What I do with my bank account is I keep a spreadsheet at home. At the top I put the balance from my last statement. Then below that I put in all withdrawals (lots of them) and payments in (far too few!!)
Leaving a total at the bottom.
When I get my next statement I compare the new balance with the balance I have and calculate the difference. I then go through the statement deleting anything from my note of expected withdrawals/payments that's already appeared on the statement.
The difference between my expected total should be any remaining unprocessed withdrawals/payments (which can occur when cheques aren't paid in yet by the person I gave them to for example) plus any unexpected transactions (such as interest on the account or bills I'd forgotten).
Given the bank does detail everything they do it doesn't take to long and the remaining total I show after I update the balance at the top of the spreadsheet is the real balance taking into account yet unpaid bills.
Did that help/make any sense. Nope didn't think so :(
I've been using my check register, and have been keeping it up really well. I have a fairly straight forward checking (no fees or interest), so I don't understand why this seems so difficult, or why I have problems reconciling my bank statement.
Okay, well, I know why. My register is in linear day-by-day fashion, whereas my statement has checks here, deposits here, withdrawls here, and so forth. Somehow, the difference in styles throws me.
It also doesn't help that when I make a deposit, my deposit statement doesn't reflect my balance at all. It just shows the amount of the deposit.
I used to have these issues with banks, credit unions, and thier ilk.
Been using Quicken for several years now and can usually tell you to the penny what is there, what is expected, etc...I just have to keep after it. And I do.
I turned off most of the extra crap that came with the program, portfolio managmemt, investment tracking, etc. Just use the core stuff.
I'm nearly sure you know this, but just in case...texastsOctober 20 2006, 11:41:40 UTC
My day to day balance in Quicken is also linear or day to day.
I balance my checkbook usually in less than 10 minutes with quicken. When you reconcile, Deposits / Credits are all on the right. Debits, withdrawals, checks, etc are on the left. Pretty easy to do.
When you reconcile you also use the beginning and ending balance that is on your statement, not what is in your checkbook. Those numbers are not relevant for this purpose. Your listing of the checks, etc. will not be the same as the banks as the check you have just written may not hit your bank for several days (up to a couple of weeks in some cases!)
You just check the transactions contained in your statement off in your register to show yourself what is still outdstanding.
Your bank doesn't list (on your statement) your transactions in a chronological listing as well as grouping them all together (by type) below that listing?
Re: I'm nearly sure you know this, but just in case...cthulhumomOctober 22 2006, 17:20:53 UTC
Nope; there's nothing on my statement that's in chronological order. That's my whole problem - I can't see if the bank is charging me something ridiculous on any particular day!
I'm not sure if Jess told you or not, but I am currently taking an high level anthropology class on religion and magic, and I needed to ask you a few things about a project I'm doing for it. If you could email me soon at Askew_view37@yahoo.com, I'd really really apprieciate it.
When I got my first checking account (around age 16) I was constantly bouncing my checks.
My problem was that when I received my bank statement, I assumed that the amount shown was how much I had in my account. I didn't realize that I had withdrawn money from my account after the date the statement was printed.
My parents were furious with me while I argued that I honestly was keeping up with it and had no idea what the problem was.
There's a reason I never majored in accounting. (-;
I use excel also and I have a list of expected bill amounts. I use a calendar with my yahoo account and every Friday add what is going to be paid that day, Like today is my mortgage. Even though it’s due on the 1st I like to pay it early incase something pops up.
I only have a part-time job (supposedly), so I don't pay the mortgages. (Yeah, we pay our mortgage to two different companies; how's that for ridiculous?) I do pay most of the other bills; however, I never thought to keep a list of when they're due & how much I expect them to be. That might prove incredibly useful!
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Leaving a total at the bottom.
When I get my next statement I compare the new balance with the balance I have and calculate the difference. I then go through the statement deleting anything from my note of expected withdrawals/payments that's already appeared on the statement.
The difference between my expected total should be any remaining unprocessed withdrawals/payments (which can occur when cheques aren't paid in yet by the person I gave them to for example) plus any unexpected transactions (such as interest on the account or bills I'd forgotten).
Given the bank does detail everything they do it doesn't take to long and the remaining total I show after I update the balance at the top of the spreadsheet is the real balance taking into account yet unpaid bills.
Did that help/make any sense. Nope didn't think so :(
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Okay, well, I know why. My register is in linear day-by-day fashion, whereas my statement has checks here, deposits here, withdrawls here, and so forth. Somehow, the difference in styles throws me.
It also doesn't help that when I make a deposit, my deposit statement doesn't reflect my balance at all. It just shows the amount of the deposit.
Thanks for trying!
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Been using Quicken for several years now and can usually tell you to the penny what is there, what is expected, etc...I just have to keep after it. And I do.
I turned off most of the extra crap that came with the program, portfolio managmemt, investment tracking, etc. Just use the core stuff.
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I balance my checkbook usually in less than 10 minutes with quicken. When you reconcile, Deposits / Credits are all on the right. Debits, withdrawals, checks, etc are on the left. Pretty easy to do.
When you reconcile you also use the beginning and ending balance that is on your statement, not what is in your checkbook. Those numbers are not relevant for this purpose. Your listing of the checks, etc. will not be the same as the banks as the check you have just written may not hit your bank for several days (up to a couple of weeks in some cases!)
You just check the transactions contained in your statement off in your register to show yourself what is still outdstanding.
Your bank doesn't list (on your statement) your transactions in a chronological listing as well as grouping them all together (by type) below that listing?
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-Krikey.
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My problem was that when I received my bank statement, I assumed that the amount shown was how much I had in my account. I didn't realize that I had withdrawn money from my account after the date the statement was printed.
My parents were furious with me while I argued that I honestly was keeping up with it and had no idea what the problem was.
There's a reason I never majored in accounting. (-;
BTW, I love your quotes at the end of your posts.
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Glad that you like the quotes! Thanks for the gift!
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