KEEPING YOUR BALANCES IN BALANCE

These days when we are hearing more and more about errors made in bank accounts, it is even more important to keep a very close eye on personal expenditure and to check bank statements monthly.

Also, as more payments are being made by Direct Debit it is not really practical to rely on the balance shown on your account at Cashpoints.   What is shown as being in your account today may well be deducted to cover a Direct Debit payment the very next day creating and overdraft.  In order to avoid going into an unexpected overdraft situation it is a good idea to keep a note of incomings/outgoings each month.

An easy way to do this is to keep a small cash book.  

• On the left side list all monies paid into your account i.e. salary, premium bond winnings etc.
   

• On the right-hand side enter all the outgoings, i.e. all withdrawals of cash, and payments by cheque, Standing Order or Direct Debit.
   

• At the beginning of each month write down on the right hand side all payments which the bank will be taking out of your account by Direct Debit or Standing Order before next pay day, such as rent, council tax, water rates, insurance etc. 
   

• On the left hand side enter monies paid into the account including salaries paid into the bank direct and any other cheques or cash.
   

• Each time you write a cheque or withdraw cash from your account enter the details on the right hand side.

To ascertain how much (or how little) cash is left in your account, add up the figures on both pages.  The left hand page is cash in, right hand page is cash paid out.  Deduct the total shown on the right hand page from the total on the left hand page and this is the amount of cash available to you.

By deducting the direct payments from your cash flow at the beginning of the month even if they will not be paid until later, it shows how much surplus cash is actually available to spend for the rest of the month. This way the money should be available to pay them when due.  This helps to prevent spending money which has been earmarked for other things.

When you reach the bottom of the page total each column, deduct one from the other and this amount represents the balance at this moment in time. 

NOTE - if the "deposit" (left hand side) is larger than the "withdrawals" (right hand side) the amount shown is money still available.  However, if the "withdrawal" side is greater than the "deposit" side, this is the amount by which you have overspent or overdrawn.  It is advisable to take remedial action as soon as possible.

When starting a new page you must bring forward the balance from the previous page.  If this is money still in the bank it should be entered at the top of the left hand side page (i.e. Deposit).  If you are "in the red" i.e. overdrawn, this balance should be entered at the top of the right hand page.

Hints and Things endeavours to provide general information in relation to various financial products. We hope you find this information useful. In no circumstances should the information we provide be construed as Hints and Things providing you with specific advice in relation to your own circumstances, or on the suitability for you personally, of any product or service referred to in this article.

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