# Balancing a checkbook? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 25, 2023, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balancing-a-checkbook/990696 "2023-09-25T23:39:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balancing-a-checkbook/990696/81 "2023-09-26T20:39:54Z")
I balance it once a month. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balancing-a-checkbook/990696/82 "2023-09-26T20:53:33Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I’m kind of curious what people are still using checks for besides mortgage payments? I recently finished a checkbook - 2 dozen checks; took 3 years. Approx 1/3rd to a race series that doesn’t have an online payment option. I even tried emailing them with my info & stating I’d bring a payment. Nope, gotta mail it in. Another 1/3rd for dentist co-pays where I must pay a CC surcharge (I had work done, so real money); however, those were handed over in person, not mailed. Two handed to the tire shop in 3 years; again, because of a CC surcharge. Most of the rest went to the taxman, mailed on Apr 15th, because F\*ck 'em. Turbo Tax will let me file state taxes online for $59.95, or I can print & mail them for \< $2. I’m all for being green but that’s a stoopit amount of money to pay for a few sheets of paper, an envelope, & a stamp. My mortgage I pay electronically, along with all the rest of the regular bills ---
**Author:** ![Gr8LakesSrfr7of9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Gr8LakesSrfr7of9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gr8LakesSrfr7of9)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balancing-a-checkbook/990696/83 "2023-09-27T06:04:37Z")
I don’t think that Bank of America (BoA) was ever related to Chase. You may be thinking of Banc One. Chase has had a plethora of mergers and acquisitions over the decades. ---
**Author:** ![Gr8LakesSrfr7of9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Gr8LakesSrfr7of9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gr8LakesSrfr7of9)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balancing-a-checkbook/990696/84 "2023-09-27T06:16:47Z")
I haven’t used a paper register to balance my checking accounts in years. But a few years ago, I started tracking every penny that I spent by using Google Calendar. When I use my debit card, I enter the amount and other info every day. Then when the charge clears days later I would change the color from red to blue to keep track of my spending. It’s really a hassle to do this especially because I am constantly on my bank’s website and updating the calendar. It’s also a big waste of my time but I’ve got this habit ingrained and I’m afraid that I’ll miss something like a fraudulent charge or a mistake on my part. It could also be part of my anal retentive obsession with my money, maybe. Wish I could figure out an easier and quicker method to do this. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balancing-a-checkbook/990696/85 "2023-09-27T06:34:32Z")
It think they meant that the physical location of the bank changed hands from a BofA to a Chase. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balancing-a-checkbook/990696/86 "2023-09-27T11:40:03Z")
My car is being inspected today by our local mechanic who doesn’t take credit cards. I’ll stop at an ATM for cash. I’d never think of writing him a check. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balancing-a-checkbook/990696/87 "2023-09-27T13:19:26Z")
I just checked (hah!). In the last 12 months almost to the day I’ve written 3 checks and voided one. All three were to government agencies who refuse to accept CCs: a small balance due to the county ambulance service for a ride my late MIL took about two years ago, and of which her insurance covered ~95%. And two small checks for half-year installments of property tax on some worthless land I inherited in another state. And the void, because I write so few checks (hell I use a pen so rarely for anything) that I screw up somehow about 1 time in 3. Auto-pay at the bank sends about 10 payments per month here or there, and a couple of ACHs are pulled out as well. That is mostly on full autopilot. I had been using an ATM maybe 6x/year, but now that I’m not working and spending lots of small bills on cash tips that’ll probably become 2x/year. Me keeping a paper register when the computers are doing ~150 transactions / year and I’m doing ~3 / year seems like a silly anachronism. So that’s why I don’t do it. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balancing-a-checkbook/990696/88 "2023-09-27T14:39:16Z")
As of this morning the bank says I have $1,000 more than what my checkbook says. I write 4 or 5 checks a month for things that don’t accept electronic payments. I use my debit card daily. Credit card not as often, usually for purchases over $30. Debit card transactions/PayPal/Venmo entered into register when the transaction occurs. I cannot account for the $1k discrepancy. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balancing-a-checkbook/990696/89 "2023-09-27T14:52:46Z")
> [@peedin](#): > > As of this morning the bank says I have $1,000 more than what my checkbook says Party at your house tonight? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balancing-a-checkbook/990696/90 "2023-09-27T15:00:28Z")
I have a spreadsheet that I update every few days. I go to my credit union account online, note my recent debit card transactions, and enter them in my spreadsheet. Also pay bills online and enter those at the time I pay them. My spreadsheet keeps track of my balance so I know if I’m anywhere close to being in trouble. Then about once a quarter I download my checking transactions into a spreasheet and compare that to my own spreadsheet. Often I’ll find where I failed to enter a transation into my spreadsheet so I do it then to make sure I have complete data. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balancing-a-checkbook/990696/91 "2023-09-27T15:48:09Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > All three were to government agencies who refuse to accept CCs In the UK, government agencies will accept CCs but charge a premium for them. Debit cards are fine though. I assume they still accept cheques, but I’m not sure. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balancing-a-checkbook/990696/92 "2023-09-27T16:31:15Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > In the UK, government agencies will accept CCs but charge a premium for them. Debit cards are fine though. As always in the US, there’s no consistency. IME with my small sample size government agencies accepting debit cards seems rare. Credit cards with an overt service charge is more common, but far, far short of universal. I recently renewed my vehicle registration with the state online via credit card with a fee. The alternative was snail-mail them a paper check. My city parking pass can be paid by credit card, again with a fee. The last city I had parking permits, you had to pay cash or paper check. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balancing-a-checkbook/990696/93 "2023-09-27T16:49:21Z")
That’s how property tax is here. They’ll take a card but they add a fee. I always had to send a check. I refinanced a few years ago and now the mortgage company pays it. It may have changed since then. ---
**Author:** ![Beesnest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@Beesnest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beesnest)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balancing-a-checkbook/990696/94 "2023-09-27T17:08:13Z")
I keep a google spreadsheet of all the monies I spend and update that when I use cash or credit. It is worthless for knowing balance in checkbook or credit because I record things at different times and don’t track transfers. I look on line to see my cash balances and credit hits. Often enough to be assured of any unusual events. Few paper checks are written. I transfer money from bank to credit union monthly to save up for insurance and taxes (and now car insurance ) When those bills hit I move money back to cover. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balancing-a-checkbook/990696/95 "2023-09-27T19:31:08Z")
We write 2 - 3 real checks per month, tops. One is to our lawn guy, others are usually to people like the guy who took down our tree. I’m happy to be a little inconvenienced to save these guys some money. Almost all of our checking account activity is online. We use an ancient version of Quicken which is plenty good enough. My wife enters payments and income right away, and I do the balancing, which is almost always dealing with a typo. Easy to do since you can see the monthly totals which helps identify where the mistake is. We also write stuff in the check register, but that is mostly to trigger entry to Quicken. I don’t even try to correct errors in the paper checkbook any more. Some checks just sit around the payee for a while, so Quicken is in general more accurate than the bank. Also easier to get to. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balancing-a-checkbook/990696/96 "2023-09-27T20:16:24Z")
My last half-dozen or so paper checks have been written, unfortunately, for memorial contributions to charities in honor of loved ones who have recently passed. In answer to the OP, I haven’t balanced my checkbook in probably a decade. I used to do every month, down to the penny. And, as others have said, that’s a task that I don’t miss at all. ---
**Author:** ![icon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@icon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icon)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balancing-a-checkbook/990696/97 "2023-09-27T21:48:25Z")
I actually don’t remember if I ever balanced a checkbook. I learned how to do do it but then I started using debit and credit cards and hardly ever a check. I used Quicken for a while to keep track of expenses and what not, but now I do everything online instead. Some banking institutions allow you to link your other banks (or credit cards) to them so you can see everything on one page if you like. My bank can send checks to people, so if it is something that happens regularly, then I use that. They deduce it from my balance when they send the check, so the account is balanced right away even if it takes a while for the recipient cash it. If the person receiving the check does not cash it after, I think, 90 days, you get the money back. The few checks I do write tend to be cashed within a few days of me writing them so I see them online fairly quickly. I can’t think of a reason of looking at my statements anymore since I check everything online regularly and can flag something right away. `//i\\` ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balancing-a-checkbook/990696/98 "2023-09-27T22:07:45Z")
I actually really enjoy reconciling bank accounts. It’s one of my favorite things to do at work. The bigger the balance and the more pages of transactions the better. The only bad part is hunting down missing receipts because there are always missing receipts. But at home it’s just not worth it anymore. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balancing-a-checkbook/990696/99 "2023-09-27T22:47:07Z")
Yeah, we need to keep everyone honest. If there is a glaring error (never had one) I would get on it. The likely hood that I screwed up and am a dollar off is much, much higher than the bank is a dollar off. It is not worth my time in any way, shape, or form. All I would be doing is waste every ones time. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2023, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balancing-a-checkbook/990696/100 "2023-09-28T02:52:17Z")
I should maybe clarify: I don’t balance my checkbook because I need to do it. I do it because I WANT to do it. I feel good knowing exactly how much money I have, to the penny. I’m anal that way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balancing-a-checkbook/990696.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balancing-a-checkbook/990696.md?page=6)