The Easy Way to Balance Your Checkbook

Yes, you can balance your checkbook every month to the penny with a minimum amount of time and effort. It is very important to do so in today's world to prevent yourself from becoming a victim of fraud and identity theft.

There are a few points to keep in mind when balancing your checkbook. First, the ending balance in your checkbook and the ending balance on the bank statement will not match due to timing. You are balancing your checkbook currently, the bank statement has a closing date which is usually printed at the top of the statement. Second, the only differences that occur between your bank statement and your checkbook are deposits in transit, deposits not recorded, outstanding checks, transfers, and adjustments. And, finally, remember that the bank is always right.

When you receive your bank statement, take your checkbook register and place them side by side. Begin with the ending balance on the bank statement. The bank statement will then list all the deposits made to your account during the time period you are reconciling for. Match the deposits on the bank statement against what you have recorded in your checkbook register. A deposit in transit is an amount that you have in your checkbook but is not listed on the bank statement due to the statement date. Add these amounts, if any, to the ending balance on the bank statement. A deposit that is not recorded is an amount that the bank shows but is not in your checkbook register. Add these amounts, if, any, to your checkbook register. This section is usually the easiest to balance since magical amounts of money don't appear into your account. These amounts result from actual money you take to the bank, deposit transfers between accounts or payroll direct deposits.

Next, you will want to see what checks cleared the bank that you wrote from your account. These are listed on your bank statement in numerical order. Follow this order and place a checkmark next to the check listed in your checkbook register that cleared the bank. Those checks in your register that do not have marks next to them, otherwise known as outstanding checks, should be subtracted from the bank statement balance. Be alert because the check can clear for a different amount than what it was written for. Either the writing on the check was unclear or the numbers were transposed.

Other withdrawals that can occur during the statement period are debit card purchases, automatic debit payment and ATM withdrawals. Make sure that all reductions on your bank statement are entered in your check register. It is important to check this section on your bank statement and make sure it matches your checkbook since this is the area where fraud is widespread. If you know where you shopped and utilized your debit card or when and where you stopped and made an ATM withdrawal, then those transactions are the only ones that should appear on your bank statement. If other withdrawals appear on your statement that you cannot justify, contact your bank immediately!

There can be adjustments to your account such as interest, service fees and the occasional bank adjustment. Yes, I realize that I stated that the bank is always right. Well, it is. Each and every employee of a bank that comes in contact with money must balance at the end of the day. Trust me, they will find their mistake. And, they often find your mistakes too! Remember to subtract your fees and add the interest to your checkbook register.

The ending balance of your statement should now match the ending balance in your checkbook register. If the amounts are not the same, I find it is usually in the withdrawals. Specifically go over the cleared checks and the amounts they cleared for.

You work hard for your money! By following these easy directions, you can have less frustration and a better understanding of where that money goes and you can protect yourself from the many occurrences of fraud in today's society.

Checkbook IRA LLC - Investing Guidelines - Part One

Alternative Assets-Non-Traditional Assets

What are alternative assets-non-traditional assets:

When considering their investing choices, the vast majority of investors immediately think of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange traded funds, and closed-end funds. These categories of investment assets are in fact the most well known and popular.

Fidelity Investment, Vanguard, Morgan Stanley, and certain bank trust departments are examples of the type of IRA custodians and administrators that allow only stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange traded funds and closed-end funds.

But, there is a smaller, but very important class of assets that appeal to many investors. These assets are generally not actively traded on exchanges; consequently they are less well known to the general investing public.

There is a separate group of IRA custodians and administrators who allow and encourage their clients to invest in a much broader range of asset classes and asset groups. They provide the capability for their clients to invest in assets that are listed on exchanges and assets that are not listed. The "not listed" category of investment assets are communally referred to as alternative assets or non-tradition assets.

Here is a list of the most common alternative and non-traditional assets:

Flipping Real Estate Pre-Foreclosures Investment Real Estate-all types Commercial Property-all types Raw Land Partnerships Private Developments REITS-all types Domestic Rental Property Foreign Rental Property Foreclosed Properties Tax Liens and Certificate Trust Deeds & Mortgages Equipment Leasing Private Notes Business Notes Limited Liability Companies (LLC) Gold & Silver Foreign Assets Foreign Real Estate Foreign Exchange Hedge Funds Venture Capital Lease Options and Sub Lease Options

As you can see, each one of these asset groups is an investment specialty-possibly in a "world of its own". No individual investor can hope to be informed and knowledgeable about more than two or three of these groups. For an individual investor to invest in any single alternative asset group, that investor needs specific, current information and knowledge relating to that group.

Why do investors invest in non-traditional assets?
In many cases the investor has special knowledge and familiarity with a certain type of asset or industry. An example would be if the investor has been in a specific industry, or if the investor's family has been in a specific industry, or if the investor has studied an industry as a hobby or professionally.

Another reason behind this investment strategy is to try for more consistent returns, and to protect against money getting locked up in inflation.

Diversification of investing capital is yet another reason. Alternative assets may provide a way to create monthly cash income. Different types of these assets provide different levels of income and different levels of risk. The cash monthly returns earned from these assets depends upon in the intrinsic quality of the asset, and the quality and quantity of the collateral security backing it up.

What general guidelines should be followed?
The fundamental considerations that will dictate these investing guidelines are basically the same "common sense" rules governing all financial decisions.

Do I understand what I am doing in a general sense? Do I understand the nature and function of this asset? Do I know how to value this specific asset? Do I understand the risks I am assuming? Do I know the people or company that I am dealing with? How did I find this asset, or how did it find me? Do I know my legal rights? Do I know my legal liabilities? How much of my investment capital should I invest in any one asset? How long should my capital be tied-up? Do I have an exit strategy? Do I need independent professional help in order to "get this right"?

Conclusion

It is not enough to do your best; you must know what to do, and then do your best. W. Edwards Deming

The Importance Of Balancing Your Checkbook

Every once in awhile I get a shock when I look at my bank balance online. It's not because I'm overdrawn, but I will notice that it's less than what I thought I had.

The problem is that I don't consistently balance my checkbook. I do check balances, and I do balance most of the time, but sometimes I forget to do it, and thus the shock when I look at my balance.

The importance of balancing your checkbook is so you really know how much money you have in your account. These days, being able to check our balances online gives us a false sense of security in thinking we know what our balance is at the time. The truth, however, is that it can only show you what transactions have actually taken place through the bank, and not tell you how things are overall.

For instance, with my business checks, sometimes the people I'm paying don't get around to depositing that check for a couple of months. Without balancing my checkbook, I may not know that a certain check hasn't been cashed yet and spend that amount. If I spend too much into that check amount, I'll overdraw my account. It's easy to do, and it can be scary.

Depositors have 90 days to deposit your check before it's considered null and void. Some banks will cash checks older, but that's not standard practice. Even electronic payments sometimes take longer than you expected to show up in your bank account; that goes both ways, by the way, as sometimes you receive payments electronically and might have to wait up to 7 days for it to show up.

There are two ways to balance your checkbook; the traditional way and the modern way. The traditional way is to take your monthly bank statement and follow the directions on the back of the form. It tells you to write out the balance the statement says you have, then on one side list all the checks and electronic payments and withdrawals you've made since the last date showing on the front of the statement. The smart move is to go through all the check numbers and mark them off in your check register to see if any checks are missing that should have cleared. If not, add those checks to your list of outstanding checks.

On the other side, list all deposits into your accounts. Total both columns up, then subtract all checks and withdrawals from the total, then add back all deposits, and that will tell you what your true balance is. If you balance to the amount in your check register, great; if not, see if you missed an entry.

Now, if you're not writing down all of your checks, this next method is definitely for you. You need to have online access to your bank account. Then what you do is see what your balance is and go back at least two pages to see what checks are showing. If you notice check numbers missing and they're recent, then subtract those from the balance showing online. If you're going back two pages and you notice there's a check number missing, go back at least one more page, and if you don't see it then you'll know that something it outstanding. Trying to guess what's missing and for how much will be problematic, but at least you'll be wary.

Truthfully, most people write certain checks for a consistent amount monthly, or at least close to that amount, so it may be easy to figure out what's missing. If you happen to be a person who writes a lot of checks indiscriminately, you're in some trouble.

If more people balanced their checkbooks on some kind of consistent basis, they wouldn't overdraw their accounts, and thus face stiff penalties from their banking institutions. That's never good, because it takes even more money from you that you probably needed. Be careful with your bank accounts and feel secure in how much money you really have to spend.