You should not have to wrestle with the thought of making an entry or balancing your checkbook. It is not healthy for you or your wallet.
Here’s a suggestion… make it easier on yourself.
If you do not already use online banking, sign-up for it. Not sure how? Look at the back of your debit card. There’s probably a 1-800 number that you can use to call your bank. I am sure they would be happy to help you set it up.
Once it is set up, now you have 24-hour access to your bank account online. Here you will see every transaction (withdrawal or deposit) for your account, as well as the balance. This serves as the “quick and dirty” version of your ledger. Now there is no need to wait for the monthly bank statement to determine the balance in your account!
Fair warning: Don’t let this make you lazy! Despite the great service that online banking provides, you should always keep a hard-copy 1) to make sure you were charged the correct amount for your purchases and were paid the right amounts… and 2) just in case…
Often I hear the excuse “I was never good at math anyway” or “It’s all in my head.” This somehow enables people to justify not maintaining their checkbook. Well guess what… there’s a great invention that makes that easier as well: it’s called a calculator. Get one.
Another suggestion: If you are more computer savvy, try keeping your checkbook in an Excel spreadsheet.
As part of my green initiative, I have included a basic transaction register: TMM Checkbook (as an .xls file), so feel free to use it. Instructions are included, but keep in mind: this is not a cover-all and do-all spreadsheet. You may need to beef it up for your own uses, but it will satisfy the common user.
Personally, I prefer keeping my “hard copy” ledger in Excel. Technology has surpassed the days of paper checks. As a 23-year old, I don’t use checks anymore- everything is paid for electronically, so I see no point in toting around my checkbook. I simply print out what I need, when I need it and for safe-keeping, my computer makes automatic backups.
In a previous article, I also mentioned that you could use other personal accounting software, like Quicken, but there are other options like MSN Money that give you access to your data anywhere you have the internet. And for the fast-paced or “must have it done yesterday” types, they may find it easier and more convenient to use their PDA or Blackberry to record their purchases as they are made.
In general, people in their twenties are very computer savvy, so I am sure there are those that have a much more advanced (and maybe even easier) method to maintaining their checkbook.
However, the point of TMM is to provide information for those twenty-somethings that don’t know, in addition to those that do. So feel free to share your ideas and methods in the comments section. For those who would like to contribute, send us your information and we will work with you to get a new post up.
And as always, we are open to comments and questions!
~K
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