Paper. Never even thought it makes me old. I guess it does

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't keep track. I just always keep a 5k cushion in the account. I don't have that many things that I pay out of checking.

+1. I don't think I've ever balanced my accounts and I'm almost 50. I just keep a 5K cushion in the account. I might check once a month to see if there is anything unusual posting. Most of payments are automated, but I do write checks for a few things like giving at church, school items, cleaning company, etc.

I'm the pp Quicken user here. That would make me insane, not balancing. I keep a large cushion in my account too (in fact our short term emergency fund and checking is the same account, I just pretend it Quicken they're separate), and there is no way we'd have a sudden expense to drain the account unless it was fraudulent. I like to know that my calculations and the banks are the same. I would feel super uneasy just looking at it and it "seeming" right. I fully admit to being over cautious though.

I do document checks I write in the paper ledger but I don't balance it.

Check transactions online regularly.

Popup alert on my phone whenever my Amex is charged (this caught 3 fraud issues over the past year).

I still balance a checkbook. Granted, I rarely write checks. However, I document every online bill payment in my checkbook.

I use Quicken religiously. I've tried YNAB and Mint, and I always go back. I check the balance daily because I'm OCD , but only update the actual app twice a week on my bill paying days.

I also use a super simple app on my phone, "Quick Ledger" that tracks my budgets, so when I spend on my credit card, I just log it into the ledger. Keeps me honest because we're credit only users and pay off each month.

Paper ledger. I check it against the paper statement once a month but don't bother to make sure they are exactly in balance. I keep a very large cushion most of the time (over $30k) so don't worry about overdrawing so have thought about stopping the recording, but I still find the process helpful.

I still write checks for home improvements, quarterly taxes, some one-off medical bills, house cleaner, charitable contributions, etc. I just looked at my last statement and had 9 checks - 3 for the house cleaner, 2 for estimated taxes, 1 to a friend for a ticket, and 3 medical bills.

I don't track savings account transactions at all.

I just check online every day.

Anonymous wrote:I don't keep track. I just always keep a 5k cushion in the account. I don't have that many things that I pay out of checking.

+1. I don't think I've ever balanced my accounts and I'm almost 50. I just keep a 5K cushion in the account. I might check once a month to see if there is anything unusual posting. Most of payments are automated, but I do write checks for a few things like giving at church, school items, cleaning company, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't keep track. I just always keep a 5k cushion in the account. I don't have that many things that I pay out of checking.

Pretty much this. There's no way that normal monthly expenses could drain my account given what I keep in it, so I just check my bank's app once a week to make sure I recognize all the charges, and otherwise I don't worry about it.

Same here. Plus I get a daily email from my bank with the current balance so I have a heads-up if some big payment lowered the balance.

Quicken, been using it for years. Usually I keep a pile of receipts for the week and enter those into Quicken, and then match the downloaded transactions.

I also have a ton of alerts set up to hit my e-mail/phone in case a transaction goes higher than a certain amount, and just last week, two of my cards were hit to a vendor I did not make a transaction list.

Regarding checks, I pay rent that way only because I don't like my checking account information on the website the apartment company uses. There was a time I could put rent in a drop box but not anymore. As multiple people said, paying a repair person, it is better to write a check for that.

Don't write too many checks and I usually have enough to cover whatever I write. I check my checking account almost daily and would notice anything shady in a minute.

Anonymous wrote:I check online daily to see where my debit transactions are. I have a spreadsheet to remind me when my regular recurring debits happen so I know what to expect. I do write checks, but generally in smaller amounts so I can keep track. Putting expenses all on a credit card would be easier, but I keep track better and spend less this way.

Even so, I did end up overdrafting recently. I transfered money immediately from a savings account from the same bank. Since transfers are supposed to be immediate, I think they should reverse the charge because the overdrafting transaction was still pending when I made the transfer. But I haven't mustered the energy to call the bank yet.

12 here. Get a low limit credit card and use it for bills. Get a bank that pays the postage.

We do a paper ledger and combine it with /reconcile to online. Enter payments then when there's a big list re-enter on excell.

Most bills are paid via bill pay. None on auto pay since if there is an error...I have some auto pays that are the same each month so they are scheduled.

We use a bank that does NOT charge to generate and mail paper checks if a payee does not have electronic transfer from the banks. Payees that do not have fees for credit card use are paid via 1 CC.

PayPal is linked to that CC NOT checking/savings. Far safer.

No banking is done from a smart phone. Laptop only in secure location. Other than the bank website there is NO interface with laptops, phones, etc.

Deposits over specific $ trigger email notification. Same for withdrawals/checks. No logins on a phone.

I check online daily to see where my debit transactions are. I have a spreadsheet to remind me when my regular recurring debits happen so I know what to expect. I do write checks, but generally in smaller amounts so I can keep track. Putting expenses all on a credit card would be easier, but I keep track better and spend less this way.

Even so, I did end up overdrafting recently. I transfered money immediately from a savings account from the same bank. Since transfers are supposed to be immediate, I think they should reverse the charge because the overdrafting transaction was still pending when I made the transfer. But I haven't mustered the energy to call the bank yet.

I check our balance online daily, and make notes of the checks in a paper ledger.

Checks are written to school, housecleaners, the private coach for kid's sport, handyman; landscaper prefers cash.

I project out two months on an excel spreadsheet. Plan ahead, move unspent funds to 529 or regular savings.