Click here to download Monthly Budget Worksheet.
Transaction Register – Best Practice
We have learned the importance of good record keeping as being the key to managing expenses. In our final installment, we provide you with tips on how to keep track of your expenses with the Transaction Register.
Managing your Account with Transaction Register
- Before you write a cheque or make a deposit, fill out your register. Always describe the source or use of your money.
- When you use the ATM, record the transaction in your register.
- Keep your balance up to date to prevent spending more than you have available.
Click here to watch a video on how to track expenses.
This may seem very basic to some however the majority of people are not doing it and are having trouble figuring out where all their money is going. So go ask your financial institution for a transaction register and start recording today!
What is a Transaction Register?
As we had discussed in our previous post, the Transaction Register is that nifty tool that can help you manage your finances. It is a form that comes with cheques for the purpose of tracking and balancing a chequing account. There are specific fields included in the transaction register designed to record detailed information to help track spending and balance account.
Record expenses such as:
- payroll deposits
- cash withdrawals and Interac purchases
- mortgage payments, car payments etc
- pre-authorized debits and the date they will come of out your accounts
- bills you pay Internet or telephone banking
Watch this video to learn more about the specific fields in the transaction register.
Forgotten Transaction Register
Today is the start of our Transaction Register series. Over the week we will be provide information on The Forgotten Transaction Register, What is a Transaction Register? and How to use a Transaction Register.
The Forgotten Transaction Register
Many Canadians today have fully embraced electronic payments and have retired their cheques. Canadians get paid by direct deposit; have pre-authorized payments for car, mortgage, and life insurance; cash withdrawals from ATM’s and make retail purchases with their Interac card.
These are numerous transactions that some of us may find a challenge to keep track of. Even though we have convenient access to on-line banking or telephone banking, some still find it difficult to record their transactions – how does one really know how much money is in their bank account and where it is going? Has that post-dated bill payment been deducted from the balance I see in my account?
If we reflect back to the cheque world we were provided with a “Transaction Register”. This was that little book where you recorded the balance of your account, you wrote down all the cheques and all the pre-authorized debits as well as any cash you withdrew from your account. Once upon a time we actually balanced our bank account to this register, a process that seems to have gone by the way side. The “Transaction Register” is actually still available today, but only if you use cheques – it is the best little budgeting tool available.