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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.
Well, jaminhealth, this is probably something (finally) that we can agree on. I figure that most banking things are pretty well correct these days, and I can trust them to get it right. I used to do them religiously and when we got married, I marveled that my DH didn't do his. Now I get it.
But I agree with those posters who said you have to have enough slop in your account to behave like this. If you are down to the last $10.00 each month in your account, then you should know where you are financially at all times.
Well, jaminhealth, this is probably something (finally) that we can agree on. I figure that most banking things are pretty well correct these days, and I can trust them to get it right. I used to do them religiously and when we got married, I marveled that my DH didn't do his. Now I get it.
But I agree with those posters who said you have to have enough slop in your account to behave like this. If you are down to the last $10.00 each month in your account, then you should know where you are financially at all times.
Basically if you're in danger of an overdraft because some kid at the cash register messed up and double-dinged ya (it happens, like I said) and the idea of paying a $35 overdraft fee makes your blood boil...
But I also tracked mine during times of plenty, just because as I said before, I'm an accounting nerd and I like to, and because I wanted to be doing the best things with whatever money I had to spare, like paying off debt or putting the extra into investments. I had to know how much I could shift aside for these things, and still have plenty to live on.
I have very detailed records, every penny in or out of my life, going back through 2008 when I started my system. It's not a stressful thing or a chore to me, I LIKE it. As much as putting together jigsaw puzzles, reading books, or any other sort of quiet activity.
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.
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.
Me too, check it maybe every other day. What happens IF all the systems go down...we're all in this together...right? If I have a question I call my bank...keep the # handy.
Some people find reconciling accounts to be very satisfying. Just like some people can't rest until a jigsaw puzzle is completed, while others can walk past a partially done jigsaw puzzle a thousand times a day and not feel bothered by it.
Being able to track my spending is important to me, and being able to access a record of my accounts as needed is critical. But I'm not a person who obsesses over it...I check in to make sure there haven't been any weird errors, etc., but I'm not obsessed with ledger sheets or anything like that.
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.
With the advent of online banking I never balance my checking account. With online banking came online bill pay. I rarely if ever write checks.
I get online and check my account every other day and can see all of my transactions. I can tell if something is off at a glance.
Life is too short to screw around with that nonsense.
Psychology behind it??? I don't know, maybe OCD as you mentioned. Who knows. Some people are just hyper-vigilant about doing certain things.
Some people find reconciling accounts to be very satisfying. Just like some people can't rest until a jigsaw puzzle is completed, while others can walk past a partially done jigsaw puzzle a thousand times a day and not feel bothered by it.
Being able to track my spending is important to me, and being able to access a record of my accounts as needed is critical. But I'm not a person who obsesses over it...I check in to make sure there haven't been any weird errors, etc., but I'm not obsessed with ledger sheets or anything like that.
I kept closer tabs on this issue when I was in the buying part of my life..being retired I buy food and supplements and pay for the necessary things to live.
I sold my car and have a little extra padding from that sale. And no insurance etc and unplugged cable so that's about an extra $100 a month in my pocket. It depends on where we are in our lives.
I spent fun money at Michaels for canvasses and paints, brushes.
It's funny because I supposedly have a form of OCD...but I never balance my checkbook, just keep mental tabs (although I admit I have run into trouble on several occasions when I kept a low balance). I'm more creative and go with the flow, not really precise about anything at all. I was dx based on my mind getting stuck on a particular loop and not being able to get out of it. I had no compensatory habits (that I know of), which would be the typical checking or being overly anal like is usually portrayed. So, obsessions without the compulsions. I actually take a supplement called NAC for this, recommended to me by a psychiatrist, because I didn't want to be medicated. Anyway, that was a huge digression to basically say the entire time I suffered from OCD at its peak I never once balanced my checkbook haha.
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