Balancing Your Checkbook

Balancing your checkbook is the important process of verifying that your personal records match the bank's records, as shown on your monthly bank statement you receive from your bank.

Although your bank processes hundreds of thousands of transactions very accurately, they can and will make mistakes, and you typically have only 60 days in which to inform the bank of the error and have it corrected. If you made an error in your personal check register, the bank statement will let you know where the error occured.

If you make a mistake or forget to post an ATM withdrawal, debit card purchase, or other transaction in your checkbook register, you may start bouncing checks and incurring additional fees.

If there is a problem with your checkbook, it's is harder to sift through months of transactions to figure it out. If you've balanced your checkbook every month, all you will have to do is look at the most recent month's transactions.

The basic money management task of balancing you checkbook is not taught in most schools. If you're just starting out on your own remember that it is very important to keep your checkbook balanced so you can keep track of your funds accurately.

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