Help! My Debit Card Won't Work!

I am afraid most of today's kids don't have any idea how a checking account works.  Most open an account and have a debit card, and don't even order any checks.  I have young people come into my business with a check their mother gave them, and they haven't a clue how to fill it out. Now, I realize with all our technology today check writing might be a quickly fading art, but I feel they still need to know how to write a check, as well as how to "balance" your checkbook at the end of the month to reconcile your records to the bank's records.

Your check should have a date, and "Pay to the order of" is where you write the name of the person or business you are paying.  Write your dollar amount in the small box on the right.  Then spell out your dollar amounts on the line below.  For example, $120.75 would be written as "One Hundred Twenty and 75/100"  (and there are plenty of people who can write the numbers, but can't spell out the numbers).  Your signature goes on the bottom right line. Simple enough, don't you think?

Now for balancing your records against the bank's.  If you will notice, on the back of your bank statement, there is a form for recording "outstanding" checks.  This means that you have written the check and given it to the person or business you were paying, but they have not deposited it into their account, and therefore, it has not cleared your bank yet.  If you wrote a check for $100.00, and it has not cleared, this means the bank will show you have a balance of $100 more than you do.  This does NOT mean you have an extra $100 to spend!

On the back of your bank statement, you write all outstanding check numbers and amounts and add them together.  This total should be deducted from the bank's ending balance, and that net amount should match the balance you show in your checkbook.  If it does not, then most likely you have made a mistake somewhere in the addition of your checkbook.  Or, if your bank charges checking or debit fees, they may be on your bank statement, but you may not have recorded them in your checkbook yet.  Yes, banks occasionally make mistakes, but most likely the error is on your end.

And did you know if you use your debit card for fuel purchases, the gas station's system can freeze up to like $100 on your account for a short time.  This is because when you swipe your card at the beginning of fueling, their computer system doesn't know how much fuel your vehicle will be getting, so they do a reserve to ensure that if you are filling up a dual-tank pickup, they will get their money.  This can affect the balance you believe you have in your account.

Yes, Debit cards are much easier to use than writing a check, but everyone needs to know the basics of checks and checking accounts.