MSE Forum Poll: How often do you check your bank balance?

Eco_Miser

My spreadsheet tells me how much should be in the accounts, I have alerts set up, so I log on only when I want/need to move money, or confirm a transaction happened, which for most of the accounts is just the first banking day of the month.

vacheron

I keep all my balances on a spreadsheet and whenever I check any particular account, I update the figure and put the date in an adjacent column so that I know when I last checked it. Some current accounts I check every few days, some once or twice a month tops.

As I have 6 current accounts, 3 savings accounts, 5 ISAs, 2 SAYE schemes, 3 Share Dealing Accounts, 12 Credit Cards, 3 SIPPs and a workplace pension account, I try not to check them all every day! 😉

Rosa_Damascena

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81999100#Comment_81999100

I don't need to go down the spreadsheet route as I keep an informal mental tally of expenditure.

I try to keep the very minimum balance in my current account. One of the most useful features my bank (FD) offers is a text message to notify you that you are in the overdraft zone, so I know to top up in real time. Combined with a DD for all bills including my credit card - which I use for over 99% of transactions - it keeps me out of slipping into the red and helps maximise returns on savings. So whilst I don't need to check daily, that 7:30am ping on the phone tells me it is a priority.

Dizzycap

I check my main bank account by App daily. Depending on the other types of accounts I have, I usually check those by App once or twice each week. It takes seconds to check account statements / balances with App access, so why not utalise it 🤗😉.

Eco_Miser

Rosa_Damascena wrote
I don't need to go down the spreadsheet route as I keep an informal mental tally of expenditure.

Lucky you! My memory is no longer reliable enough to rely on.

Besides, my spreadsheet tells me my probable financial position months in advance.

Jami74

I love numbers so I check multiple times a day to get my fix.

Rob5342

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81999493#Comment_81999493

That's my thinking, apps make things extremely easy and I can check my balance about 5 times in the time it took me to type this post. I have a spreadsheet set up that I use to plan each month in advance will all the bills on it, a savings amount and an amount for each week. When I get paid I put it all into Monzo pots and then use the Monzo app to keep track of it throughout the month, there's no need to keep a seperate note of things when I can simply look at the balance in the app.

Afdaff

Now, daily or several times a day. But there were times in the past when I’d go many months or as long as possible without looking because it was scary and I didn’t want to know. Now I’ve got things working so much better, and a habit of regular checking helps make sure I don’t lapse back into any old habits of spending what I can’t afford.

badmemory

The difference in modern banking & what it used to be is incredible although of course a lot more transactions now involve a bank account or card than used to. Those who remember having to queue at the local NORWEB shop to pay their energy bill on a Saturday morning will understand. Only being able to check what is happening in your bank account when your bank statement turns up was another joy.

Perhaps that is why I check my accounts (mostly current & cc) every day. But I also have spreadsheets that tell me exactly what should be in my accounts every day (for months). One of the problems of being retired is that income payments are mostly 4 weekly which complicates matters. I have to say that if I couldn't manage to do spreadsheets I would probably land up keeping a lot more in my current account - just in case.

Dizzycap

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82000456#Comment_82000456

Gotta love it! And there was me thinking I was all alone in that world 😂😂🤣🤣. If it's not Apps, it's a desk calculator at some point.