Still balancing your checkbook? (funds, pay, deposit, transfer)

[redwhiteblue]

I have still been balancing my checkbook even though I hardly ever write checks anymore. I still have been tracking my credit/debit card this way but I'm beginning to think I'm one of the few that still does this.
My family members say they don't need to because they do online banking, well I bank online so do I still really need to be doing it the old fashion way??
So tell me if you bank online do you still keep a register? and if not how do you track your money?


Thanks!

[cdelena]

Yes, I move funds to and from different accounts as needed and keeping the register current is important.

[maf763]

Yes, but not religiously. I balance every couple of months or so.

[golfgal]

No, I write very few checks, use my debit card 99% of the time, it is all online for me. I just ordered checks, the last time I ordered them was 2006.

[macroy]

balance a checkbook... what does that mean? ;-).

Seriously - I rarely write checks anymore. Its all either CC, online checks, or bill pay. The rare exception would be if you got some service for the house (i.e. handyman or plumber) that do not accept CC.

Although the time that was spent on balancing checkbooks is now used to ensure the credit card statements are accurate.

[ZenMaster2008]

I go online to monitor for suspicious activity and always make sure my balance is nowhere near zero. That's about it.

[Escort Rider]

Similar to others here: I go online periodically to check for suspicious activity. At that time, I verify that the balance shown online is the same as that shown in my register. It amounts to balancing the checkbook several times a month, but is quick and easy. From the online register, I enter into my paper (traditional) register such things as automatic deposits and automatic bill payments (utilities) as they occur.

[hnsq]

I put everything on one credit card and pay it off in full every month, I can generate an excel file from my credit card company that shows all of my expenses for the month.

[Loolee]

I am only 23, so by the time I was "a workin' woman" online banking the new thing. I never understood the point of balancing a checkbook or jotting down my charges and credits, since everything posted and cleared to my online account that day. And if it didn't, it was pending and would post the next. I check my account daily too, so on days when either the site or my internet is down, I pretty much know what's available to me.

[slackjaw]

Originally Posted by ZenMaster2008

I go online to monitor for suspicious activity and always make sure my balance is nowhere near zero. That's about it.

Yup.

I write so few checks these days that there just aren't many transactions in/out of my checking account anymore, I'd say less than ten per month. Paychecks in, transfer to investment and credit card bill out, and a few ATM withdrawals. The few times a year I do write a check it is so unusual (usually something like a handyman) that I know right away what it is when I see the amount listed.

Usually know within a couple hundred bucks how much is in there but aside from scanning for anything suspicious and making sure not anywhere near zero I don't do much managing of the checking account.