Debit Card Balance : How To Keep Track Easily

Simply stated your debit card balance is the amount of money that is in your checking account. But of course, like with many things in life, things that sound so simple usually are not quite so easy. There are many ways that you can inadvertently get yourself in debt with your debit card, but some simple steps and diligence can keep your finances on track.[br]

Simply stated your debit card balance is the amount of money that is in your checking account. But of course, like with many things in life, things that sound so simple usually are not quite so easy. There are many ways that you can inadvertently get yourself in debt with your debit card, but some simple steps and diligence can keep your finances on track.[br]

The first step in keeping track of your debit card balance is by keeping an accurate register of your checking account. This is especially important if you also write checks on the account. Even if you are checking the balance of your checking account daily, sometimes things may not have posted to the account yet or there are checks out there that haven’t been cleared. This could mean that you may think you have more money than you really do. This kind of oversight can wreck havoc on your finances and is an incredibly easy mistake to make. 

One of the unforeseen consequences of spending more money than you have is when you have to make use of the overdraft protection on your account. Most consumers that have a checking account have a certain amount of money available to them just in case they overdraw the account.[br]

Basically what this means is that if you process a transaction and don’t have enough money the bank will advance you a loan and accept the transaction. When this happens you get charged a fee for every transaction that comes through your account until you bring the balance current again. Typically this fee is around $30-$35. If you have five overdrafted transactions that will end up costing you over a hundred dollars even if the transactions amount to $5. 

The catch with this overdraft protection is that the bank is required to inform you about the fees when you open your account and then yearly afterward. However, while you are standing in the store and punching in your PIN number, there is no warning that you may be overdrafting the account. The safest way to keep track of a debit card balance is to write down everything in your check register, including ATM and debit card transactions. This will give you an accurate picture of how much money you have regardless of what your online banking says that you currently have.