Money management question....debate at home!

Jazzyjules71

I am wondering who out there still keeps a check register....and accurately maintains it. My boyfriend and I are on opposite ends of the spectrum on whether or not to maintain a check register (or account register to be more accurate), when in this day and age you have online banking updated daily, and sites like mint.com to download transactions and catagorize them.

I still think you need to have a register, to look at it, plan , know what's coming and going......and have record of it. But when I tried to defend my opinion, I sort of realized that if you have that online, who really needs it? But I still think I need to have one.

Would love input on that, and any comments about difference of opinion in managing money between couples!

How does this relate to weight? Well I have a slight "self control" issue, and along with trying to retrain my mind in not splurging on food.......I'm also trying to restrain to not splurge with money!

Krissy366

I am wondering who out there still keeps a check register....and accurately maintains it. My boyfriend and I are on opposite ends of the spectrum on whether or not to maintain a check register (or account register to be more accurate), when in this day and age you have online banking updated daily, and sites like mint.com to download transactions and catagorize them.

I still think you need to have a register, to look at it, plan , know what's coming and going......and have record of it. But when I tried to defend my opinion, I sort of realized that if you have that online, who really needs it? But I still think I need to have one.

Would love input on that, and any comments about difference of opinion in managing money between couples!

How does this relate to weight? Well I have a slight "self control" issue, and along with trying to retrain my mind in not splurging on food.......I'm also trying to restrain to not splurge with money!

I never have. Ever. LOL. Not in the entire 22 years I've had a bank account. Maybe for the first month or so.

ETA - but I use a budget program these days to plan everything out, so it's pretty much in there now.

coliema

My fiance knows exactly how much he has, because he bank does it the second he withdraws something out. My bank takes 3 days for anything to process, and I try to keep it all straight in my head. I don't keep a log....but I should.

misty0413

Just me. I like the checkbook. Don't like online, don't trust it and for me the old fashioned way is faster and easier. I like buying stamps and put my bills in the mail. Sometimes I do pay by phone if there is no fee.

odusgolp

I'm an accountant. And I don't keep a check register of any kind.

ScatteredThoughts

My wife takes advantage of many online options for managing our money - scheduled payments, email alerts, etc. Still, she has an excel spreadsheet which she uses to aggregate all of that information. There have been several instances where she caught double charges, overcharges, and other issues, because they showed up as discrepancies on her spreadsheet. Its been that way for many years, and it works great for us.

As much as I enjoy the convenience of having information readily available online, I would not trust a single entity, such as mint.com, to oversee all of our varied financial transactions.

barongaston

We solved it by having seperate accounts, I have about 65% of the bills she has 35% and we each have our own money. I dont keep a check book she writes everything down.

Elizabeth_C34

I am 28, and I have never used a check register. I use online banking especially with the app on my phone. Never had an issue. I do my budgeting via my bank app or on the computer.

freezerburn2012

I use Quicken and have been doing online banking for 15 years or so. I use Quicken to record everything and project my spending and income for the next 12 months out.

mcrowe1016

I'm an accountant. And I don't keep a check register of any kind.

Ditto. I do go online almost every day to look at my accounts.

tig_ol_bitties

Use mint.com. I can plan much easier using that than I can with a check register.

redtim22

I do it religiously now and save so much money taking the money out of each paycheck to pay for monthly bills!

flyingwrite

I keep a very detailed spreadsheet/budget. I know where every red cent is at every second of the day. Obsessive much? All it takes is one time as the victim of identity theft and you get a little crazy about your bank account. On the flip side, I only make about 4 payments a month out of my bank account so it's pretty easy to maintain.

ladybug1620

I do. I don't use checks, but I still use the hand written register to balance my account. I have bills that are auto scheduled, and if I don't deduct everything on the register I'll think I have money in my account. It keeps me accountable and in the loop

lukeout007

As a personal banker who regularly deals with people who keep a check register despite rarely even using checks...STOP IT. lol.

Seriously...your math is going to add up differently because you're recording transactions at a different time than the bank is. While in the end it will all equal out it can create some ridiculously confusing messes. I don't know how many times I've had to go through someones register for them to find out where the information isn't adding up. Every single time it's been an error in their own math.

Let the computers do it for you. I promise when it comes to math a computer works much better than your brain.

MFPAddict

I work in Excel all day long so I use a spreadsheet as my check register.

blmr85

I use a check register, I like to be able to see how much I have and not just guess. I used to do that but than I kept over drawing my account. Not fun!

Ely82010

I keep my check register updated although I pay most of my bills on line. I like to see how much money I have in my checking account without having to log in my PC (no smart phones for me). My husband pays everything on line and has quick books, so he doesn't keep his register updated.

Yes, we do have separate accounts but they are in both of our names. It works for us.

Edited to add that I balance the checkbook every month and most of the time the bank statement shows that the bank has more money that what my check register shows. I like that!

serena569

I'm an accountant. And I don't keep a check register of any kind.

I'm an accountant too and I do. I have an excel spreadsheet for my register and another for my 3-year budget forecasts. I also have an entire workbook where I list monthly expenses by category, i.e. housing, utilities, tuition, etc. (Part of it might also be control issues.)

mbaker824

I haven't used a check register in a long time - but I almost never write checks anymore. Used Quicken for many years, but finally decided its budgeting functions were too weak. Tried Mint, but don't like its budgeting any better. Now I use YNAB (You Need a Budget), which is the best budgeting software available, IMHO.

Jazzyjules71

Thanks everyone for the responses! Looks like I should climb out of my cave and maybe give it up! I like the idea of an excel spreadsheet, but don't know if I could maintain it.

Thanks for the tips, my boyfriend will be glad to hear he won this debate! lol