To calculate your balance, record you checkbook's current balance either at top of a piece of paper, or on back of your statement. It is recommended you use back of your statement if your bank provides a worksheet there for calculating your balance. Now, subtract amounts for uncleared deposits and bank fees, including monthly fees and those for bounced checks, and subtract from your calculated total. Then add any uncleared checks and interest you have earned to this new figure. Finally, compare final figure to your bank statement.

If you discover at this point in time that your bank has unfairly charged you for something, get in contact with them as soon as possible. Also, if you notice any discrepancies first time around, or can't reconcile your final balance to bank statement, you might want to double and triple-check your calculations.

On lower right side of check, make sure you write your signature. Also, take note of check number, date, payee, and amount in check stub or check ledger at front of your checkbook. Now subtract amount of your check so you can calculate how much money you have left in your account after check clears.

Here are some extra tips for writing checks: know how much money you have in your bank account at any given time, as you will be charged a fee for any checks that bounce due to insufficient funds. Also, if you aren't very good at keeping records, use a checkbook that makes an automatic carbon copy of checks you write. This will come in handy when you're busy or rushing to make payments.