9/28/2023 0 Comments Balancing your checkbook![]() Then you spent the next hour trying to figure out why the totals didn’t match. ![]() ![]() You compared the transactions on that statement with what you’d recorded in your check register, adding in any deposits and subtracting any checks or other transactions that hadn’t posted by the time the statement was printed. Once upon a time, you got a paper statement each month from your bank. If you do any of the following chores, you can and should do them a lot differently now: Balance your checkbook Likewise, technology has obliterated or automated a lot of the money tasks that were once mandatory for people who wanted to be responsible with their finances. Tasks that were routine then - like, say, beating a rug to clean it - have all but disappeared. Think about how difficult it was to clean a house 100 years ago, or make a phone call, or travel across the country. If you are using a printable register, make sure you’ve dated the current register time period and start a new one for the new month.Watch Video: 4 habits you can break right now If you are using a traditional checkbook register draw a line under the balance indicating the last correct verified balance. Once you’ve addressed all your transactions: This simple act of making changes and adjustments until your checkbook register and bank statement match is balancing your checkbook. Go through each of these making adjustments to your register as needed. When you’ve reached the end of your statement, if there are any lines that have not been highlighted you’ll know that they are either pending (have not yet come out of your account), there was a discrepancy with the amounts, or you missed recording it in your register. You might be asking yourself what is balancing a checkbook? Next, you are going to balance your checkbook. Get a highlighter and with your bank statement and register side by side, go line by line and highlight each matching transaction (to include dollar amounts).Īnother option, if you choose to download and use my simple checkbook register printable, I also provide a column where you can simply checkoff the transactions when they clear your bank account. The easiest way to do this is to either pull up your banks statement or print it them off. The more frequently you update your register and clear (check off) transactions as they are reflected in your checking account, the more accurate your register will be and subsequently, the more accurate picture you’ll have for exactly how much money you have at any point in time. So when you reconcile your checkbook, you are making sure what’s happened in your register (the list of transactions) matches what’s happening with the money in your bank account. The word reconcile simple means to make one account consistent (match) the other. Utilize Bank Statements to Reconcile Transactions and Balance Your Checkbook ![]() It’s also especially helpful for families with more than one person drawing on a single account. This is an ideal tool for those who are working with a weekly or biweekly budget and you are trying to manage payments for your monthly bills and want to ensure that you have sufficient funds to cover your expenses at any point doing the month. You can see on any given day exactly what shape your bank account is in. The purpose of a checkbook transaction register is to stay on top of the money you have coming in and going out of your bank account every day.Īlso, you have the added benefit of tracking your balance on a daily basis. What is the Purpose of a Checkbook Register? That money will be withdrawn at some point in the future when your check is presented for payment to the bank. The money you’ve promised by issuing the check as a form of payment, doesn’t come out of your account the moment you present the check. A simple checkbook register is a tool where you can track your income and expenses: either as they happen or future payment occurrences.Īn example of a future payment would be if you write a check.
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