Weekly Bank Reconciliation for Retirees

Living on a fixed income can be a challenge. If you reconcile your checking account once a week and write down each transaction, at the end of the month at your bank statement should coincide with your weekly banking transactions that are verified on a weekly basis. I have a red folder with a spiral notebook inside which I record my weekly transactions on my checking account, including debits, bank drafts or any any monies withdrawn from my checking account, which I receive from calling a bank representative. I also get the balance for that week. All debit receipts are kept on a clip and highlighted with the amount and the date unclipped on the inside of the red folder.

My husband and I have gotten into the habit of using this red folder on a weekly, and sometimes on a daily basis. We come in from a shopping trip and immediately take out the debit receipts, clip them onto the red folder and highlight them all. We record in the check register any transactions that we wrote a check for. This keeps us on track with our checking account and is also valuable information for our financial advisor.