need to start back balancing my checkbook. It would surely save me some overdraft fees down at the bank...LOL
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@artistry (4151)
• United States
12 Feb 10
...Hi goldeneagle, That is the big problem when we fail to properly account for our debits. They charge humongous amounts for overdrafts and if you have one, then there could be a domino effect and wind up costing you much money. Once a long time ago, a draft was being sent to my bank, from the sale of stocks, and it got there a day late, costing me multiple overdraft fees from checks coming through. I took myself to the bank and after my explanation, the nice clerk got authorization to reverse everyone of them. I was a happy camper. Thanks for your response, take care.
@stacysmomstl (397)
• United States
11 Feb 10
I am one of those quirky people who constantly check their balance on line. I don't balance my check book, now do I write anything down. Rarely do I write checks, so mostly anything I spend is via debit card anyway. My bills I pay shortly after payday so in about a day or two, I see those amounts coming out of my checking. I also get alerts from my bank stating all deposits and withdrawals from my account. This is helpful to me because I like to know when things clear. I go online at some point during the day and see what is happening with my balance.
Also, before I go shopping, be it the grocery store or wherever, I check my balance prior to going so I can see what I have to spend. The balance isn't always right but mostly the debit charges are listed as pending. So that helps me not over spend.
So far, rarely do I have overdraft charges. I saw rarely because sometimes I do write a check for things and forget I did. Like buying candy or pizza's from school kids. LOL
But for the most part, no overdrafts.
That's how I do it. I know this isn't the best for everyone. But so far it's working for me.
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@artistry (4151)
• United States
12 Feb 10
...Hi there stacysmomstl, From what you have stated, you are totally organized as far as I can see. In other words, you are on top of the situation. With everything that people have to do on a daily basis, It is great to be able to have your things pretty much laid out for you to see anything out of line, as you do. I am very impressed with your practice. I have a friend whose husband keeps his bank earning profits, with all his overdraft charges. Very wasteful. Thanks so much for your response, take good care.
@1hopefulman (45111)
• Canada
11 Feb 10
I always check everything to make sure there are no errors. Everything has always balanced out so far.
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@artistry (4151)
• United States
12 Feb 10
...Hey there 1hopefulman, Based on your background as a great salesman and your probable excellent record keeping with inventory perhaps, I would expect no less.
It makes perfect sense to check to see that your funds are as they should be, banks have been known to make mistakes at times. So if you have no idea what's going on, your money could be flyinmg out the window. Take very good care. Thanks for stopping by.
@Bearballew (1148)
• United States
12 Feb 10
I do a copule times a day. I keep very good record. Early in marriage... we had disaster after disaster because of those famous ATM machines. Now, I have everyone trained including myself to turn in reciepts immediately! I'm alway son top of the household finances.
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@artistry (4151)
• United States
12 Feb 10
...Hi there Bearballew, That is good, because you will lose a lot of money in fees if you don't have the correct balance when you are writing checks or taking money from an ATM. The bank does not care, they like taking your money for any kind of fee. The way things are now a days, who can afford the overdraft charge, for that matter who would want to be able to afford them? Money is hard to come by, and easy to lose, if you are not careful with a basic checking account. Thanks and take good care.
@artistry (4151)
• United States
12 Feb 10
...Hi 133tgirl, I for some reason, have not put my checkimg account online, I think I may have started to set it up and something did not go through and then I thought maybe I shoudn't put it online. I'm strange like that, if it have gone through smoothly, it would be on-line now. So my check of my account is done through my telephone by computer. Whatever way works best for each individual is the way they should go. Thanks for your input. Take very good care.
@olisaur (1922)
• United States
11 Feb 10
I am very OCD about keeping my checking account balanced- at least its a good thing to be obsessive about, lol.
I always make sure to rewrite the balance in my checkbook every time I use my debit card or wite a check. Once a week or once every two weeks I check my account throught my bank's online thing to double check that my balance is right.
It would drive me insane if I didn't keep my checkbook balanced. I just can't understand how some people can't do it. w
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