January 22, 2004 - Balancing Act

So I pulled all my bank statements, dating back to when I opened the bank account, a couple years ago. I sat down with my checkbook to try to figure things out.

As it turns out, most of the discrepancies were minor: a bank fee here and there, or occasionally a check that I didn't realize had never been cashed. But surprisingly, the main source of the $1,000 discrepancy was one paycheck I'd deposited in September, on my birthday, and forgotten to mark down.

Talk about a birthday present.

It took me awhile, but by the time I got done factoring in everything, the bank and I agreed within about $6. At that point, about 2 a.m., I decided I could live with that level of inconsistency.

So, what to do with my "found money"? Sadly, nothing exciting. I sat down with my bills and then transferred the rest into my savings account.

Speaking of my savings account, there's a small discrepancy: about $40 worth. I guess I'll have to sit down with those statements and figure out what happened. Eventually.

Musings an Online Journal of Sorts By Alyce Wilson
January 22, 2004 - Balancing Act
	It's not often you find $1,000 lying around, but essentially, that just happened to me. You see, for awhile now the bank believed I had about $1,000 more than I thought I did. I wanted to believe my good fortune, but I didn't want to start spending that money until I knew it was real. Now, I had balanced my checkbook... once. And I'd been lax about it since then.
So I pulled all my bank statements, dating back to when I opened the bank account, a couple years ago. I sat down with my checkbook to try to figure things out. As it turns out, most of the discrepancies were minor: a bank fee here and there, or occasionally a check that I didn't realize had never been cashed. But surprisingly, the main source of the $1,000 discrepancy was one paycheck I'd deposited in September, on my birthday, and forgotten to mark down. Talk about a birthday present. It took me awhile, but by the time I got done factoring in everything, the bank and I agreed within about $6. At that point, about 2 a.m., I decided I could live with that level of inconsistency. So, what to do with my "found money"? Sadly, nothing exciting. I sat down with my bills and then transferred the rest into my savings account. Speaking of my savings account, there's a small discrepancy: about $40 worth. I guess I'll have to sit down with those statements and figure out what happened. Eventually.
Moral: You really should balance your checkbook more than once every year or so. Copyright 2004 by Alyce Wilson Musings Index
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