Do you still balance your checkbook?

[Penguinlady[$]]

Seriously.

I have checks with NCR paper under them, so I have copies of all of them.

I do on-line bill-pay, and have a statement on-line at the end of every cycle, as well as the paper one I get in the mail.

We have one checkbook between the two of us, and frankly, neither of us is that good at recording everything.

So is there any good reason that I should continue to spend hours and hours on my checkbook register, when I can easily print out the on-line statement of activity?

I can go on line, or call the bank, to find out my balance.

(I did Quicken for years but when I got my new computer 18 months ago, it got completely scrambled and I just didn't have the patience to clean up the mess. I've thought of starting over again from today, but am not sure I need it.)

So... do you do a hand-written register? Do you balance it every month? What is the worst that could happen if I just stopped keeping mine?

[magenta321]

I haven't balanced my checkbook since about eighth grade, FWIW. (Oddly enough, I had more disposable cash at that time than I do now, lol).

You forgot on your list that you have overdraft protection, and it's most-likely tied to other accounts you have, so the risk is low of actually bouncing anything.

Then again, I don't use a check to pay anything except taxes and the cable company, so YMMV. I use credit cards with rewards for all of my purchases, and ACH withdrawals for anything I can't put on CC like my mortgage.

[Penguinlady[$]]

What do YMMV and ACH mean???

I write a LOT of checks because with two of us spending it, the money disappears fast. It doesn't change that, but at least with a check, I know where it's going. PM hits the ATM about six times a month, sometimes more, and usually forgets to give me the slips.

I used to spend days every month balancing to the penny, so I can't believe I'm actually contemplating not even keeping a register any more!

[lynnzop[$]]

ACH - oh hell, I work in the industry and don't know what it stands for. But it means the money that moves through wires - not cash.

I still balance my checkbook, but I just realized that I only have to order checks once a year (just ordered and found it was September 2007 when I last ordered!). I mainly use my debit card and pay my bills online, so I hardly ever write out checks.

But I tend to forget to write down debits once in a while (I'm pretty good), and I like to make sure the bank and I agree on how much $$ I have in my account.

[mjfrombuffalo[$]]

I always balance my checkbook, every month. That's how I discovered the super never cashed the holiday tip check I gave him, for example. I don't write many checks but I like to keep track of them, and just logging on to see my balance doesn't jog my memory to look to see if check 4375 has been submitted yet. I have overdraft protection, but I'd rather not use it since the bank hits me with a $10 fee if it has to be used.

[theworm[$]]

I think I wrote 4 checks all last year.
No. I don't balance mine anymore.

[Penguinlady[$]]

From what I'm hearing, people tend to keep their registers up. I can't believe you only wrote four checks n a year, Wormie! I wrote 25-30 in a month, even with on-line bill-pay! I always always always pay for groceries with cash or a check, and try not to use our credit cards too much, so I wind up strewing checks like confetti. That and the entries for billpay and PM's ATM hits make keeping the register a nightmare.

I used to balance to the penny every month, but those days are long gone, now that there are two of us. My only question is how to tell if a check has been paid, because I don't think there's a way to do that on-line with B of A.

I guess I"m really looking for permission to ditch that damn register!

[emeleel]

I haven't balanced my book in a long time, even before I started using my debit card and online paying as much. Now I only write a few checks a month, and I check my online bank account almost every day.

Dh rarely spends money, so I don't have to worry about him overdoing things, thankfully.

[mjfrombuffalo[$]]

I use B of A. You can query by check number.

I write about four checks a month to entities that don't have online payment systems (the dentist, girl scout cookies, mechanic, church, etc.). Makes no sense to me to have B of A print and mail them a paper check for me. The rest of my non-ATM transactions are online bill pay and debit card transactions for things like groceries. I check my balance online about once a week or 10 days, but I still prefer to keep a register to keep track of what the daily balance *doesn't* show - those outstanding checks and the bills I have scheduled to be paid in the future.

BTW, if anyone's trying to cut back on spending, stop using the debit card or checks at stores - studies show you will spend 10-20% more at the supermarket as opposed to those who take cash from the ATM and limit themselves to only paying cash.

[theworm[$]]

and two of those checks were for the house!
I use online payments for about everything.
For medical things I use my flex spending card.
For gas and the supermarket, I use my charge card and get the rewards (my rewards go towards my mortgage principle). I never ever ever carry a balance on my credit cards though - so I think of them as cash - I know I'm going to have the bill once a month and I'm going to have to pay the whole thing.
It works for me.

[mtomm[$]]

emeleel said

I haven't balanced my book in a long time, even before I started using my debit card and online paying as much. Now I only write a few checks a month, and I check my online bank account almost every day.

Dh rarely spends money, so I don't have to worry about him overdoing things, thankfully.

This is pretty much me exactly.

[thinkerlady[$]]

theworm said

.....
.....online payments for about everything.
......use my flex spending card.
For gas .......use my charge card and get the rewards ...... I never ever ever carry a balance on my credit cards though - so I think of them as cash - I know I'm going to have the bill once a month and I'm going to have to pay the whole thing.
It works for me.

We do basically the same thing for all of the above. But, we still write a few checks a month. We have direct deposit of pay checks, and direct payment of most bills, so Hubby still does the check book every month to make sure all is right. Everything comes out of our checking account.

The only checks we still write are to places that don't do online or direct withdrawal. Like water/sewer bills---donations----or misc. stuff.

[emeleel]

I write 4-5 checks per month for church. One for the water, because it's based out of a tiny little town without online pay. One for our insurance - they *finally* came into the 21st century with online pay, only to charge $3.50 each time for the service. (After already adding on $3/mo for breaking it up into monthly payments!) One for the rent where we're at. So that's only 7-8 on a regular basis, usually with 3-4 other odds and ends. Everything else goes on the debit card.

[mtomm[$]]

emeleel said

I write 4-5 checks per month for church.

Yep, that's another few checks I write. I'd really appreciate it if they'd just debit my tithing/offerings from my paycheck. But some folks get all bunched up about that??

[lynnzop[$]]

I was confused until I realized that Wells Fargo (my bank) does free online bill pay. So I just go to WF's site, type in whoever I want to pay, and send it off. I can pay anyone that way except Amex, which is part of the reason I refuse to use that card unless I have to.

All credit cards are paid off monthly.

I use my debit card (free) so exclusively that when the grocery store's swipers were out of order one trip, I had to write a check and I sort of forgot how to do it.

About the only place I write checks to are charity donations (work matches $$ and you have to write a check) and Jer's school.

I did discover that I totally used up my check register before I used up checks this year. I have stickies on the back page because I didn't have any more lines left!

[theworm[$]]

yeah, I'm confused. I don't pay online through the utlities sites because I don't like putting my account number out there. I pay online through my bank. Depending on who I'm paying, it goes from the bank electronically or by paper check. I like it because I don't have to write checks of balance my checkbook. I can pay individuals online.

When we rented the house, we payed the landlord - they were just normal people, but I set it up to pay once a month and the bank sent them a paper check. It actually was better for me because if a check were ever lost, the bank took responsiblity for any fees. I had one check to my landlord that got lost in the mail. The bank got on the phone and assured the landlord that it was their error not mine. They didn't charge me for the stop-check, and they rushed a new payment out. The original check did arrive about 2 months later with a gazzillion postmarks on it.

So the only checks I have written recently were for the house and the movers, and one for the balance on a furniture delivery.

[Penguinlady[$]]

I use B of A's online bill-pay for as much as I can, which is just about everything. It doesn't matter how small the entity is; they just cut and mail a check, the same as I would, and THEY pay the postage. At .42 a pop, it adds up. I have most of my doctors and periodic local items, like the security system, set up that way.

Most of my bills are set up to pay by the 7th of the month, which is on time for about half and extremely early for the rest. And I know that holiday or weekend or whatever, the bank can always get a payment out in time to pay by the 7th. Works pretty well.

I give monthly to nine charitable organizations and have them set up on auto-pay as well. They know exactly when they will get their money, and it's easier on the budget to do it over a year instead of all at Christmas. (I volunteer for the FoodBank and I know wht happens when everyone gives at Christmas and nothing the rest of the year - we run out of money periodically.) The only charity checks I write are for incidentals, like our neighbor kids selling gift-wrap or popcorn, or for extraordinary things like friends riding in centuries to raise funds for whatever.

I pay off everything every month except our Visa card. I can't seem to get rid of that one. PM spends cash when he has it in his pocket - hence the ATM hits - and uses the Visa when he doesn't. I use mine for gasoline only. But it just won't go away.

I don't like to carry cash because it seems to dribble away and I never know where it went. At least with checks, I know.

But the hassle of entering all those checks, and ATM hits, and debits - which we almost never use - and online payments, and auto payments like the mortgage, is huge. It takes me at least a day a month. That's why I'm contemplatinmg giving it up.

[Penguinlady[$]]

Forgot to mention - I NEVER use the online bill-pay from our various creditors websites, like the phone or power. I don't want my information spread all over the web, and I want to be able to go to ONE place to see what's happening with my finances. With B of A, and other banks as well, I'm sure, I can set up online payments to anyone in the US.

[magenta321]

If I were to carry cash, I would be tempted to spend it. So cash is a big If I have to write a check I have to search for a checkbook, so I really don't do it. I do it infrequently enough that I have to read the lines to know which one is for whom I'm paying, and which line I put the amount on.

I'd have no control over my money if I didn't use my credit card. Plus, using a check or real money gives me no incentive... where as my charge cards give me gift certificates, credit on my mortgage, and on-board-credits for cruises. I am happy to accept whatever free money I can, for spending the money I have to pay anyway.

Plus, I'd waste money driving to a bank to use an ATM to get money. Too much hassle, unless I know I'm going to do something special, like go in on a purchase with someone.

I bought my vacuum cleaner, and got hundreds of dollars in Home Depot gc when I moved by cashing in my Amex points. Well worth it! I almost have a $150 OBC for whenever I take my next cruise too, thanks to my RCI Visa.

[thinkerlady[$]]

Our bank pays us $.10 for every electionic bill paid through our checking account!!!