When I was in college and at the start of my professional life, I worked as a teller at a bank. One very common theme from fielding hundreds of customers and calls was that the balance in their checkbook didn’t match what the bank said they had.
Very often, people would forget where they spent their money and then be upset when they were overdrawn and, subsequently, paying fees.
Fast forward 25 years and I have worked hard with my three girls to instill in them a sense of financial literacy. Whenever I ask them, “What’s mom’s first rule of finances?” they each holler out (as they were well-trained to do), “Keep your own banking records!”
I’ve taught them to balance their accounts and reconcile them with the bank, recording each transaction (how very old fashioned!) so they know where their money goes.
People can’t believe I still balance my checkbook/ account every month! I always want to know that what I spent matches with my balance. Kudos to you!
I’m old fashioned too. I keep a check register for bills I’ve paid so I can verify whether or not they have cleared my bank at a glance.
It’s amazing to me how many young people simply do not do that, including my own (grown) kids! I would be completely lost, and a financial mess, if I didn’t keep careful records!
Sometimes “Old fashioned” is still the best method, I keep my handwritten too. I still don’t trust putting your bank info on an app. There’s no hiccups with your method, its tried and true 🙂