Paper checkbook registers- still use?

[Hilltopmom]

I sent dh to the bank last week to get me a new paper checkbook register- he thinks no one uses them anymore.

I have the bank app on my phone and only write a paper check a few times a year. But I still record everything in the register and “balance” the checkbook on paper using the app.

Do you still use a paper register or just track online?

[Laura Corin]

Haven't in years. Husband downloads our spending into automatic categories in his finance programme.

Edited November 1, 2020 by Laura Corin

[Jentrovert]

No, I haven't used one in years.

[Another Lynn]

Yes, but I prefer a larger one from office supply store or amazon instead of the one from the bank.  

[Pawz4me]

Only for a joint account I hold with my brother. We use it to pay the expenses for some properties we own jointly. There are only a handful of transactions per year. For my own household--no, we haven't used a register in . . . it's been so long I couldn't even begin to guess.

[Bambam]

I haven't used one in probably decades (use a computer program).
But we have several. I had the kids use them to keep track of their money for a while so they could start to see where it was going and how it grew if they didn't spend it. They are adults now, and they don't even look at their paper statements. 

[purpleowl]

No. We manually enter each transaction into YNAB, then reconcile with the paper statements from the bank.

[Wheres Toto]

I do for my business.  I write checks to my one employee and for my rent (not worth the expense of direct deposit for one part time employee and landlord only takes checks) and I do record each one in the register.   I don't record any of the other expenses that come out of the account, those I just look at the account online. 

[Twigs]

I still use paper registers for 3 accounts - my personal account, my mother's account, and our household account.

[KrissiK]

I have been slowly discontinuing using it. I do write checks occasionally, but I keep track of everything on line. I think it is a matter of preference, though. If you prefer to use it, then use it. Who cares what everyone else does.

Edited November 1, 2020 by KrissiK

[Amethyst]

Yss I still use mine for our checking account. And balance it to the penny every month. Although I will admit, that it seems more and more silly

[Annie G]

I use paper registers for the accounts I manage and dh uses electronic registers for the ones he manages.  
I write bills once a month, about the 20th,  for the next month. So I write all the things even though most won’t be taken out until they are automatically withdrawn on the due dates. That lets me see how much is left in my account after bill paying, and also track what had cleared, such as birthday checks to kids living far away.  So you’re saying I can do this on my bank app instead of a paper register? I didn’t know that. 

[Hilltopmom]

It has just never occurred to me to stop using one, but now I’m kind of excited about it- one less thing to do!

[Ditto]

Yep, I sure do use them.   It helps me keep daily track (i am a paper person....I must see things in my hand to fully comprehend...it is one, of several, reasons I can't use a Kindle for reading books.   I also keep track online to see what has cleared and confirm that things are correct.   I won't ever give up using a register.

[mlktwins]

Yep, I do for both our checking accounts and keep them up for both of my dad's accounts.  I do pay most of my bills on-line, but I reconcile in my paper check register.  Like PP, I'm a paper person too!  I still keep my lovely paper calendars too.  If systems crash, I will still know where I'm supposed to be on what day -- LOL.

[Tree Frog]

1 hour ago, Hilltopmom said:

It has just never occurred to me to stop using one, but now I’m kind of excited about it- one less thing to do!

This is me, too. We use an excel spreadsheet to track what we expect to spend and then write the actual amount in the next column. We always double check with our register and online bank to make sure it all matches, but why should we continue doing so if we're tracking it on the spreadsheet?

As far as I know, my adult kids don't track anything. They monitor their spending via their bank accounts. They may use the budget DH created for them when they went to college.

[historically accurate]

I use my own personal Excel spreadsheet that links to a budget page. So worksheet 1 is a basic register (which I reconcile whenever I pay bills) - the final column on that spreadsheet tells which budget item it is. That drops it into my budget page on worksheet 2. I have a few more worksheets with various goals and stuff, but those are the 2 main ones. 

I no longer handwrite anything. 

[Ellie]

I do, when I write checks, which is seldom.

[Dainty]

No, I don't write down anything anywhere. Just check the account weekly.

[SKL]

I used to be so good about this, but I guess I gut busy and just let it go.

I reconcile maybe once a year now instead of every single transaction.

[rebcoola]

Nope, I use an app.

[Arctic Bunny]

I do, but as a record of the cheque number, to whom the cheque is written, and for how much. 

[Bootsie]

No, I haven't used one for years.  We don't write many checks.  We pay almost everything with a credit card and have one automatic withdrawal for the credit card from our checking account.  Whenever a withdrawal is made from the account, it is usually in a form where it is immediate, so there is not the need to account for written, but unncleared, checks.

[Kareni]

Yes, I/we do use paper checkbook registers. We write quite a few checks monthly.

Regards,

Kareni

[athena1277]

I have one account I use a paper register for, but I don’t bother with the monthly check-n with bank statements.  I write it down so we don’t overspend that account.  Some places (especially for kids activities) take a while to deposit checks.  If I didn’t keep tabs on what is still outstanding, we would probably bounce a few checks each year.

[kbutton]

I use a paper register and do a mix of electronic and paper checks.

I don't use a register for my debit card, but we don't keep a lot on it, I get alerts every day, it's not hooked to any other accounts, and the only time it's bitten me is when the bank did something unexpected. I probably could've had the fee on that item reversed, but it took me a while to figure out what had happened. 

I also keep a paper planner. 

[Bootsie]

14 minutes ago, Happymomof1 said:

Ok, I just don't understand y'all at all.  I don't write that many checks, but all of my automatic withdrawals are put in the register, all my payments. How in the world can you make sure you are not overdrawn if you don't write it down.  I mean this month, my automatic withdrawals were 4,100 for health insurance, 170 for electric, 400 for 529 plan, 900 for car insurance. Then online manually I paid a couple of credit card bills in full and our church charity donation. But if those were not taken out at the beginning of the month in my register, then how would I know how much is left in my account? I would just spend and spend. Plus, how do you know the bank has the right balance????  I double check every single month. Now, true, they have been right. BUT a couple of times I noticed I had more money than I should have had in my account according to the bank. Once, many years ago, our mortgage check got lost. Another time our health insurance payment got lost.  

My son doesn't balance his account and got in trouble. It showed a payment going through. As in he has a receipt. But they didn't take it out of his account until 2 weeks later. Well, he had assumed it was already out of his account, so he bounced a payment.  If he had used a register, he wouldn't have spent the money as he would have already taken the 75 dollars from his balance.

So yeah, I do not see how you do life without a register. But I'm old. 

If I go online and manually pay something my online check register shows that deduction immediately.  I write few enough checks, and they are usually of small enough amounts, that I can mentally keep track that a check hasn't cleared and am not surprised when it is deducted from my account.  

If I ever had reason to believe that the balance my bank had was not correct, I could easily go back and recreate what it should have been by looking at the electronic record.  

[regentrude]

No, haven't used one in decades. I rarely write checks ( and when I do, I have the carbon  copy).

We keep track of balance and withdrawals/payments online. 

Edited November 1, 2020 by regentrude

[purpleowl]

50 minutes ago, Happymomof1 said:

Ok, I just don't understand y'all at all.  I don't write that many checks, but all of my automatic withdrawals are put in the register, all my payments. How in the world can you make sure you are not overdrawn if you don't write it down.  I mean this month, my automatic withdrawals were 4,100 for health insurance, 170 for electric, 400 for 529 plan, 900 for car insurance. Then online manually I paid a couple of credit card bills in full and our church charity donation. But if those were not taken out at the beginning of the month in my register, then how would I know how much is left in my account? I would just spend and spend. Plus, how do you know the bank has the right balance????  I double check every single month. Now, true, they have been right. BUT a couple of times I noticed I had more money than I should have had in my account according to the bank. Once, many years ago, our mortgage check got lost. Another time our health insurance payment got lost.  

My son doesn't balance his account and got in trouble. It showed a payment going through. As in he has a receipt. But they didn't take it out of his account until 2 weeks later. Well, he had assumed it was already out of his account, so he bounced a payment.  If he had used a register, he wouldn't have spent the money as he would have already taken the 75 dollars from his balance.

So yeah, I do not see how you do life without a register. But I'm old. 

The way we use YNAB means it functions like a digital register (but with budget categories accounted for as well as overall money in the accounts).

[Zoo Keeper]

Yes, we do. 

And we still use pens and a notebook to budget and keep track of spending.

Unusual for today, but it works for us. 🙂

[marbel]

1 hour ago, Happymomof1 said:

Ok, I just don't understand y'all at all.

<snip>

So yeah, I do not see how you do life without a register. But I'm old. 

I keep track of the month's outgoing in an excel spreadsheet. There is not much that comes directly out of the checking account, so it's very easy to be sure I have the funds in the account ahead of time. I check it every few days, and always the day after "big" payments (such as the mortgage, which is autopay) is due, to be sure it went through.  I haven't written a check in many months, and before that my only checks for the last several years were to church (now we give online) and for tax payments. 

I have never had a surprise debit from my checking account, and I don't feel the need to check the bank's arithmetic on my running balance. So really I have no need to use the paper register.  

But of course, do what works for you!  I have to laugh at the "I'm old" comment. I believe at 64 I am one of the senior people here, so age has nothing to do with it!  🤣

As an aside, I work for a bank, and so I see how people use their accounts. If I wrote numerous checks, and/or used my debit card for frequent purchases, I would have to keep better track. I have fewer than 15 checking account transactions per month; I often see accounts with 15+ in a day, many days of the month. I just don't use my checking account that way.  

[Sunshine State Sue]

11 hours ago, Amethyst said:

Yes I still use mine for our checking account. And balance it to the penny every month. Although I will admit, that it seems more and more silly

It doesn't seem silly to me.  It seems accurate.

7 hours ago, Kareni said:

Yes, I/we do use paper checkbook registers. We write quite a few checks monthly.

I write a number of checks per month.  Hairdresser, chiropractor, lawn guy, repairmen, auto mechanic, pest control, church.  Some would take credit cards, some don't.  I also write down every credit card charge.  That way, when I get the bill, the money has already been accounted for in the checkbook.

ETA:  To be clear, I use Quicken.  The paper checkbook register gets entered into Quicken.  I balance the checkbook there.  So, I use my checkbook more as scrap paper before I enter it into Quicken.  I don't want to have to boot up the old laptop and open up Quicken multiple times a day.  It's easier to enter amounts into the checkbook and update Quicken once a week or so.

Edited November 2, 2020 by Sue in St Pete

[SeaConquest]

Haven't used one in decades. We have Quickbooks since we own a business.

[Corraleno]

I can't even remember the last time I wrote a check, let alone used a paper register. All monthly bills are on autopay, and day-to-day expenses like groceries, gas, and even doctor and dentist bills, go on a credit card that is also on autopay. Annual or semiannual expenses like taxes and insurance I pay online via e-check or debit card. The only expenses I can think of that I don't pay with a credit card are the hairdresser and dog groomer, and I just pull some cash out of the ATM every few months to pay them. I just check my account online if I'm wondering what has or hasn't paid yet.

[BakersDozen]

I use paper registers and include everything in them, not just checks. So all credit card charges, automatic payments/deposits, cash purchases go in the register each month. And like ZooKeeper I still use a notebook and pens for the budget. I have 3 books dating back to when I started using a budget in 1998 - it's so neat to see how things have changed for our family over that time.

 

[mom31257]

I still write a few checks, but don't use the registers that come with your checks.  I use a 6 column columnar pad book. Here is how I set up my columns.  I love that I can look back so quickly at years of expenses and look for specific bills like utilities to compare different times of year. 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cbTGx7wwRQlOpq3j20c0xi5BEIn_3D5ZENJHeScjHqg/edit?usp=sharing

[sheryl]

Ha!  We still write checks and use the corresponding register.  We use credit cards too but I still prefer to write checks when I can.  

[Annie G]

3 hours ago, mom31257 said:

I still write a few checks, but don't use the registers that come with your checks.  I use a 6 column columnar pad book. Here is how I set up my columns.  I love that I can look back so quickly at years of expenses and look for specific bills like utilities to compare different times of year. 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cbTGx7wwRQlOpq3j20c0xi5BEIn_3D5ZENJHeScjHqg/edit?usp=sharing

You know, that makes me think that including this in my bullet journal would be even easier than the paper register I use, and it would be there for me to see in the future, too.  I keep our budget info in the bullet journal, as well as details about house renovations and stuff. Thanks for posting!

[OH_Homeschooler]

On 11/1/2020 at 6:18 AM, Another Lynn said:

Yes, but I prefer a larger one from office supply store or amazon instead of the one from the bank.  

I got the cutest one from Amazon earlier in the year. I actually love it. It is spiral-bound and basically looks like a planner, and it lives on my desk. I will be able to use it for a decade probably.

I check my accounts online daily but I like tracking everything on paper, especially when I have a bill I pay that won't be processed immediately. I like to know exactly how much I have at all times. 

[Bootsie]

4 hours ago, mom31257 said:

I still write a few checks, but don't use the registers that come with your checks.  I use a 6 column columnar pad book. Here is how I set up my columns.  I love that I can look back so quickly at years of expenses and look for specific bills like utilities to compare different times of year. 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cbTGx7wwRQlOpq3j20c0xi5BEIn_3D5ZENJHeScjHqg/edit?usp=sharing

The ability to look back quickly is why I like to pay as much as possible by credit card.  I can download everything to an Excel file from the credit card company and easily search and sort.  Charges are presorted into categories (like restaurants and utilities) by the CC company but I can change, set, or add whatever categories I like.  Then I can easily make graphs, charts, combine categories however I like.  I can put in a column I check if it is going to be a tax deductible expense and then quickly sort by that column come tax time.  

[skimomma]

I write a lot of checks and I do use the register.  I also balance every month.  I guess I'm old school.  I just caught a $500 bank error last month that was only found during balancing.  They somehow did an autopay twice!  I was contemplating giving up my ways until that happened.

[Bootsie]

11 minutes ago, skimomma said:

I write a lot of checks and I do use the register.  I also balance every month.  I guess I'm old school.  I just caught a $500 bank error last month that was only found during balancing.  They somehow did an autopay twice!  I was contemplating giving up my ways until that happened.

Do you think you wouldn't have noticed this if you didn't do a paper reconciliation?  I think I would have noticed two withdrawals of the same amount to the same person just glancing through the deductions from the account?  If not, I would have spotted it when I downloaded the bank transactions into Excel and did a sort of the transactions.  

[cintinative]

We use quicken so no, I don't use the paper register. I still reconcile our account using the paper statements, and enter in the checks into Quicken. Like others have mentioned, I write very few checks (maybe a couple a month, max).  

[regentrude]

47 minutes ago, skimomma said:

I write a lot of checks and I do use the register.  I also balance every month.  I guess I'm old school.  I just caught a $500 bank error last month that was only found during balancing.  They somehow did an autopay twice!  I was contemplating giving up my ways until that happened.

We check our bank accounts and credit card charges online a couple time a week and would have caught a duplicate transaction. That does not require paper records.

[skimomma]

34 minutes ago, regentrude said:

We check our bank accounts and credit card charges online a couple time a week and would have caught a duplicate transaction. That does not require paper records.

It was not a monthly autopay.  It is one done every six months.  The extra one happened at the three month mark.  So I had actually seen it when looking at my online account.  I just didn't note that it was a mistake until I balanced my checkbook and noted that we were roughly $500 short of where we should have been according to my budget.  When I flipped back a few months, I could see that the new deduction happened at the wrong time.  It was the act of sitting down to crunch the numbers that worked in my favor, which can certainly be done with a  good electronic system.  But most of the people I know never do any sort of reconciliation.  They just pop onto their online accounts to see the balance at any given time with no real long term accounting of transactions.  I can't tell you how many times I have heard someone complain about a check not being cashed for several weeks and the outrage that it messed up their balance.  To me, if you write a check and it is tracked on a register, it does not matter when it is cashed.  The money is "gone" to me once I have written it in the register so a delay in cashing does not matter.

Not that I am advocating everyone do this.  It is just how I do it and why I still cling to my old fashioned ways.

[Ditto]

21 hours ago, Zoo Keeper said:

Yes, we do. 

And we still use pens and a notebook to budget and keep track of spending.

Unusual for today, but it works for us. 🙂

Me too!!!   It works for me too. 

[math teacher]

I still "balance" the checkbook on paper. I just use notebook paper when I run out of the paper register.