Why won my checkbook balance

If it has been cashed, review your monthly statement to confirm that it was deducted from your account. If there is another person on the same checking account? Were those transactions recorded on the checkbook register? Are there any double entries? Be certain that all deposits have been credited to your account, especially if you have more than one type of account with the same financial institution.

Was a cash deposit erroneously credited to your savings account or to a loan instead of to your checking account? When making a deposit, always use a deposit slip, and keep your deposit receipt until the deposit is shown on your checking account statement.

Use a computer program such as Quicken to manage your checkbook. Accurately enter all the information from your checkbook register and then run the reconciliation segment of the computer program. Past performance does not guarantee nor indicate future results. Even if you record all of your checking account charges, withdrawals, checks, and deposits in your checkbook, your balance may not match the amount on your bank statement.

Even worse, it may indicate that your account has been illegally accessed. Keeping an up-to-date balance is one of the ways you keep your money from getting away from you.

Next, you need to open your checking account statement—either the paper copy in the mail, the emailed version, or the online view when you log in to your bank. Make sure every transaction on the statement is also in your register or spreadsheet , even pending payments. If you realized in Step 3 that you missed some transactions, you need to add them in now. Some people wait until the monthly statement comes from the bank to balance their checkbook.

You connect your budget to your bank so all your transactions stream right in. That's why we provide features like your Approval Odds and savings estimates. Of course, the offers on our platform don't represent all financial products out there, but our goal is to show you as many great options as we can.

Since the trend has moved away from checks, the idea of using your checkbook register to keep track of your account might seem pointless. But the original reason for balancing checkbooks still stands: You need to know what your actual, up-to-the-moment balance is, as opposed to what the bank shows as your account balance at any given time.

But most people use checks very little these days, if at all — so tools like Microsoft Excel spreadsheets or Google Sheets, or spending trackers like YNAB or Mint, might make a lot more sense than using your check register to balance your checkbook and keep track of your account.

Even if your transactions are mostly digital, balancing your checkbook is a good idea because it can help you avoid overdrafting your account, paying erroneous charges or even becoming a victim of fraud.

With online and mobile banking apps, you may be able to get real-time access to your accounts and get notifications when your bank account is at risk. The rise of digital tools has helped make checkbook balancing a lot easier than the old pen-and-checkbook-register process. Any time you write a check , make a payment using your debit card, or initiate any other kind of debit or withdrawal, always record the transactions in your spending tracker or checkbook ledger.