OK, confession time, do you balance your checkbook? Do you wait until the money runs out or do you wait until the end of the year? Or are you a weekly or monthly balancing type?

I confess that I really hate having to balance my checkbook. Not that it is as scary these days as it was several years ago when I became a single parent of three and there was always more month than money. When my kids were home, I only had to say that I was balancing the checkbook and they knew to give me a wide berth.

In those days, I didn’t have a computer, not that having a computer equals a new abiding love for the task, in fact, that is a love affair that is destined to never happen. But, in those days it was a daily, rather than a weekly or monthly chore, just to keep a tight rein on my finances. Instead of the computer, I used a columnar accounting book and noted each and every receipt. Not the sexiest way to keep track of finances, but it did the job.

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