Balancing your checkbook with less paper

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Balancing my checkbook is a chore for me. Once a month or so, I'll print out the list of everything that has gone through my account and reconcile my register with what the bank says I have.

Because I put off this task, printing my statement takes several pages. This past weekend, I printed more pages than I ever have: a whopping 12 pages of debits and credits. I was shocked it took that many pages and I felt guilty for — let's just call it what it is — wasting that much paper. But when you wait three, four, five weeks or so to see where your checkbook stands, it helps to have a printout to cross off items you've already noted or circle items you can't remember making.

That got me thinking: I need to do my checkbook more often. Oh, it's a thought I've had before, but this was the first time I realized that I don't need to fire up my computer to balance my checkbook. My bank app makes accessing my account a lot easier on a day-to-day basis.

So that's my plan going forward: To balance my checkbook as often as possible. Not only will it keep me from printing out another 12 pages of bank statement, it will also help me stay in the know of what I have available. If I can stick to this, I hope that means I'll have a little extra left in my account when payday rolls around.

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