How to Keep Your Checkbook Balanced

When first starting out in the world, more than a few of us have had a tough time keeping our checkbook balanced as well as hoped. Depending on my own financial situation I found a few different ways to keep myself out of the red at the end of each pay period.

1.) First thing is to know all the ins and outs of your account set up. Every bank has different options for card use and overdraft protection. I was surprised to find out with one bank I did business with I could go overdrawn on my ATM card up to $500 with no penalties. On the other hand if a check cleared during the time I was overdrawn I would get penalized for it. However, the ATM end of it came in handy on more than one occasion.

2.) If you can afford this option it works well. Put about $100 in your account and act like it isn't even there. Let's face it we all make mistakes here and there, or lose receipts for things. This is just a little added cushion that can be a big help sometimes.

The downfall with this method is if you never look at it then you generally don't know when it is gone. Other than that for some people who do really well with keeping their checkbook balanced in the first place this method should work just fine.

3.) Lastly is the method I have been using for years. This seems to work the best for me. I no longer try to keep track of everything to the penny. Every receipt or bill I write a check for I just round up to the next dollar. It is somewhat similar to idea 2 but it is more continuous. At first I was skeptical to try it but was pleasantly surprised at how well it works.

One perk also is that if you get really good with it you can actually turn this into a way to save some extra cash. There is no limit on how much over your receipt you round up to. If you wanted to go over another dollar above it still works perfect.

I know that there are commercials on TV of banks offering these types of programs done through your ATM card. The difference here is that if you do it yourself then the money stays in your checking account. Then when you notice there is somewhat of a cushion starting to form you can transfer it into your savings yourself.

I simply started doing this for myself to make sure I didn't go over budget. I try to use a combination of all three things. Let's face it we are human. As much as we would like to think things will peachy, stuff happens. This is life, so be prepared even if you don't think you can afford to keep a little safety net.