Once you have gone through all the steps, make sure that you will be able to pay everything you need for next month. Have enough money in your checking account

If the expense is indeed false, you should follow the procedure your bank or credit card issuer recommends. Try to find out details concerning the expense and make sure it was truly unauthorized. If this happens, contact the bank or credit card issuer immediately. You may eventually come across a transaction you do not recognize. Now, repeat all the steps mentioned above for each of your credit card statements and pay attention to the same details.

These types of expenses are usually unnecessary, and you should try to avoid them in the future. Moreover, if you notice a pattern in these kinds of expenses, then it is a red flag. While reviewing your bank statements, make sure you somehow highlight expenses that you are not sure about or the ones you regret. They should all appear in your bank statement with the amount that you wrote them for. If you still write paper checks, you should have carbon copies with you or your checkbook register. Therefore, keeping all the receipts is a great habit. It is also possible to identify any potential fraudulent expenses. All the lines in your bank statement should be known expenses.īy doing this, you can identify any unnecessary expenses and act differently in the future. First, go line by line through your bank statement and make sure you know what each refers to. Once you have gathered everything you need, you can get started. You probably will not have all of them but gather as many as you can find. In case you do not use online banking services, you can still use paper statements.Īlso, search for any paper bank statements or credit card statements from the previous month and any checks you have written.īesides that, you will want to have all the receipts from the last month. Also, you should log in to any online credit card accounts you have. You should log in to your online banking service if you use it. You can use your laptop or your mobile device, whichever you prefer. You can make sure that you are not spending more than you would like to on unimportant purchases.įirst, gather everything you need: a laptop, mobile device, pen, and paper. While you are carefully checking all the transactions, it will be much easier to spot any fraudulent transactions.Īdditionally, this is a great way to check your spending. The new techniques may be different today, but it is still an excellent habit.Īnother reason for balancing a checking account is because it’s an excellent way to protect yourself and your money against identity theft. Everyone tries to avoid over-drafting a checking account, and the best way to do it is to balance it. The reason for balancing one’s checkbook has remained the same today. There are many good practices for balancing a checkbook that we can take from the old method and apply it to the present-day digital era. Banking in the digital era is mostly done through online banking, credit cards, and debit cards. Today, many people do banking business a bit differently. Bank statements, checkbook, and checkbook register- everything was on the table so a person could check if everything in a bank statement and their checkbook matched.īut what does balancing a checkbook mean? People wanted to make sure they knew all the expenses coming out of their checking account and that the bank had received all the checks. Balancing your checkbook in the digital banking era can make some forget how it used to be back in the day with the papers spread out on the table.

Balanced my checkbook