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Something I read yesterday reminded me of when my ex and I first merged all our money into one bank account. For whatever reason we chose her account, but it was a nightmare for me because she didn’t keep her checkbook balanced, and I need something like this balanced to the penny.

So I asked around and many people I know don’t balance their checkbook. Some admitted to occasionally paying overdraw fees.

So my mind drifted off into thoughts about relationship compatibility and after thinking about that for a while, I finally remembered that more and more couples today don’t pool all their money into one joint account. Point of compatibility? Maybe to some degree, but it doesn’t seem as big a deal as I once thought it to be.


So just for the fun of Polling: do you keep your checkbooks balanced to the penny, or no?

For me, absolutely. I even use Quicken to keep my Credit Card 100% accounted for!

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I haven't balanced my checkbook in many years.

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Me neither ... with online banking I just take a quick look every couple days or so to verify that nothing drastic has happened that I do not know about in an effort to stave off any fraud (even via cell if need be) .   I've even stopped importing information over to Quicken for my personal account because everything I need is online ... why do it twice ?

I do not use credit cards ... why would I pay that much interest for anything ?

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Originally Posted by Teri Lacy:
Me neither ... with online banking I just take a quick look every couple days or so to verify that nothing drastic has happened that I do not know about in an effort to stave off any fraud (even via cell if need be) .   I've even stopped importing information over to Quicken for my personal account because everything I need is online ... why do it twice ?

I do not use credit cards ... why would I pay that much interest for anything ?

Ditto.  Well, except extend "couple days" to couple weeks.  i also stopped using paper checks a few years ago too...mainly 'cause I'm too lazy to change the address with each move I make.  If I absolutely need to send someone a check I can use the Bill Pay section of online banking.

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I used to balance to the penny.  Now I check my balance online just about every day and make sure the transactions look right.  I use an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of my bills, my bank balances, any outstanding checks etc., my paychecks and taxes, and my budget. At work I have to balance everything to the penny, but at home I just want to make sure I have enough money to pay the bills and that no one is overcharging me.

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Originally Posted by Tiramisu Sue:
I used to balance to the penny.  Now I check my balance online just about every day and make sure the transactions look right.  I use an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of my bills, my bank balances, any outstanding checks etc., my paychecks and taxes, and my budget. At work I have to balance everything to the penny, but at home I just want to make sure I have enough money to pay the bills and that no one is overcharging me.

I used to work behind a computer where part of my job was accounting. Had I stayed with that job, I'm thinking the home accounting I continue doing would have been greatly cut back.

Anywho, I, too, use Excel spreadsheets to do part of my finances. I make a spread sheet that starts off listing my current checkbook balance, then below that I list all the expenses I expect that month, along with any income pending for that month. And then I link that end amount to another spreadsheet with a generic account balance for the following month that's comprised of the same things. I do this linking 16 to 20 months into the future so that I can plan for large future expenses, taxes, payments, etc. I've been doing this since 1994 and it's worked out very well. If I didn't budget or plan my home finances like this, I'd never get any sleep at night.

Anywho, back when I regularly worked behind a computer, the job was really very stressful and at the end of the day, I didn't even feel like exploring my personal hobby of computer programming. So when I got home, I simply loaded up some 3d game like Doom or Quake, put it into "God" mode, and started shooting up my frustrations and stress on screen. Eventually, I realized I needed a different job....

I started my online banking maybe three years ago and I LOVE IT! But one thing that makes money handling easy for me personally is 99% of everything I buy, no matter what it is, goes on a credit card, and then that bill gets paid in full each month so there are no finance charges. This is so much easier for me personally because I can't stand having a 'wad' of bills in my wallet and I detest dealing with fistfulls of coins.

But I guess with home finances we simply need to be comfortable with our methods