Learning to balance a checkbook

I got my first checking acount when I was 18 in college.  During that time no one had taught me how to balance a checkbook, so I fumbled through it.  I was never really consistant with keeping the records, therefore, it became a tedious task that I never quite mastered.  Yep, I'm almost 35 and I have struggled with balancing my checkbook because of poor record keeping. 

You see, balancing a checkbook is easiest when you write the information down as soon as you write the check.  Otherwise you have to backtrack and going backwards was hard for me, so I would always mess it up.  Eventually over time, with the advent of the internet and online banking I learning that it was easier (for me) to constantly look up records online.  However, that still didn't work fully because sometimes I would not be near the internet or I'd forget about a check that I had written that hadn't cleared yet, etc. And every year I'd still owe the bank money because of my lack of consistency and my cavalier attitude towards banking.  However, because I'm strapped for cash, I've been more meticulous.  Not in balancing my checkbook, because I decided to work smarter and not harder.  Instead of writing checks or going to the ATM, I would simply go to the bank and write a check for "CASH" if I needed to buy something.  If I didn't have any money, I didn't buy it.  No overdrafts, no worries, right???  WRONG!!

Well, I eventually ran out of checks and began writing counter checks or as the bank calls it a debit transaction to my account.  It was the same as writing a check for "CASH" with the exception of me filling out a little more information--name, account number and drivers license number, etc.  So, instead of having the computer read my account number from a check, the computer would read the account number I had written.  I didn't think this was a big deal until yesterday.

I went to the bank to get $10 for gas and was told my account was overdrawn $103.  WHAT???  HOW????  SOMETHING HAS GONE TERRIBLY WRONG!! 

After work I went in and asked how is it possible for me to write a debit for "CASH" and a teller give me the money if it's not in my account.  Apparently it's simple.   The computer couldn't read my hand writting.  So, my cash transaction wasn't entered into the computer until after i wrote another cash debit for more than what I had in the bank.  WHAT!!! 

I expressed to customer service that I did not understand this.  Fortunately, by the grace of GOD I was refunded the $75 bank fees and my account was only overdrawn the $28 that I had written for over the amount.  I came to the conclusion, with the help of the Melissa, the customer service rep, that I needed a bank register and that I can make a mistake and that bank can also make a mistake, so it's better to keep meticulous records!!!

I left uplighted with my bank register in hand.......