Budgeting Brilliance: How to Keep Your Checkbook Balanced
Wednesday, July 8, 2015, 6:00 AM | Leave Comment
Your personal check book is the lifeline to your economic future. If you know how to balance it, then you will have the freedom to do everything else you want to do in life. If you have bad spending habits, or don’t have time to check the balance each month, then you might end up in big trouble!
Here are some ways proven to keep your check book balanced and your budget in better order.
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Utilize Digital Technology
The days of paper, pen, and missed decimal places are long gone. You don’t have to keep up with the basic arithmetic of your check book any longer, just take advantage of the perfection that a computer accounting system can offer you! Imagine never having to worry about losing a receipt, or trying to remember the category for a particular expenditure.
Even a simple Excel sheet can serve you better than a traditional accounting system. You can even set up reminders for payments and bills you have due.
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Use Your Checking Account
Make sure you have funds that can serve as a backup if you find something amiss with your balance. Keeping a backup fund will keep you from having to waste money on late fees, interest payments, and penalties.
A backup checking account can serve as an automated bill pay account as well. You will no longer have to worry about missing bill payments, and can keep your funds safer from the purveyors of ID theft.
Find a banker or Pinnacle Financial Partners to guide you through getting a new account so you don’t run into any problems.
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Use Free Online Tools
There are many online tools that will help you to determine a direction and a value for your budget. You will be able to put up your income and your expenses against a market baseline that will keep you in line and under budget.
If you know what other people are spending on certain staples in their lives, you will have a way to reduce your own expenses if you are spending too much.
You can also set up an account to help track your own spending so you can see what areas are problems and where you can cut down.
The online tools that you can use are meant for all stages of life including a new mortgage, college, retirement, and opening your own business.
There are always new tools that you can use to balance your financial life and the tips above ought to give you a leg up when it comes to your personal finances. Keep your income steady and your check book balanced for a free life!
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