#Practice for checkbook registers how to#

These are your “outstanding checks and deposits” that haven’t cleared your account yet. Once you have checked off all the transactions that the Credit Union showed, look at your register and make a little circle in the checkmark column for each transaction that you didn’t check off.(If you didn’t balance your checkbook, you wouldn’t know about these issues until your money is gone!) This is one reason why you should balance your checkbook… you can find errors or even identify if someone is fraudulently using your checking account. If you see a transaction that you know you didn’t make, contact us.

Just write down the date it cleared and we’ll add it to or subtract it from today’s balance. If you forgot to write a transaction down, you can record it today. (There’s a handy little checkmark column for this!) Verify that the amount we show for each transaction is exactly the same amount you wrote down and make sure it’s in the right column.

Go through each item on the statement or history since then and check that same transaction off in your checkbook register.

Or, if you’re using online banking, pull up the history of your checking account and scroll back to the date you started keeping track of your transactions.

Grab the most recent statements we mailed you (all of them since you started diligently keeping your checkbook register).

Here we go, it’s time to balance your checkbook. We’ll wait for you at the balancing section! (You’ll need your old checks and debit card transactions to clear – the ones from before you started recording your transactions). If you’ve just turned over a new “I’m-gonna-balance-my-account leaf” read on…Īfter you’ve been recording your transactions for a month or two, come back to this page and we’ll start balancing. If you are balancing a brand new account for the first time, skip to #1 below. (Again, if you’ve just made the resolution to start keeping track after years as a non-balancer, you won’t yet have a balance to add it to.)

If the money is going into your account (all deposits put in checking, all refunds from debit card purchases that you’ve returned to the store, or interest earned) you write the amount in the “Deposit Amount” column and add it to your balance in the far right column.

(If you don’t have an exact balance, skip this part for now.)

If the money is coming out of your account (you’re writing a check, buying something with your debit card, taking money out at an ATM, or if you have an overdraft fee) you write the amount in the “Payments or Other Subtractions” column and subtract it from the balance in the far right column.

Write who you’re paying on the white line and use the shaded line below it to keep a record of what you’re buying.

(If you’re using a debit card to pay for something just write Db in this area.)

In the check number column of the register, write down the check number from the upper right corner of your check.

(Go grab it… it’s in the box with your checks and we always have extras at our branches.) If you’ve never balanced your checkbook before, and you’ve had your checking open for a while, start writing all your transactions in your register today. Keep reading… all the stuff below will apply to you except the “I-don’t-know-exactly-what-balance-I’m-starting-out-with” stuff. You’ll add in deposits you make, debit card returns you take back to the store and interest you earn. You can add in your first deposit, and subtract checks you write, fees you incur, and ATM withdrawals you make. If you are just starting out with a brand new checking account, this process will be easier. Whether you’re starting a new checking account or starting to balance an old checking account If you hate carrying a bulky checkbook around, ask us for a debit card register. Here’s the key… use the checkbook register to write down every penny that goes into your checking or comes out of your checking. We don’t want you to have that problem, so let’s figure out the best way for you to keep track of exactly how much money is in your checking account. (Which is a pretty lousy way to spend your money, don’t you think?) Unfortunately, those are usually the ones who end up having overdraft charges. You’re in the majority since most people don’t do it.

#Practice for checkbook registers how to#

Most Americans don’t know how to balance a checkbook… gasp! If you’ve never balanced your checkbook before, you may think it’s too tedious or too late to start.