Unique Original Articles » CHECKBOOK RECONCILIATION FOR LAZY PEOPLE

It takes only a few moments. It merely requires simple math unless you use a spreadsheet or computer program which does the entries for you. It must be completed to be able to know your accurate financial position at any time. There is no other way to know just the amount of money you actually have in your account. Still there is millions of people that don't keep a checking account register and don't reconcile their checking account, ever, never mind every month.

I have heard the excuses from friends and family: "I can check out my accounts online to find out the amount of money I actually have". And, undoubtedly, there are times where a check is late to clear or a debit card transaction is late to process or they miss an online scheduled payment or they forget about a recurring online payment and their balance gets overdrawn which in turn creates a domino effect in their account ending with $100 in overdraft fees and returned payment fees.

Your checking account register will maintain an accurate balance of your account. This eliminates any one of the above mentioned circumstances. You'll have registered a check having been written and so you will have already debited that money from your account.

Enter Payments As You Schedule Them

Register the payments the same day you schedule them, not when they are set to post. If you schedule an online payment for three weeks down the road, note that payment in your register immediately. If you intend to do it later, and don't remember, you chance of overdrawing your account and knocking that first domino over. You must get used to recording transactions as you make them.

Get Receipts

I always get receipts. Whether that be on my debit card or with cash, I make sure to get a receipt. By doing this I know exactly how much I have spent and can record it in my register when I get back. In many cases the transactions do not appear online straight away or they do not reflect the appropriate total. Should you get a receipt, you know precisely just how much you have spent.

Steps to Keeping Your Account Register

Listed below are the steps I take to manage my account register. It is actually rather simple. I use the specific spreadsheets that are in the Debt Snowball Calculator workbook.

1. List the date you are making the transaction, scheduling the transaction, writing the check or withdrawing the money
2. Enter to whom the payment is being sent
3. List the amount of the payment
4. You must do the math to keep a running total of your actual balance
5. Monitor your account online so you know the payment processes and processes for the correct amount. If necessary, make adjustments to your register.
6. Mark the payment as cleared

That is all there is to it. I verify my account online at least twice a week to guarantee my records are accurate and also to make sure the bank's records are correct. Also, I use it to register when payments clear. If a payment doesn't clear in a timely fashion, it could indicate the recipient never received it or applied it incorrectly. Should this you should call them right away to get it figured out.

Keeping an account register is fast and very easy. It makes no sense not to do it. There are really no excuses. If you should overdraw your account, it is your fault. Don't fault the bank for your error. Payments process and clear when they process and clear. If you keep an accurate register, you won't have to worry about it.

For support with your personal finance and to download our free debt snowball calculator, go to mydebtsnowballculator.com.

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