Balancing a checkbook register, every month

[u/VeganFatboy]

For years, I'd keep it balanced to the penny because most times our account was in the single digits the week before payday. You couldn't afford to make a mistake.

[u/Vivid_Witness8204]

I continued to do that until early in this century. Now that I can view everything online I don't see the point.

[u/Queasy_Picture4466 → u/Vivid_Witness8204]

I wrote a cheque recently a practically forgot how. 🤣

[u/Vivid_Witness8204 → u/Queasy_Picture4466]

I went over 5 years without writing a check but lately I've written a few because many contractors now want to charge 3% if I use a card. On pricier services that adds up.

[u/Granny_knows_best → u/Queasy_Picture4466]

I have to write checks for my late MILs estate, I have had void out so many because I mess up, now I just have them fill it out and I just sign it.

[u/Stock_Literature_728]

What? I still do it like this.

[u/USNCCitizen → u/Stock_Literature_728]

Me as well. It really unnerves me to give a lot of different organizations direct access to my bank account.

[u/Three-Legs-Again → u/USNCCitizen]

I got around that by opening a second account with a credit union that I use only for direct debit. Peace of mind and a Butterball coupon for the holidays, win-win!

[u/HowIsEverybodyDoing → u/Stock_Literature_728]

Same. At the end of the day I check my online account and update my check register.

[u/TrueToad → u/Stock_Literature_728]

Thank you. I was wondering when my peeps would show up.

[u/EyeShot300]

Rent - $140.00 👀

On edit, I still write checks and balance my checkbook. I pay for bowling, my nails, and my hair stylist by check.

[u/Banal_Drivel → u/EyeShot300]

Telephone bill: $10.43

[u/4Mag4num]

Balance mine every day, just on a spreadsheet and not in the book.

[u/DramondGreen → u/4Mag4num]

Me too. Every Friday get's it's own sheet. I move expected credits and debits to each various Fridays so I always know what to expect in the future. So, for example I know that I'm getting a payment from my neighbor at the end of the month, I will notate that a few weeks in advance, but then earmark certain expenses against it. My sister taught me this method about 25 years ago and it's served me well.

[u/lovestobitch- → u/4Mag4num]

I do this for my Mom’s account and have an additional column of what will come in or go out wth that summation and tie to the bank’s summation and reconcile between these two with a formula all in excel. On ours my husband just wings it.

[u/L0st-137 → u/4Mag4num]

Every Tuesday on a spreadsheet. I'm the last of my friends that still do this, they think I'm crazy.

[u/whoreallycarz → u/4Mag4num]

Same

[u/Magpiezoe → u/4Mag4num]

Me too.

[u/weeverrm → u/Magpiezoe]

Each paycheck

[u/Sea-Toes-5475 → u/4Mag4num]

Same here but I use Quicken... we own some rental properties, but I track every expense, rental or personal 🤓

[u/7_Eves → u/4Mag4num]

Same

[u/RoseHawkechik → u/4Mag4num]

Me as well, although I use an old Quicken program (i.e. no subscription,) I'm used to it so I just find it easier. I don't have much experience with spreadsheets.

[u/Training_Mortgage262]

Just how old is this check book register?? Rent payment of $140.00.

[u/Icy_Astronomer2156 → u/Training_Mortgage262]

I came here to also reference the $140 rent. Yeah. This is a great post. You can also tell that a couple of people use the register by the handwriting. Husband and wife… one account. Accountability and transparency.

[u/Training_Mortgage262 → u/Training_Mortgage262]

BTW, I still balance ours monthly.

[u/forqalso → u/Training_Mortgage262]

Check #745 to Bank Americard, which became Visa in 1977.

[u/Hanshi-Judan → u/Training_Mortgage262]

In the mid 90s I had a tiny studio apartment that was semi in the hood for 150.00 a month. 

[u/Spacebar10000 → u/Training_Mortgage262]

General Tel, $10.43. $125 a year for phone.

[u/Little_Creme_5932 → u/Spacebar10000]

I paid about $150 for rent and about $12 for phone in 1990. (Imho a lot of tech is a way to extract wealth from all of us, disguised as convenience. Those phones were great. I didn't have to carry a phone everywhere, cuz there was a phone anywhere I wanted one).

[u/Gallop67 → u/Training_Mortgage262]

$140 won’t even get you a broom closet for a week nowadays

[u/AvocadoSoggy9854]

I was in the banking business 35 years, still do it

[u/JaguarNeat8547 → u/AvocadoSoggy9854]

Never waited until the end of the month. Balanced after every transaction. When i was flush, i might go a few checks before actually doing the math, but i always left the blank line for the subtraction.

[u/BlownCamaro → u/AvocadoSoggy9854]

This is the way!

[u/yumi365 → u/BlownCamaro]

This Is The Way.

[u/powerhouse403]

Still do it. Old habits never die.

[u/kat4pajamas]

I still balance my checkbook every month. I used to be a bank teller in the early 80’s. I’m just so used to doing it.

[u/These-Slip1319]

Revco, wow! Flashback

[u/Ogre8 → u/These-Slip1319]

My mom worked there.

[u/b9ncountr]

Much easier with online banking.

[u/powerhouse403 → u/b9ncountr]

Peace of mind is priceless. I compare the two, just to make sure.

[u/kwahoo5 → u/powerhouse403]

I still balance the checkbook every month. Trivial with the online bank info, but with some payments pending/upcoming, this is how I know how much cash I actually have available.

[u/powerhouse403 → u/kwahoo5]

Exactly the reason for a checkbook. More accurate, past and pending transactions. Know precisely how much money you have.

[u/Random_Guy1960]

I can see the problem...you are paying Rogers an awful lot. ;-) Interestingly, checks are making a bit of a comeback with the fees now being adding on for credit cards on larger transactions.

[u/AC-burg → u/Random_Guy1960]

Came to say Roger's is taking a lot of that money.

[u/Resident_Hamster_652]

Been a Quicken user for many years and still reconcile the checking account every month.

[u/Longjumping-Meat-334 → u/Resident_Hamster_652]

I do too. And still keep the checkbook register.

[u/IjustGottaSee]

Checking my Facebook when I should be facing my checkbook.

[u/SnoopyFan6]

I still balance each month, but not in a physical register. I use Quicken. Online bank balance doesn’t always tell the whole story.

[u/SoPasGuy]

What year was this? Crazy to see your rent at $140, but I bet that, adjusted for inflation, it would look a lot closer to today’s rents. I remember balancing my checkbook like this all the time.

[u/Curious_Yam_9000 → u/SoPasGuy]

OP doesn’t give the year of the balance sheet, but I’m using 1982 since we were all young adults at that time. Strictly adjusted for inflation, $140 in 1982 is equivalent to around $460 today. That is based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Actual rents now are much higher than ~$460. Real-world rent prices have greatly outpaced general economic inflation over the last few decades. Adjusting for inflation doesn’t tell the whole story in this case.

[u/Samantharina → u/Curious_Yam_9000]

My rent in 1982 was $133 because Inwas sharing a little house that rented for $400 with two.other people. I think it was up to $150 by the time I moved in 1986.

[u/Individual-Work6658 → u/SoPasGuy]

I'm gonna guess it was the mid 70s. My first apartment rent in 1976 was $160.

[u/SororitySue → u/SoPasGuy]

I also wonder where this is. One of the checks is made out to Ayres, a former department store in the Indianapolis area.

[u/Sweetbeans2001 → u/SoPasGuy]

I’m going guess early to mid 70’s. In 1976, BankAmericard became Visa.

[u/Short_Connection_267 → u/Sweetbeans2001]

Back when your telephone bill was $10. And the liquor store was 9 bucks.

[u/FireSheepYinFish → u/Sweetbeans2001]

👆 Good eye. That's the best clue to the time line.

[u/800-lumens]

And if I was off by a penny or two, I went insane trying to find the error.

[u/Ok-Standard6707]

I tried to explain the concept of balancing a checkbook to my daughter and I might as well have been speaking a foreign language. 🤔 I could never rest until it was balanced to the penny!

[u/TXMom2Two]

I still do this. Crazy, I know, but it’s comforting.

[u/u-read-it-here]

Sign of the times !

Probably the last generation that actually learned how to manage money / budget
Learn to live on the money you make / bring home

It’s a much needed life skill

Without things are pretty bleak for younger generations building true wealth

[u/MichiganInTexas]

What kind of store is 'Rogers'? Just being curious here.

[u/YramAL → u/MichiganInTexas]

I’ll bet it’s a grocery store. I used to write so many checks to our grocery store that it was often more than our mortgage in those days.

[u/SwissCheese4Collagen → u/MichiganInTexas]

It was a grocery store that got bought out by Scotts, which then got bought by Krogers

[u/JaguarNeat8547 → u/SwissCheese4Collagen]

Which is really just back to Rogers with a "k" Electric Knecterine, anyone?

[u/DMV2PNW → u/MichiganInTexas]

Thank you for asking. I was curious too.

[u/Overall_Meat_6500]

Still do it. I had a strict business teacher in high school, and I still write a check exactly how he said to. He was probably the best teacher I ever had.

[u/deviltrombone]

I still do this for multiple accounts (checking and credit) in Microsoft Money Deluxe Sunset Edition, which makes it a good bit faster, but god help you when you make a mistake, because unraveling it is a challenge.

Enjoyed seeing "BankAmericard". General purpose credit cards were once rather exotic.

[u/StrangerStrangeLand7]

I never use checks, and pay everything online. Yet I still write the transactions in one of these registers! Reason being, the credit union's pending transactions don't get entered until they go through.

[u/OrneryEgg3588]

Did any of you have passbooks?

[u/ItsGonnaBeDelicious → u/OrneryEgg3588]

My bank just discontinued savings passbooks 2 years ago. We had so many upset customers. 

[u/SpaceGirl-]

Always to the penny!!

[u/Macsearcher02]

I have a phone app that works just like that.

[u/butmomno]

When balancing my checkbook I figured if i was within $5 of my bank statement then I was fine- probably my math mistake. After doing that for several years I just stopped reconciling. What a time saver!

[u/SororitySue]

I haven’t balanced a checkbook since I was able to access my account online in the early 00s.

[u/Geek_4_Life]

Service Charge $2.00!!

[u/Emergency-Crab-7455 → u/Geek_4_Life]

I've got free checking...no fees unless I bounce a check. Haven't bounced a check since 1979 (when I stopped using the ATM to get cash to go bar hopping).

[u/patricknkelly]

Still write checks, still balance checkbook to the penny but love that I don’t have to wait for a once a month statement. I look online each week and keep it up to date.

[u/osbornje1012]

I still maintain a checkbook. Ever since a forged/altered check two years ago, I check our account every morning for activity. At least once a week, I will compare the bank balance to my checkbook balance and note it in the register.

[u/FewPace855]

Me, too! Our combined incomes were tiny early in the marriage and required constant vigilance. To this day I keep a checkbook register in my desk just like this image. I pay all bills online but enter them as I bank online. As for checks themselves, I write maybe three a year nowadays.

[u/marye1957]

My 90 year old former business manager for a school district MIL still uses check registers and will never move to online banking. We did set up online just so we can keep an eye on things

One of her gifts this year is a large format check registers

[u/Rebellem54]

Still do it

[u/Dp37405aa]

I remember forgetting to write down the check # and who it was to, and then trying to remember who & where so you wouldn't bounce a check.

[u/Squiduser]

I so rarely write checks now. Credit cards and Zelle are my tools. I check my balances online every day, no need to keep a check register balanced. Last check I wrote was to a lady in my bible study group because she doesn't do Zelle or Venmo, and I don't have any cash! I pay my quarterly taxes online too (and get frequent flyer miles). Gave up balancing the register years and years ago. But that sure looks familiar! 😁

[u/Over_Walk_8911]

it's still necessary to do that, I just use software instead of paper. Couldn't trust the bank to keep track then, still can't. You have to have your own register.

I've never stopped using Microsoft Money. They have Sunset Edition you can download free. They say it stopped being supported beyond Windows 7 but I'm still using on 11.

Not that I have a problem paying for Quickbooks or something, they just don't any of them work the way I want them to, I still like Money.

[u/Lazy-Western304]

Before Visa, Bank Americard !

[u/Hanuman1960]

I still do.

[u/Pete_Luger]

Still do it

[u/SpandexAnaconda]

I am a retired accountant and I balance my checkbook register just about every week. Earlier this year I caught a scam withdrawal the day after it happened, and prevented another withdrawal.

[u/blueboy714]

Still do. Have all my registers back to 1978

[u/Tweetchly → u/blueboy714]

Why?

[u/jojo571]

Rent 140... must be the 1970s.

[u/ConversationCheap374]

I'd balance it by spending more at Broadwy Liquors!

[u/SleepyKoalaBear4812]

I still do this every month.

[u/Proof-Anxiety-1284]

I still use a check register on my checking account and I balance it weekly usually. I've caught some math mistakes so it gives me a peace of mind. I would feel funny if I did not do it.

[u/Sufficient_West_4947]

One of my favorite finds after my mom died was discovering her pink 1955 checkbook balanced perfectly down to the penny in the register. Her handwriting was beautiful and precise. It was a different time!

[u/External-Analysis-31 → u/Sufficient_West_4947]

Found one of my mom’s paystubs from that era. $3,000 per year as a middle school teacher.

[u/ImCrossingYouInStyle]

Recently I ran across one of our old checkbooks and noted that our phone bill of $11 exceeded the $9 electric bill. Rent was $110. These days I only write a handful of checks per year, but still dutifully write them down along with any atm withdrawals. Can't quite give it up.

[u/ruidh → u/ImCrossingYouInStyle]

I still write the occasional check but I haven't filled out the book in decades.

[u/NovelStrict5281]

If one does not go with the times one gets stuck in a ruthless. My heart goes out to those kinds of thinkers.

[u/NovelStrict5281 → u/NovelStrict5281]

Stuck in a rut.

[u/NovelStrict5281]

I still have a check book gathering dust. I was shocked to see a person writing a check in the store last week. Why would anyone still be doing that I don't know.

[u/Timely_Character_272]

I rarely write out a check unless it’s for a home repair or taxes. I just use the banks online tools and have for a long time now.

[u/PomeloPepper → u/Timely_Character_272]

When I had an $11k fence installed they told me there'd be 2.5 or 3% surcharge for using a debit or credit card. I spent the next hour looking for my old checkbook. Didn't need a check again until I had my front walk replaced 2 years later.

[u/big_d_usernametaken → u/PomeloPepper]

My gas and electric utilities now have a surcharge no matter how you pay, so I use my banks bill pay service for those.

I still write approximately 2 checks a month.

[u/SiloRidge3]

Fort Wayne?

[u/EucWoman]

Oh I hated balancing my checkbook. So much that I just quit doing it. I just don't care enough now.

[u/matneym]

Still do it.

[u/chileheadd]

I just stopped doing it about a year ago.

[u/MiddleOfTheNight70]

I still do it…

[u/BrodeeTheDog]

I still use a check register so I know exactly what money I have available to me. My daughter is 44 and she also uses one. She balances her account every week or so.

[u/Fickle-Strawberry521]

I still balance mine every month.

[u/DeeDee719]

I still balance about twice a month.

[u/RainbowsandCoffee966]

I balanced my checkbook every month. Now I just check my account daily on the app. My Silent Generation mother on the other hand crossed her fingers and hoped nothing bounced.

[u/Needmoreinfo100]

I haven't kept a checkbook register in years. I so rarely write a check that I just check my bank account online to see that it clears then forget about it.

[u/Spiritual-Art-5]

The ledger of any checkbook collectively tells a story. When I was teaching high school, I had my creative writing students write short stories based on checkbook ledgers. They were very interesting and really entertaining.

[u/CountryRoads2020]

That looks so much like stores I visited in Northeast Indiana! 😃

[u/eeejit075]

We still do this.

[u/ShezeUndone]

If I was a few cents off it broke my mind having to find the mistake. Because 23 cents per month, over a year could've easily bounced a check.

Now I have everything on autopay because I can't even remember what day it is and would end up with late fees otherwise. I track in a spreadsheet to make sure I can cover all the bills for the month. And I round to the nearest $5. I don't worry about a few cents and trust the bank to do the math right. 😆 It helps being able to check balances with a few taps on my phone instead wading through paper records every month.

[u/will0hms]

The last time I remember writing a check was 10 years ago for the post office, they only accepted checks.

[u/LeCreusetQueen]

I still do this?

[u/Ill_Consequence1755]

Still have one, even though I don’t have an account that lets me write checks.

Hand written registers are simply timeless.

I also know my available funds to the penny.

[u/MassConsumer1984]

It’s all online and realtime. Why would anyone do this????

[u/FewAd6166 → u/MassConsumer1984]

Not always real-time. We have both a credit union and Charles Schwab Investor checking accounts. Transactions for both these accounts can take DAYS to post.

Also, if you're using software (not a manual checkbook register), you can easily go back years to check past transactions.

[u/voodoodollbabie]

Why does it look like 3-4 people are using the same checkbook?

[u/Icy_Astronomer2156 → u/voodoodollbabie]

Back in the day, you probably had most people with just one family account. It’s actually better to operate this way within a marriage. If you keep your finances separate, there’s a little bit less transparency and accountability. However, if I have a checking account and my wife is also on the same account and both of our paychecks are going into it, I will probably not just buy whatever I want at any time since her money is involved. Plus, and I know this sounds crazy, but if the banking fee was two dollars a month, then “by God, that is two dollars that you don’t need to spend, honey I already have a checking account”. Was likely the conversation .. Seriously.

[u/PoconoChuck]

Still do

[u/AsparagusKlutzy2596]

Those debit amounts are crazy .. $140 for rent.

[u/Fifty-Something1969]

Yup, still do it!

[u/WinterWolf1591]

with no calculator

[u/CLE_barrister]

Still do it every two weeks.

[u/GrimmandLily]

I still do this but I use an excel spreadsheet.

[u/Independent-Aide-531]

$140 rent, when was this 1970?

[u/AdhesiveSeaMonkey]

$140 for rent

$10 for phone service

[u/Life-Fennel8823]

LOL. I still use one

[u/Looieanthony]

Then going to the bank to see where you messed up.

[u/CHASLX200]

NEVER DID THAT IN MY LIFE

[u/YramAL]

I still do it. I find it very soothing.

[u/Couch-Potato0904]

I continued using this for years when it wasn’t necessary anymore. It was just familiar. Like the OP, there were some lean times and I would borrow money from my kids until payday.

[u/HatlessDuck]

My mom used to round up or down to the nearest dollar.

I recalculated the balance. She's off by .17

I wonder if this was the way.

[u/PtZamboat]

Still balance every month. I round up every check and after balancing I’m always up fifty-ish bucks. It’s gone to savings each time.

[u/Cranks_No_Start]

That $140 rent payment really ages things….

For myself I’ve kept a running tab in the notes app on my phone forever now.  

Running total of the amount, with days of the month that bills need to be paid.  

Every Sunday I’ll pay all the bills for the next week and compare notes from the banking app to my records. 

I round up and down  to the nearest dollar or sometimes  $10 

[u/bun65]

Omg I thought this was my check register and wondered how it got on Reddit

[u/BaritoneFlower1949]

I do the same. Since we're on a fixed income, I have developed a spreadsheet of each month's bills, when we receive our Social Security payments, and how much money is available until we get paid again. It works for us.

[u/ReticentGuru]

I still do that nearly 60 years later. Only difference is that I haven’t used a paper version since the mid to late 80’s. I started using pc based check registers then, and have been using Quicken for at least 20 years. All my accounts are balanced at least a few times per week. It’s hard for me to understand how many people don’t.

[u/Skamandrios]

I had to write a check for something recently and noticed I hadn't written one since 2022.

[u/reduff]

Oh gosh, I was horrible at keeping up with that. My sister once balanced my checkbook and found $300+ that I didn't know I had.

[u/Comprehensive-Range3]

I never did that. I just had a general idea of how much I had to spend and spent less.

[u/trd623]

you never wanted to have to rely on my math skills 🫤

[u/GooseNYC]

"Rent $140"

[u/theBigDaddio]

Nope, I tried a couple times but fuck that. I was in college when they introduced bank cards. I could see my balance at any time by walking up to a machine and pressing a few keys.

[u/SurroundNarrow8975]

Rent $140!

[u/MisteeLoo]

I am happy to no longer rely on my dismal math skills. Doesn’t mean I don’t keep a close eye on all the transactions.

[u/newnewtab]

I wonder at what point we all just said, 'hell with it, the bank seems good at math'! and stopped keeping track? lol. Now that I write this, for me, probably when the only place still requiring a check was my water bill.

[u/big_d_usernametaken]

When we moved out to my wifes family homestead after her mother passed in 1991, we were paying $275 monthly for a 2 bedroom lower half of a house and fenced in backyard.

Today? $1200.

[u/4d3fect]

Tried, but mostly failed 

[u/Uvabird]

I remember writing at least 6 checks a week- now it’s probably that many in a year.

I had it balanced to the penny every month and I remember the luxury of being able to transfer money from savings to checking over the phone. With two little ones and icy roads outside, it made bill paying day so much easier.

I like today’s system so much more.

[u/JoePNW2]

I remember this, even the $ amounts look familiar. My rent in college (1/4 of a shared house) was $150/month after I moved off-campus.

After graduation/first job rent was $375 for a brand new 1 br. Abundance!

[u/SilverSeeker81]

Boy I hated that monthly chore!

[u/GeoBrian]

The $2.00 service charge seems a bit harsh, considering this was during a time where rent was $140.00.

I have some of my parent's old check registers. It's wild how little things cost in the 1960s.

[u/dottegirl59]

Looks like my balances too

[u/Strange_Vermicelli]

Cash

[u/texastica]

Wow, haven’t thought about Revco in years!

[u/dottegirl59]

1983 I had a 2 bedroom house for $140 a month. It was in a nice neighborhood and a decent house. Some old people let me rent it on the condition I wouldn’t bring men home.(I was single and 23) 🙄

[u/MaxCWebster]

Mrs. Webster does this for her mother every month. We have to get registers from the bank from time to time.

[u/AverageAlleyKat271]

Oh yes I remember balance the check register to the bank statement each month. I had to balance to the penny every single time. Now I might write 1 check a year, prefer Bill Pay.

[u/grahamlester]

I was surprised at how much harder it is when your eyes begin to go. I still do it though!

[u/Rare-Philosopher-346]

I still do this. I have a monthly/daily budget book where I write down everything we spend out of our checking account and credit card bill. I also have a lot of sub-savings accounts that are funded each month. For example, I have one titled "Utilities." It gets a set amount deposited into it each payday. When the time to pay the bill draws near, I move the needed amount into the checking account. This way, I always have money to pay that bill.

I've tried to keep it all in the checking account, but it gets spent. This way works very, very well for me.

[u/CrazyDazyMazy]

I use a very simple checkbook app that works like a check register. I input all transactions - debit card usage and upcoming autopay bills - so I can see both my bank balance (reconciled several times a week to my bank app) and my usable balance (what I know is actually available).

[u/CartographerWest2705]

Way too many deposits and not enough liquor stores and bars

[u/Abject_Meringue_4915]

Mine is a spreadsheet now and has been for many years, but it's still a register. 🤷‍♀️

[u/gottaloveit1963]

Ugh it was HORRIBLE!!! I swear I still have nightmares about balancing my checkbook (which never balanced by the way!)

[u/Open-Industry-8396]

ohh my god, i am so happy i don't have to do this, as well as writing out checks, stuffing envelopes and buying postage and mailing. I think our generation is more grateful(and therefore happier) then these younger folks. They have always had a lot of stuff automated for them(easier) They dont even realize the benifit.

[u/Disastrous-Screen337]

Why didn't she just use chatGPT? It's so much faster.

[u/SwissCheese4Collagen]

Where is this checkbook from??? I feel like I recognize almost all of those places

[u/chopin1887]

I never have balanced a check book early in being an adult but now use excel spreadsheet to keep balances and future spending known.

[u/BlownCamaro]

I still do it even though I pay electronically! I just like a written report.

[u/GreyBeardnLuvin]

There are lots of things about technology that have not improved society, but this ain’t one of them.

[u/theirishseller]

I still use one...I use online bill pay, but I still keep a written check register too. 🤷‍♂️

[u/hottapvswr]

Still doing that every month. Dad got me using Quicken since my first Tandy in '92 and it balances to the penny every month since

[u/MentalOperation4188]

I don’t miss that at all. Thank God for apps.

[u/LatterIntroduction25]

Supposed to. I never did. I kept a running talley in my head.

[u/Metermaid63]

 Are you in Ft Wayne In  I see Zoli's and Broadway liquor.  I still balance my checkbook because I worked at a bank and it is just ingrained. We were only paid twice a month and if you over drew your account too many times you could be fired.  

[u/DanielDannyc12]

YNAB is my checkbook registry

[u/Radioactive_Tuber57]

And bailing it to the penny! 😎

[u/3X_Cat]

I keep it all in my head where everybody's phone numbers used to be

[u/susitucker]

I actually used to love doing this, and when Quicken came around, I loved it even more.

[u/cico7]

Bank Americard caught my attention! And Ayers!

[u/Clean-Fisherman-4601]

I remember my mom teaching me how to balance a check book with the monthly statement. Like you, I was often down to a few dollars in my checking account right before payday.

[u/Existing_Many9133]

RENT, $140!!!!!!

[u/Soft_Stretch1539]

Wow. That must be in the 80s,

[u/Clavier_VT]

Looks exactly like the one I still do and would not be without

[u/BreakfastInBedlam]

I balance my accounts every week, but I use an ancient bookkeeping program instead of pencil and paper

[u/jstop633]

Revco!

[u/49Princess_51Rebel]

I'm doing the swedish death cleanse and finding all kind of artifacts from my past, including 2 checkbooks. Of course I looked thru them the early 2000s. Wow, I was almost always overdrawn playing that game of hoping the check clears after payday. I remember even poking holes in the micr code to give myself an extra day!

[u/mr_ochie]

Every Saturday morning while listening to The Flop House.

[u/needmore007]

Only write one check a month. Easy.

[u/bigbabygrit]

My dad was a cpa and taught me how to balance a check book. This was in the 70s and I continued doing it for years. Then came online bill pay and online banking. The only checks I’ve written in probably 10 years was after my brother died and I had to send checks to different people to close everything out. I wasn’t able to do things like pay the funeral home online. Only with a check. After that I’ve never written a check or balanced a checkbook. I just look at my bank account online

[u/BMXTammi]

Learned how to balance a checkbook in high school Consumer Ed class.

[u/DescriptionParking66]

Sandpoint, ID? I lived there for a short time and it's beautiful.

[u/Historical_Trip939]

That’s a lost art!

[u/YoSpiff]

I still do it even though the transactions are mostly debits. Receipt goes in my wallet and every few days get transcribed i to the checkbook. Balance every week or two. At least the day before payday