Brilliant Benefits of Balancing Your Checking Account

By Brandie Haugen – AVP, Retail Manager

It’s important to know how much money is in your account so you don’t accidentally spend more than you have and get hit with costly overdraft fees. With online and mobile banking, you can quickly check your balance, see where you spent money, look at your monthly statements and even set alerts to let you know when your balance falls below a certain amount.

Another option we recommend is keeping a dedicated ledger of your balance, spending and deposits – either with simple paper or a software spreadsheet. In addition to providing greater insight into your finances, this is a great method for cutting spending. Starting with your current balance, you’ll want to track the following information in rows and columns:

• Check Numbers

  If you still use paper checks to make payments.

• Dates of Purchases and Payments

  Including ATM withdrawals and any account fees.

• Descriptions

  Of whom the payments were made to and what they were for.

• Dollar Amounts

  For all deposits that have been made.

The idea is to be able to deduct payments or add deposits in a way that helps you always know where your account stands. By keeping your own records, you can easily match them to your monthly statement to check for discrepancies or use them to help find where you can reduce your expenses. (Note: If you ever notice any issues between your records and those of your financial institution, contact them right away.)

By regularly balancing your account, you’ll know when it is and isn’t safe to spend money. You’ll also be able to more easily keep track of both your income and your purchases.