How does one reconcile checking account when it has not been done in 2 years?

[Flowers]

Balancing became a confusing, sad, and panicked activity.
So many bounced checked fees.
Always in the red.
Couldn't figure out how I was going to pay the bills I had let alone replace the checks that were going out.
- You get the picture -

Now that I have some relief, I'd like to balance again.
Outside of closing account and starting new, how do I mathmatically do this??

[athomas]

Hmmm...sounds very difficult to me. I think I would just open a new account and start fresh. Use web banking to check your account every few days. I have found when I do it this way it only takes a few minutes here and there. Good luck!

[hopeforus]

i just start over with the new balance that it shows available and keep good care to balance from then on out.

not that i have even kept a register in years. i don't balance. I just check my bank all the time and everything is pretty instant. hardly any checks.

[StartingOver08]

Keeping a register is critical to keeping a balanced account. Once you nail it down, it is easy to keep.

OP, you could just let your account 'settle down' by not putting any transactions through for the next 2 or 3 weeks so you can see where you are in your balance. You would have to have cash to actually function in the meantime - or another account.

Once you get in the habit of using your register (takes seconds to log a transaction) you can do updates daily or several times a week in just a few minutes. When the statement comes, you can do a reconciliation in no time! It will make you feel good to have your funds under control.

[BkinTX]

I agree with Starting Over.

Most banks offer online banking. Check your balance daily.

One of the things we do now to keep track of our expenses is keep a running spending tally on a dry erase board.

After bills are paid (bills are paid first before anything else is spent) and groceries and other necessities are budgeted out, we take the amount that can be used for general spending and post it on the dry erase board.

As we go through the week, we each post what we spent and subtract it from the total. When the balance is zero, we cannot spend any more. We do not spend all the money in our account. Only what is budgeted for general spending.

It really helps to keep our spending in check when we know there are things coming up we want to spend money on (like book fair for the kids or a dinner out, etc.) and the spending balance is dwindling.

This is in addition to keeping track of our actual account balance, though.

Quicken has a good online program that's free that helps show where money is going, too.

[tkharvey]

Online banking the way to go. Like was said in previous posts, let everything settle in your account (no more checks, debits, etc.) and take the online balance after you know everything's cleared and start over.

[BigJohn]

What I would do is find out what checks are still out there. Get from the bank exactly what the amount is in your account. This would start a really good foundation.

[eddiep]

Maybe you could use the carbon copy checks. That way you have a copy of all the info. I have trouble when I use my debit card, I forget to write it down.

[lindsay2181]

I have to say, I went about 3 years not keeping track of anything. I had online banking, but that didn't account for the outstanding checks I'd written that were floating around out there. I thought it was hopeless, short of starting over with a new account. But, I decided I was going to get my act together--I let all my outstanding checks go through without writing any new ones for a week or so, and just started with a fresh balance, kept up with it very closely, and have matched my register down to the penny ever since. It was the best feeling in the world, to have everything right there. I check my account online pretty much daily just to make sure everything matches up with my register.

[frogger]

You should really keep a register with all transactions in it. I know people that don't, and they are always overdrafting due to a check that they had forgot about.

Leave the account alone for a few weeks to (hopefully) let everything clear. Get your balance from the bank and then start over. Keep records from this point forward.

[apeterson]

I would have to agree with everyone. Just start over. That way, you won't be confused with all the previous balances.

[helpmeout]

To be honest, it would be easier to close it out and start a new one. Or not write a check for a couple of weeks and have no activity at all and then make your book balance equal your bank balance.

If you don't want to do that, then you will need to get all of your statements from the last time it balanced and go month by month with the bank rec. This is very time consuming and really a waste of time.

Also, online banking helps once you get everything straightened out.

[BCA2009]

I highly recommend using the bank's bill pay service. You don't have to worry about saving carbon copies of checks and it is easy to keep up with what is outstanding. You also don't have to buy stamps or fool with envelopes.

We use the bill pay and debit card (only when we can't send a check) for nearly all transactions. This way your "available balance" on the bank's website is what you have left.

We also try to have as few transactions as possible. We will get cash out to use on misc purchases. We seem to be more frugal this way. For some reason charging to a debit/credit card doesn't have the impact of actually handing over cash.

good luck!

[justbroke]

What's reconciliation? I haven't done that in so long (10 years) I don't know what it's like. My new motto was to keep at least $1K "extra" padding in my account. I hardly ever write checks anyhow. Those are very far and few between.

So, don't take any advice from me on this topic!

[BKInLA]

Funny cause I was just thinking I was going to have to go back to this since we're not reaffirming our mortgage and car loan right away. That means actual checks will need to be mailed in with coupons after we're done. Hopefully those will be the only checks I have to write since everything else we'll be able to pay through online bill pay.