Many people do not consider how important it is to keep a balanced checkbook. The main purpose of a balanced checkbook is to make sure you don't spend more money than you have and bounce checks. It's very important to know how much money you have at all times and to avoid any errors your bank may have made.

*Note - I wrote every word of this but the pictures do not belong to me.

Step One - Be sure to write in every transaction that occurs as soon as possible. It's easy to forget and you can sometimes lose receipts. Be sure to include the correct date too.

*Note - You can use a program such as Excel to create an electronic registry.



Step Two - Whenever your bank sends you a bank statement (should be once a month) make sure to check off everything in the registry. This should decrease the chances of mistakes.

Step Three - Compile all of the transactions that are not on the statement and add them together. Add this to your end balance and it should equal your statements balance or you missed a transaction somewhere. Recheck your math and if it's still extremely far off, then call your bank and see where you messed up. This is quite important.

Step Four - Leave a reminder to where you left off last so you can use it as a starting point next month when you decide to re-balance your checkbook.

Step Five - Make sure to balance your checkbook every month.