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Life in the Balance

Ok, maybe that is a little melodramatic.  But, I had to catch your interest in the topic of maintaining a check register and balancing the check book.  I know it is a dreaded topic but I will share with you some things that I have done to conquer the procrastination surrounding maintaining a check register and balancing the check book.

I remember when I didn’t maintain a check register and balance the check.  I remember being close to payday and the anguish I felt not knowing if I had enough money in my account to cover lunch.  Then there was the time when I had a bad habit of relying on the balance that is printed on ATM receipts.  I was always very lucky that I didn’t bounce any checks.

My wife, the organized person that she is, was the one who convinced me about the benefits of maintaining the check register and balancing the check book.  That’s sad considering that I have a finance background.  But the problem wasn’t that I didn’t know how; it was I didn’t want to do it.  Procrastination – maybe.  The pain of realizing how little money I had – probably.  But procrastination and pain or fear can be conquered.  Believe me because I did it.

I can think of four reasons why we should maintain a check register and balance the check book:

1. Peace of Mind in having an accurate accounting of our “books”.  If we enter transactions into our check register and balance our check book on a monthly basis and then we should feel very confident in our account balance.  We remove the guessing that occurs when we don’t do both.


2. An accurate accounting of the check register gives us the opportunity to properly plan future expenditures and deposits.  This is especially important if money is tight for us.


3. Banks do make mistakes.  Balancing the check book requires us to review our monthly account statements and such a review may discover mistakes made by our bank.


4. Discover improper use of our checking account by strangers or people we know.  Again, a review of our account statement may uncover strange and possible unauthorized activity in our account.  This is very important today because of the increased use of debit cards and the likelihood that someone can steal your debit card number.

Another term used for balancing the check book is reconciling meaning that we reconcile what the bank is saying is in our account with what we say we have in our account.  The objective of balancing the check book or reconciling is to verify that there are no differences between our check register (written or electronic) and the account statement from the bank.

Maintaining a check register and balancing the check book are not rocket science.  They are a necessary nuisance.  The only way to do both is by developing good habits.  We establish a habit through repetition.

I started off the easy way.  I purchased the latest version of Quicken (which I found easy to learn).  Microsoft has a similar type of software called Money.  This made maintaining a check register and balancing the check book easy.  But I still needed to establish a habit because the software was not going to entirely automate the process for me.

First, I started with entering transactions in the check register.  I made a point of entering any transactions from that day in the check register before I began an internet session (at night and at home) or before I want to bed.  This process shouldn’t take long.

Next is balancing the check book.  On Saturday Mornings, after receiving the checking account statement, I sit down, with a cup of coffee, at the computer and open up Quicken and begin reconciling.  Quicken made the process of balancing the check book easy but the pain of realizing my financial situation is present but only soothed by having peace of mind that I at least know where I stand or have an accurate accounting of my finances. 

For those who are technologically challenged (although I think it is worth it to purchase and learn Quicken or Money) have no fear.  All checking account statements, somewhere on the back pages, have a form to use (if not then you should change banks immediately because that would constitute absolutely horrible customer service) just follow the directions and you are golden.  You will need to perform some basic math such as adding or subtracting but if you have a calculator then it is no big deal.