How to keep a clean checkbook

How organized is your checkbook? Do you know your balance, know your budget, and know what you can’t afford to buy?

Some people are careless when it comes to their checkbook, but that’s one area of our lives we should work hard to organize. For personal use and especially for business, being meticulous here will pay off—and save you money in overdraft fees from the bank. Here are a few tips when it comes to keeping a clean and accurate checkbook.

• This might seem obvious, but don’t forget to write down all receipts. Few people carry cash these days, so you could have five receipts or more in one day from small purchases like stops to the gas station, the drive-thru at lunch, or a mid-day coffee run. Even though these small amounts aren’t likely to overdraw your account, if you fail to write them down, your book will be out of balance, making it hard for you to know exactly what you have to spend.
• Fraudulent activity is commonplace, and you’re especially vulnerable if you purchase a lot of items online. For this reason, be sure to log into your bank account online and balance your checkbook. I would suggest doing this at least twice a week to see what debits have cleared and which are still outstanding. Then, make sure your book balances to what the bank says you have available. Make sure nothing has come through on your account that you didn’t buy. If it has, contact your bank to get more information on that transaction.
• If you have automatic debits set up on your account for certain bills or fees each month, don’t forget to write those down, especially if they’re for large amounts. Try to remember when these come out each month so you can plan accordingly and make sure the funds are in your account before the debit is scheduled to come out.
• Don’t be afraid to ask the bank teller for help. That’s what they’re there for. If your account is out of balance and you can’t find the culprit, go to your bank and ask the teller to balance it for you. She might be able to find an error that you’ve overlooked and can look up your account in much more detail than what’s available to you online.