Checking account

At the core of each budget space is one checking account.

This is an account that you open at a bank, credit union or online bank. You deposit money into this account for both safe keeping and to make the money conveniently available to you as cash, for making payments or to transfer money to other types of accounts.

With the advent of computers and the Internet, the name “checking account” for many may seem out of date. With each new generation the idea of writing checks to make payments or withdraw cash from their checking account is losing ground to electronic methods. For example, a debit card, which is fundamentally a reusable plastic check, is used instead of writing checks. Automatic teller machines (ATM) continue to be a popular way to withdraw cash. And transferring money online is easy with services like PayPal, Venmo and Zelle.

The check register is disappearing as well. It is either not used at all or is replaced with a computerized version such as a spreadsheet. The practice of manually keeping track of checking account transactions has been abandoned to the point that the term “check register” no longer appears in the vocabulary of younger wage earners. They have no idea what a check register is. In addition, the name “checking account” is beginning to morph into “debit account” reflecting the increased use of debit cards.

Regardless of how you might handle it, your checking/debit account is the “hub” of your day-to-day personal finances. It is the one place through which your money flows from the sources of your income to the monetary destinations that you choose. And it is the flow of cash from your income sources through your checking account to final destinations that you manage with A Real Budget.