Do You Still Balance Your Checkbook? Our Team is Speaking Out!
Do people really still balance their checkbooks?
We live in a fast-paced world of using chips on cards for almost all our purchases. The question we’re wondering is if the dreaded task of balancing a checkbook with pen and paper has gone the way of cursive writing and stick shifts?
I’m sharing some interesting facts on checkbooks and sharing what our team has to say about whether they still balance their checkbooks! (We also want to know what you think!)
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Why do people still write checks?
Checks are a trusted, paper form of payment made out to a specific person or business that’s directly linked to your bank account. Not only have they been around for more than a century, but some people still prefer to have an official paper form of payment for their records so they can discover and adjust mistakes more quickly. Checking ledgers can also help you know how much is in each of your accounts (which can ultimately save you from low balances and costly overdraft fees).
Between you, retailers, general fraud, or even your bank, mistakes are still made, even in the age of electronic payments and records. Keeping track will help you know if something went wrong.
Did You Know: According to Checks Unlimited, 1.2 million fraudulent checks are written each day. 😱
Here’s how our team feels about balancing their checkbooks:
Here’s why team members DON’T physically balance their checkbook:
“I do NOT balance my checkbook. I always stuck to my Dad’s mantra – and while it won’t work for everyone, it has for me: Never spend more money than you have.” – Jamie
“I do all my banking online. It seems a ton easier. I do keep a small list of the checks I write (and their numbers when I do have to write a check), so I know what to keep a lookout for when it clears online.” – Amber S.
“We write maybe one paper check a month, so no. Everything is autopay. If we do write a check, it’s easy to see if it clears online.” – Lina
“I write one check a month for rent, and all other bills are handled online, so I don’t bother balancing a checkbook. However, I do monitor all my transactions online since so much of my spending is on my rewards credit card – just so I can catch something if a payment or account balance looks off.” – Emily
“I don’t – our water bill is the only thing that requires an actual check and it’s paid 4 times a year. I pay all of my bills at one time, and everything is charged to a credit card, so most everything is done online.” – Chelsey
“I don’t balance my checkbook, however, my husband keeps track on an app on his phone daily, and we are always in communication what all balances are at for our checking and savings accounts. This helps us stay on track with the budget we set and what we save each pay period. Even though we don’t write it down, we still keep track!” – Sara
“What does balancing a checkbook even mean? (insert sarcasm) I have an app for that!” – Tiffany
“We do all of our banking online. We only use checks in very rare circumstances which may just be the water bill. We have all of our monthly bills set up for auto-pay, but I do check my balance/bank account every day with their app just to make sure nothing is getting taken out that shouldn’t be. It’s not the perfect system, but it works for now.” – Jessica
“I bank online for everything. If I do write a check, it’s rare. I’ll write the # of the check, what it’s for, and the amount/date on the back part of the check pad. Then I’ll wait until the check clears and will put a line through the item on the check pad.” – Irene
“I have not balanced my checkbook in at least 3 years. The only time I ever find myself writing checks are to my kiddos’ schools (for field trips, party expenses, etc.), when I am making a big purchase that I want a record of (like buying a car or an item off of Craigslist) and sometimes to reimburse a friend/family member for something (but 99% of the time, I would prefer to give cash or use PayPal). I also try to use my bank’s online bill pay option whenever possible! Since I do not balance my checkbook, I just try to ensure my checking account always has enough “cushion” to cover the checks that I have written recently. This is definitely not a great habit as it can lead to overdraws and penalties if one is not careful or if you forget about a check that was written. But for the most part, it works for me!” – Bryn
“I don’t balance my checkbook the old fashioned way, but I do check my account pretty regularly. My husband and I each look over our online transactions at least twice a week to make sure that the amounts and charges look accurate. We don’t compare receipts to posted amounts, but just make sure everything looks inline with what we know we’ve charged. To be honest, we could be a bit more diligent, but what we do works for us. I rarely write checks anymore, so when I do it’s easy to just quickly check that the amounts look correct since there are only 3 or 4 checks coming through each month.” – Michelle
“I use a checkbook app to keep track of all my purchases.” – Jessica C.
“I have not balanced my checkbook in years due to only writing around one to two checks per month. I do look at my credit card statement on a weekly basis for errors, fraud, and subscriptions that I may want to cancel (I tend to sign up for those often due to Hip2Save deals! 😬).” – Collin
“We use checks fairly often because of homeschool field trips, but I never balance my checkbook. I do have a cushion, and I also have my bank set up to send me an alert if my account dips below $200, so I can move money over from savings if needed. I keep track of my spending with my credit union’s app and the Clarity app. Both of those allow me to have a pretty clear daily snapshot of account balances and spending.” – Stacy
Here’s why one team member DOES balance her checkbook:
“I’m old school and always balance my checkbook and reconcile it weekly against my online transactions. I tried doing everything I do on paper in a program like Quicken, but I didn’t like it. I like a pencil in hand and writing things down as I think. It helps me remember and stay on track. I don’t write many actual checks, but I do balance out other transactions. The original checkbooks don’t have enough room, so I keep a notebook with my running totals. In the back of my notebook, I keep my budget and bill due dates even the electronic/automatic ones. All automatic bills I look at the details each month (e.g. electric) to make sure we are staying within budget and the company hasn’t made a mistake. I think it’s too easy to have things taken out of an account and miss important mistakes or billing errors.” – Jennifer
But enough about us! What do you think?
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I’m interested to hear share outs about this!
I balance my checkbooks once a week and have since I first got a bank account. I’m 38 and my dad thinks I’m crazy because he does everything through quicken and thinks pen and paper is so out dated.
I’m 43 and I balance my checkbook. We have lots of bills and I need to keep track of it all. I do pay most of my bills online. Just write out a check to the lawn guy.
I don’t physically balance my checkbook, but I keep a running total in my planner of things that haven’t cleared (and just subtract them from the total that I see online in my account)
Thanks for sharing with us what has worked best for you, Emily!
I still balance my checkbook. I tried a computer program and I hated it. It was double work for nothing.
Nope! Everything, including check photos, is online for us. I keep a mental tab of any outstanding checks plus we have duplicates. Mainly use online bill pay (or cash) though versus check though.
I do mainly online banking too! Thanks for taking a moment to comment!
Here’s a challenge. The 14 women above who do not balance or have not balanced their checkbooks – sit down and do it. I’ll wager 80% or more will not balance. I’m with Jennifer.
I still balance my accounts.
I keep my checkbook on Quicken and balance it monthly. I don’t write many checks but pay our bills using my checking account as well as debit card transactions, so it’s necessary for me. Balanced to the penny every month. I’m a bit OCD about it. Lol
We love Quicken! My husband keeps daily tabs on all transactions in and out of our accounts. We still write checks for most of our bills. Once a month, we reconcile our Quicken against the statements that come in the mail to make sure everything lines up. I think it’s so easy to use and helps us track our spending. Also balanced to the penny every month.:) Makes taxes easier too!
I also use Quicken. Have since early 90s. Every day I download activity posted to our most used accounts so I know our up to date balances. I reconcile all bank and credit accounts in quicken to the statements I receive either paper or electronic form.
What app does Sara use? It sounds like a digital check ledger and could be useful
I would love a digital check register app recommendation.
Hey there! I commented with some information above! I hope it’s helpful to you! Have a great day! 🙂
Hey Stacie!
My husband balances the checkbook, but the app he uses is called “Checkbook – Account Tracker”. He’s able to group expenses by category (eating out, groceries, gas, etc.) and it’s worked great for us…and by us, I mean him! LOL! Here’s the link for ya! Hope this is helpful to you!
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/checkbook-account-tracker/id484000695?&at=10layQ
I still balance my checkbook and still write checks.
I write checks! I love to write checks. I do NOT have a debit card…. I write checks at grocery stores and gas stations….. even WalMart….. I do not hold a line up, everything is ready and I hand it off to the checker. Our home is paid for so no check needed for that service. Property taxes are transferred fro one account to another in person at our bank….. So sounds like I might be on my own team here, but I have never been a crowd follower anyway. When H2S has great deals on purchasing checks, yep, this is where I come!
I balance all my accounts on a spreadsheet. I make sure everything adds up each month for my bank accounts and credit card bills just so I know that my personal information hasn’t been stolen or if there are mistakes in my deposits and withdrawals. I remember one time my bank deposited $500 into my account and I hadn’t deposited anything, so I told them about it. If I didn’t balance my accounts, I would’ve used that $500 like it was mine, and would have needed to pay it back once the bank figured out their mistake.
I balance mine daily! I run an office, so it’s just second nature. Plus, I schedule all my bills at the start of the month, so I like a reminder of what’s coming up and when. I still write checks about 3 times a month … daycare and my water bill. Other than that, I do pay everything online.
Nope. Simple Excel spreadsheet here. Something easy enough any member of my family can manage if something happened to me. Set it up for my elderly parents and adopted it into our family as well. ALL of our passwords are in it to.
I’m 46 and balance the checking account, savings account and our VISA account every month. My husband and I have used Quicken since we were first married, 26 years ago. It works for us and prevents money arguments such as and ” how much do we spend on groceries?”. We have auto pay for all of our bills and use USAA so we don’t have a local bank. I like knowing everything is reconciled each month.
well I’m dinosaur, as I never have done on line banking. I write maybe 5 checks a month tops, and my checkbook happens to balance itself, since I write very few checks and they clear quickly.
I don’t even have an ATM card. I charge everything and pay that bill in full once a month at my local bank branch.
my son says I need to get with the program, “pay bills on line” and get an ATM card, but I tell him, I like my way. why fix something that ain’t broke and works for me.
😂😂😂😂 What’s a checkbook?
I don’t balance mine, but I audit all of my accounts fairly routinely to make sure I don’t have any incorrect charges. I also keep usually keep $500-$1000 buffer in my checking account.
I do not balance my checkbook, but I may only write a check or two a year. I do balance my parents checkbook once a month after the statement is delivered.
No. I rarely write a check for anything. Maybe I wrote 3 checks in 2 years. Just keep receipts stacked and do a twice weekly balance check.
Also I do online banking.
I’m 68 and balance my checkbook monthly. I also keep paper deposit receipts until I get my statement and balance it. Once we made a $3000 deposit and were only credited for $800. We would have been out that money had we not had our paper receipt.
Oh wow! Good catch Deb! Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
I don’t balance my checking or savings account. However I do check in on it almost daily online.
No – YNAB for the win!
What is YNAB?
It’s an app like mint
Ok thanks:)
Same! YNAB just makes it so easy!
A couple months ago, I balanced for the first time in 20 years. Got close enough and just wrote a balancing entry. I figure I’m good for another 20 years.
Even though it online I still balance. Always.
I used to use a paper ledger, but it got really messy and irritating. I now use an app CheckBook on my phone and it’s so much better! I’m able to adjust payments, deducts payments immediately, even upcoming ones. My mom taught me how to balance my checkbook when I was younger and it’s been EXTREMELY helpful to make sure I keep myself in check-hehe-with deductions.
I keep a small notebook with all my debits and any checks I write in it. I check my bank account online every day and check off everything that has cleared so I always know exactly how much we have in our account.
I just switched to a checkbook app and it took getting used to but I like to balance my checkbook. 99% is online but I like knowing what hasn’t cleared yet. I am 32 years old and have always had a checkbook since I was 16
I just turned 30yr old and I balance my checkbook every couple of days. Two months ago I purchased for 2.99 Accounts2 app. My husband was wanting to be more involved with it and had a hard time knowing what we had when I had checks out. Checks seem to be mostly our tithe and kids extra curricular activities. Which the school take FOREVER to cash checks. After 9yrs of marriage He still didn’t like getting into my purse to check how much was actually in it vs what online said. Plus with six kids and he works third shift. This makes it so we don’t have a lot of time to sit down and talk. Our phones share the same apple account so our app is sync that he can look on it on his phone too. It has worked out really well and he loves being more involved with our money. We use Dave Ramsey as a plan for our future and a plugging away at our baby steps. No credit cards. Single income family so budget and watching our spending is a necessity
I use Accounts2 app as well and LOVE IT
I do not balance my checkbook. I look online at least three times week and use dupe checks to watch what needs to clear. I just do not make the time to balance it and I am sorry that I do not. I did not teach my daughters to do it either with could be a down fall for them. They do online banking and I am sure have not a clue how to balance their accounts. 🙁
I got my first checkbook account at 18 years old. I’m 42 and now and still write in every transaction and check and keep it balanced so all I have to do it look at it. I will go in weekly and balance it down to the penny with what my online balance says. I wouldn’t have it any other way!
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I balance my “checkbook” by writing deposits, expenditures, actual checks, online payments on an old-fashioned calendar. It’s accurate to a penny, easy to see where the money is going as well. Should I ever be audited by the IRS I can get copies of donation checks, medical expenses more easily since I have the check numbers and online confirmation numbers right there. The calendars are easily stored since they are flat. I also monitor when those transactions clear by lightly checking them in the calendar. I’ve had some electronic debit card transactions-Sam’s membership and restaurant bills take over a week to come off my checking account—way too easy to overdraw if you aren’t tracking. Track your money however it works best for you.
I do everything online. I don’t even own checks. 🤷🏼♀️
I am 44 and write paper checks and balance my checkbook. I use mint to watch everything and make sure everything goes through. I even caught a bank mistake once. I just like to watch everything and make sure it all goes through.
I only write a couple of checks a month so I don’t balance my checkbook but I do monitor transactions online. It’s important to do that because a Piccadilly Restaurants cashier once added a $50 tip to my receipt after I checked out and a dating service that I never signed up for charged me for a membership. That was a bank error though. The funny thing was the lady at Piccadilly wasn’t surprised that it happened and the bank rep acted like I was lying. I was credited back for both transactions though.
SO glad you could get that back! It sure is a good idea to keep watch on transactions!
No I don’t and honestly don’t see the point when everything is online and easily accessible
I use a checkbook app to keep track of my debit purchases.
I use the app “Balance” which is a little outdated with no tech support and has caused a couple small errors (Now I know the tricks and it’s been perfect since) Each night I record all of my purchases/checks from the day and in the morning I go back in and check off the ones that have cleared. I also use “Bills Monitor” and track all of our bills there. I get paid bi-weekly and any bills due in the two week period get paid immediately regardless of when they’re due. It’s really helped to know down to the penny how much is there because somethings seem to disappear when they’re being processed to clear. To make it simpler for my boyfriend I have him write me one check per week and pay all of his bills because he can’t seem to remember what is out there (even when I tell him a million times).
I have never been good at balancing my checkbook but my parents are sticklers for it. My dad was employed by the school system and he was the only employee in the whole county who refused to have direct deposit and insisted on a paper check every pay day. He just didn’t trust that online business. I always laughed but as many times as I’ve had fraud on my cards, he may be on to something.
I still balance my checkbooks every month. I prefer to write checks and pay my bills that way. I am a bookkeeper and everything is on the computer and I hate it. I just don’t like knowing if it is actually accurate.
What’s a checkbook??? Just kidding. I haven’t had a checkbook in probably 20 years. We pay all our bills online. Most everything we have on autopay, except the power bill. We live in Maine aka the sky high cost of living anti-business state so I like a heads up about how outrageous each months electric bill is going to be before I pay it.
Do I balance my checking account? No but I check it on my phone daily and know what’s coming in and out. 😀🧘🏻♀️🌈
I use Personal Capital and have all of my accounts linked (mortgage, car loan, credit cards, retirement, savings, checking) and I check it almost daily. While the free platform is not perfect, I love that I can log in and review all of my accounts in 5 minutes.
I keep an excel spreadsheet of all transactions and I pop in and reconcile it with our online acct every few days. We use online banking and our debit cards A LOT so I keep track of every single penny so I know if we have been overcharged or a check hasn’t cleared (we still do write some checks here and there for bdays, donations, etc). I don’t spend more than we have, neither does my husband, but where some things can take days or weeks to clear, I want to know where our account is at all times. I only keep this for our working checking acct that has constant activity. Now, when I was single and the only one using my account I was very lazy about balancing it. But since we’ve been married, I’ve been on top of it.
And FWIW, I find it EXTREMELY helpful to have all transactions in Excel b/c I have often had to look back to see who we used for something (like a 1x large trash removal company, or how much we paid to have something serviced a few years ago, etc… that’s all in my spreadsheet. I can also keep track of our bills careful to see if we have a spike in our electric bill that doesn’t make sense, etc).
We do this exact same thing.
Yes
Listen. I worked the customer service call line for RBS Citizens Bank for several years, after having been a teller for six. Half the calls to me were issues that could have been prevented if people would BALANCE THEIR CHECKING ACCOUNTS. At least once a month, weekly is better.
“I don’t balance because I only write one check, etc”. Balancing has nothing to do with writing checks or not. TRANSACTIONS of all kinds must be balanced.
“I keep a cushion in the account, so I’m not worried about overdrafts.” That’s nice. But incorrect transactions and fraud can happen no matter how much is in your account, and while you may not overdraft, you might still lose money.
“I don’t check receipts against the transaction that clears.” Why in the world not? The receipt is not the actual withdrawal. The withdrawal is finalized at the end of the day, and it could be for anything. You may see that the amount is removed from your balance immediately, but it is not FINALIZED until the end of the day.
“All my bills auto-debit my account” BIGGEST MISTAKE EVER. You’re trusting some other computer to always take the correct amount from your account, at the correct time. It doesn’t always work that way. A large mortgage company DOUBLE-DEBITED many of it’s customers’ mortgage payments one month. How would your finances be if that happened to you, and it took a week or two to straighten out?
When you allow auto-debits, you are saying , “Here’s my wallet, take what you want, whenever.”
Use your banks online banking to pay your bills. DO NOT go to the utility company or credit card company’s website and authorize them to take money from your account, even for a one-time payment.
In my experience, I’ve told people this for YEARS, and they do not listen, but come to me when their bank, utility, or retail transaction screws up.
BALANCE YOUR CHECKBOOKS.
Thanks a TON for taking the time to share these helpful tips and suggestions! I’ll definitely keep this in mind when going over my weekly transactions!
Good advice. I’ve never had bill pay through my bank but should consider it since I have auto pay on tv subscriptions & internet bill. Thanks!
I don’t balance my checkbook but I do have a “killer” budget. I have already created 2020! I set-up all payments online and know how much money is left until the next payday. I always check my accounts online at least 3 to 5 times a week.
Last year, my account was “pinged” for .28 cents and then later a charge appeared for $25.00 from Florence, Italy!!! I was highly offended… If I was in Italy, I would have spent much more than $25.28. The bank credited my account back and issued me a new debit card.
I use my printed statements and enter everything into QuickBooks. I don’t balance it anymore, but review each charge as I enter it. It’s great for the end of year tax stuff – contributions, etc. Can pull a lot of reports.
I used to be anal and balance to the penny everyday…for the last decade or so I don’t balance…it’s bit me once or twice lol but i just check my balance daily and try to keep track of what i spent..sometimes if i have multiple transactions in a a short time i’ll type them in my little phone notepad
Nope. We do everything online now. So much easier.
I balance a checkbook with pen and a register. I work in banking, so I know that electronic items aren’t processed immediately. It depends on the merchant where you use your card as to when it clears. I’ve seen too many times people who go by their online balance and want to come in for a refund when they have an overdraft because they didn’t consider that some things haven’t come out yet, or they forgot about a purchase. Definitely not a bank error if you aren’t keeping up with what you’ve spent. We don’t know what you have outstanding if it hasn’t been processed.
YES. I worked several years as customer service for a large bank, and as a teller for six years before that. I think you will agree with me when I say that most of the problems people have with their checking accounts is due to them not keeping track of everything, and BALANCING frequently.
And most of the bank employees I knew also still balanced with a register and pen. I retired only a few years ago, so it’s not an archaic means of keeping track of your money.
I agree with that 100%. The first thing I ask when they argue about an item is “do you keep a transaction register?”. The majority of them don’t. It is usually the same customers that have issues. Not only are they losing money by not keeping up with it, they are wasting everyone’s time.