Cooking "The Books"

Something I love even more than the dentist: reconciling my checkbook with the bank. I love it! I crave it! I prefer it to french fries. Once a week I pull up my bank information and I reconcile it against my digital check register in Excel. It's sweet. I keep up to date with all our transactions and check them against what the bank shows.

I even put together a separate budget worksheet that gives Scott a snapshot of where we stand. It shows which bills are paid, which ones are coming in, a rough estimate of how much more money we need for the rest of the month, the balance in checking, savings, the monthly totals for every month of the year, and what checks/deposits are outstanding. I have formulas to help with all that in Excel. I print it up for him almost every Monday. He asks for it (nicely) if I'm late. And thanks me profusely (as if I'm a genius even though I'm not) when I give him that piece of paper. It's good as gold to him. I swear he loves it more than all my affections combined. I get all sorts of uneasy if too many days pass by without my completing that little job. Takes 15 minutes and all is well with the world when I'm done!

I know reconciling ones finances with the bank is a lost art. People don't think it matters anymore in this digital, now, today world. I hear of people who never even bother. I bother. It's my favorite.

Online Bill Pay is my second most favorite thing. I love that 7 or 8 days into the month, I usually have all my bills and I just go online and wham. Done. They go out just in time, no mail, no hassle, no fuss. done.

So, I just can't help but ask, do you reconcile your finances with your bank on a regular basis? Is it something you love more than french fries? Do you online bill pay?