The Psychology of Those Who Don't Balance check books (parent, father, complex)
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I have NOT done a balancing act for probably 20 yrs. As long as I'm ahead of the game and bank figures I'm good. I can't be bothered. I know those who spend hours tyring to find that penny.
Some people are so precise, is that like an OCD trait. Just wondering.
I've gotten more laid back as I've aged too.
Nope - I've always hated to balance my checkbook and never understood the importance of it as long as I could tell I wasn't being cheated out of a MEANINGFUL amount of money.
If it isn't meaningful then it is a waste of time, worry, and brain cells. And I say this as being a self-admitted numbers person. But not in a bean-counting kind of way...in the big picture way that numbers can point you in the right direction..not just making them add up correctly.
I think of people reading my reports...looking for something that doesn't agree with some other report - not understanding that if the numbers come from different sources you'll likely not get the exact same answer. But if they're off by 1 or 10 or 100 even - does that impact your decision made from that data? If it's not enough to matter, then fugedaboudit.
You know you're finally doing alright when you don't know nor care how much is in your bank account, you just know you've got enough. When you're poor, you know exactly how much money you have in there, down to the cent. Gotta make that $67.43 last till next Friday.
Haha, I agree, I write one check a month for my shop rent, and otherwise live by my debit card. However, I do check my bank balance every morning, just to make sure no suspicious activity has gone on. I've been hit once, and that is why I watch it closely, but not for how much is in there, but just so no one else has been in there.
For me, it's not just account balancing, it's many highly organizational, ultra detail-oriented things. I also don't really do checklists or to-do lists as a rule, only in isolated instances, am not generally ultra particular about how things get done method-wise , don't really do many things according to a template, have tried and tried to use planners (paper and electronic) for years, but abandon them a week in, etc.
I've known people who have elaborate, complex systems for keeping their pantry stocked, housekeeping schedules they don't deviate from, etc. Meh. Just not me.
I balance it so that I don't have to take the bank's word for how much money I have, and so that I don't write checks my bank may dishonor. I value my reputation and it's my job to behave so as to deserve it. In my case it is more important, because I collect coins. Coin dealers like cash, dislike credit cards, and if they know you, will take checks (personal, not cashier's). However, there's one rule: one bad check and you're marked lousy all over the place. I can go into a coin store two hundred miles to the south, mention a few local names and affiliations, and someone I've never met before will quite likely take a personal check. I like that a lot and it's worth ten minutes of monthly effort.
If other people don't want to keep track of their money, fine, long as they don't complain when their account gets screwed up and they have to take the bank's word as gospel because they have no competing documentation.
I have NOT done a balancing act for probably 20 yrs. As long as I'm ahead of the game and bank figures I'm good. I can't be bothered. I know those who spend hours tyring to find that penny.
Some people are so precise, is that like an OCD trait. Just wondering.
I've gotten more laid back as I've aged too.
YES!
I think the same way. I check my bank balance a few times a week on the phone. If it's close to what it should be -- I'm moving on to other more important things!
Checking online has taken the place of balancing the checkbook but, in effect, it's the same thing...making sure things are correct.
The only psychological aspect of it that I can see is the differences in how careful or careless you are about your money.
For many it's a matter of necessity to know whether or not there's enough to pay the light bill.
And, good grief! I can cite many examples of bank errors.
I frequently check my transactions for anything that looks suspicious, my bank has a time limit on when you can report fraud and still get reimbursed for it. I do the same with my CC accounts. You’re correct it’s only money but I earned it and I don’t want to be cheated out of it. Also banks have been known to make mistakes.
I check frequently to be sure that what I know I have is what the bank has. Former bank employee so I know that sometimes, when humans are involved, mistakes happen.
Years ago, a co-worker asked me to drop off her deposit at the bank. I did so and when I returned the receipt to her, she discovered that the balance was wrong. After examining the receipt closely, she discovered that the account number, as entered by the teller, was incorrect and her money was deposited into someone else's account. It was fixed quickly but shows that nobody's perfect.
This October 3rd, when I checked my balance on the automated phone line, my balance was waaayyy more than it should have been. When "balancing" my account, I realized that my Social Security auto-deposit had been entered twice. Finally reached a CSR and she said they were "working on it". Later that day, it resolved.
Back in the day, you wrote a ton of checks every month and needed to have an accurate balance in your check book register. Now everything is easily available on line and you can monitor transactions any number of ways and check your balance 1,000 times a day if you want to. So no, I don't balance the way I used to, but I check the transactions at least once a week.
I agree and do the same. It makes no sense to me why anyone has to "balance" their checkbook in these modern times of online banking.
Back in the day I did it every month. I see no reason to do it now.
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