Checking change savings?

**owiebrain** · 12-27-2005, 01:10 AM

Looking at the new penny and change jar challenges, I wondered if anyone else does something similar with their checking accounts?

We rarely spend cash--it just spends too easily that way.

Every check we write, we round up to the nearest dollar in our balance register. Of course we have records of what we actually spend but the register that's in our faces every time we write a check has the rounded version so we don't even miss it.

Example: Pay the electric bill for 251.08, write it in the register for 252.00. Pay for groceries for 112.52, write it in the register for 113.00. Etc, etc. It really adds up over a year. I'm just now sitting down to do a quickie estimate of what we've saved this way over the year--can't wait to find out!

**pammy** · 12-27-2005, 08:35 AM

I've been doing that for a few years. Call it my 'buffer money'. All it took was me to bounce a check once due to a subtraction mistake (shoulda used a calculator *shakes head*) and get them awful fees wracked up way too fast to try something different, it works for us. We've used it when it became a big hunk (always leaving about a hundred in there, just in case), paid for some vacation with it, a bill due when we were broke, groceries, cover a forgotten debit or purchase without getting hit with fees, etc.

Lol I have the opposite problem, I wrote checks easy cause I never see the money going. I'm using cash now for everything except to pay the bills. Still, when I do pay the bills I round the amount up and round the deposit down so I can save a little.

**daddys3chicks** · 12-27-2005, 09:40 AM

What a cool idea!

**Persimmon Lace** · 12-27-2005, 04:25 PM

I used to do this, I may start it again. It's amazing how fast it all adds up.

**couponchic** · 12-27-2005, 10:24 PM

So, do you keep 2 check registers? I'm just thinking for reconciling purposes, you would never be able to balance when the bank statement arrives.

**bevjean** · 12-27-2005, 11:13 PM

I round up most of the time, but I don't keep track of it. I just consider it a buffer for when hubby forgets to mention the little burger stops he makes.

**dina** · 12-28-2005, 01:12 AM

We used to do that, but didn't keep track of it -- we just knew we had a little buffer. Not knowing exactly how much lessened the temptation to use it. We can't keep ahold of cash either.

Now most of our financial transactions and bookkeeping are done electronically. It makes our lives so much easier. But we always have a buffer (my accounting isn't good enough for me to want to be down to the wire) -- it's just a little more intentional now.

**owiebrain** · 12-28-2005, 03:01 AM

Originally posted by couponchic
So, do you keep 2 check registers? I'm just thinking for reconciling purposes, you would never be able to balance when the bank statement arrives.

I just keep one register but we use duplicate checks so it's easy enough to go through it all once in a while to check everything. I like playing with numbers, though--I'm a strange duck.

**pammy** · 12-28-2005, 09:06 AM

Same here *points to self* odd duck.

Don't mind the numbers. I keep one register, dh doesn't carry a checkbook.

When I would get my bank statement it showed me what they said I had (after reconciling it) and I subtracted what I show I had and that was the amount of the buffer. It went up and down, but I always knew an about figure. Like now the amount is just under $300. I keep my account down to zero on my register (cause I've named all the money on paper down to zero, as per Dave Ramsey). Yet I feel better knowing that extra is in there, just in case. Wiggle room, if you will. It'll eventually add up to over $500 and that's when I take some out and start over. My change jar at the bank.

**frugalfarmwife** · 12-29-2005, 01:26 AM

I do my banking online and what I do is every time I pay bills I transfer the change from checing to an ING account that pays 3.75%. This is our vacation fund for our 20th anniversary.

I also deposit our change into the checking and transfer it into the same account.

We have 8 years to our 20th but figure there won't be a vacation before then, with the farm we just never get a chance to get away.

Kris

**couponchic** · 12-29-2005, 11:35 AM

Originally posted by owiebrain
I like playing with numbers, though--I'm a strange duck.

 

I'm a CPA, so I'm a numbers person, too.  I was just curious because it surprises me the number of people that I come across with my work who don't reconcile their bank accounts.  They just assume the bank is right. 