Learn to...   Balance Your Checkbook

Balancing your checkbook is perhaps the most important step in the proper management of your finances. Failing to do so can result in bounced checks, overdraft fees, and a lack of understanding about how much you're actually spending each week. Follow the steps below to ensure that you're keeping an accurate record of your transactions.

1. Balancing your checkbook starts with accurate record keeping. You can pick up a free checkbook register at any of our branches, which will allow you to record any checks you write, any deposits you make, and any electronic transactions you've authorized. Get an initial balance from our staff or from one of your statements and start tracking your account in one of these registers.

2. Each month, when your next statement arrives, go through the transactions on the statement one-by-one. For each transaction shown, find the matching transaction that you've recorded in your register. Check that transaction off in your register as "cleared".

3. If you find an item on your statement that you forgot to add to your register, add it now and adjust your balance accordingly.

4. Remember that it sometimes takes a couple of days for your checks to clear your account. Therefore, checks you've written near the end of the month may not appear until the next month's statement. Likewise, the balance you see listed in It'sMe247 may not include any checks that were written recently.

5. Once you have verified the transactions on your statement with the transactions in your register, your statement balance should equal your register balance plus any checks that have not yet cleared. If these two amounts are equal, your checkbook is in balance!