Out of Balance

I’ve been bad about balancing my checkbook lately. Am I alone or do others fall behind, too? Filling out line items for the entire previous month seemed daunting, which led me to do one quick computation and write the following in my checkbook (second line):

This reminded me of an interaction I had with a customer rep from my bank that took place a few months ago. I lost my ATM card and I called to request a replacement. The customer rep needed to verify that I was who I claimed to be. The only way this could be done was for me to give her my account’s most recent deposit amount. I tried in vain to recall the amount, and she said, “You can look at your checkbook.” I replied, “I don’t balance my checkbook!” This was met with hoots of laughter. Luckily I realized that I could look up the deposit amount online.

I really do balance my check most of the time, Mom. Sometimes life just gets in the way…