How to Balance Your Checkbook
- Compare your monthly bank statement against your checkbook, and put a check mark next to each transaction in your checkbook that is documented on your statement.
- Find the ending balance on your bank statement.
- Add to that ending balance any recent deposits that are not checked off in your checkbook.
- From your new ending balance, subtract any recent withdrawals, checks, or debits in your checkbook that are not checked off.
- This final number should match up with the ending balance in your checkbook. If not, go back and see where you may have missed a transaction or a calculation. It’s there, somewhere.
- If you do this every month, your life will be a lot easier.
Save yourself the monthly anguish of balancing your checkbook against your statement: Bank online and check off processed payments on a weekly basis. Since you’re only doing one-quarter of the work at a time, it may only take 5 to 10 minutes out of your lunch hour. That’s time well spent to stay on top of your spending.