How Often Should You Check Your Bank Statement?

•   That figure rises to $500 if you notify your bank after two days but before 60 days after the bank statement showing the unauthorized transactions was issued. One benchmark study found that 36% of Americans check their bank account every day, while 30% check it once a week. •   Monitoring your checking account regularly is crucial for managing finances effectively. If you want to keep a closer eye on your finances, checking your bank statement regularly may be a good place to start. Some banks can charge you multiple overdraft fees in one day, with or without a limit; in some cases, the bank can add an excess overdraft fee once you incur a certain number of overdrafts. Once you’ve done what you can with checking, it’s time to think about places to put additional funds that earn you money.

• Pay attention to the snapshot your financial institution gives with how much money is truly deposited each month versus pre-tax estimates or a ballpark average.
• You can check on your accounts, download statements, make payments, and send and deposit checks all without the need to visit a local branch.
• With online and mobile banking, you can also set up alerts to let you know when transactions are posted.
• Even more surprising, there was an 84% rise in check fraud from 2021 to 2022 according to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
• You may also report identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission to work on recovering your identity.
• Try to review your savings account statement at least once or twice a month.

Check Your Bank Statement

Reviewing your bank statements on a regular basis may help you spot fraud or errors, avoid overspending and stick to a budget. Balancing your checkbook might have gone the way of, well, checkbooks, but you still need to monitor your accounts. Here are just a few reasons to check in on your checking account regularly. How great is it to look at your checking account balance and see more money than you need for bills that month? As lovely as it may feel, there’s little reason to keep more than you need in checking.

Benefits of Monitoring Checking Account Activity

Most banks discourage personal visits and even charge a fee to access personal services. Credit unions with shared branching networks have thousands of branches and will readily offer personal assistance to their account holders. Also, to avoid ATM fees, use your bank’s ATM instead of out-of-network machines because they usually charge a fee when you check your account balance. There is no general frequency to monitor your account – what may be enough for one account holder may not be enough for another holder. But monitoring your account once a month is not enough to protect you from fraud, fees, or aligning your finances.

Use Online Banking

Some apps allow you to use biometric authentication such as FaceID or your fingerprint, providing an extra security layer against unauthorized access. While it might seem tedious, remember that not monitoring your account can be expensive. In addition to balancing the sheets, it can also protect you from the repercussions of identity theft and fraudulent activity. Amanda has written in the personal finance space for several years and previously worked as a risk analyst at a local community bank. She researches economics, emerging financial trends and the future of work, publishing her work on Medium.

By following these best practices, you can ensure that you stay on top of your finances, detect any issues, and make informed decisions. Regularly checking your bank accounts is a vital part of keeping your finances on track. The exact frequency with which you look at your accounts is a personal decision, but what’s important is that you stay on top of your checking account. While checking accounts are generally safe, it is wise to check your balance every day if you think you’ve been phished, scammed, or hacked. Closely monitoring your account can help you quickly detect and report bank account fraud. If you live paycheck to paycheck or are trying to reign in your spending, you’ll want to check your accounts even more frequently.

Any opinions, analyses, reviews, or recommendations expressed are those of the author’s alone and have not been endorsed by any of our network partners. It is best to access your account using the self-service methods described. You will be more save time by monitoring your account on the internet instead of visiting your branch. Debit card fraud protection isn’t as strong as credit cards, so it’s important to immediately report any suspicious behavior on your account.

In addition to monitoring your checking account, you should also check up on other accounts, such as savings and credit card accounts, on a regular basis. At least once a month you should check your personal information, including your email and phone number, to make sure those things are up to date. Also, you may want to change your mobile and online banking password every three to four months.

This is also true for folks who receive irregular paychecks from multiple sources, (such as freelancers or the self-employed), who might need to monitor their income more closely. You assume the money will clear your account in one to two business how often should you typically monitor your checking account days, so you pay your bills, buy groceries, and fill up on gas using your debit card. However, the check ends up taking five days to clear your account and, in the meantime, all those transactions post, putting your balance in the negative.