6. Instant Balancing works best when your checkbook is up to date. It will instantly become Frustrated Balancing if you left out a few key postings, like an ATM withdrawal or an automatic deposit.

How To Use Instant Balancing

Remember goal - your checkbook balance must agree with bank’s balance. The assumption is that bank has right number. So, bank’s balance won’t change, but your checkbook balance might.

The steps in next section may seem a wee bit detailed at first. But, good news – there’s 3 “you’re DONE’s” scattered throughout steps. If you’re lucky, you’ll be finished after step 2.

As with any new process, it may take a few times before you’re comfortable with Instant Balancing. The secret to Instant Balancing is timing. If your timing is good, you’ll finish at step 4. If it’s great, you’ll finish an instant after you access your online bank balance.

Instant Balancing Steps

1. Sign onto your bank’s web site and access your checking account transactions (in date order, latest transactions first.

2. Look at bank’s balance and then your checking account balance. If they agree, you’re DONE.

3. If they don’t agree, figure out date you last balanced your checkbook. * Find transactions in bank’s online records but NOT in your checkbook from that date forward to present. * Record these transactions (checks/debits or deposits/credits) in your checkbook.

* Do math to bring your balance up to date.

4. Look at bank’s balance and then your updated checking account balance. If they agree, you’re DONE.

5. If they don’t agree, remember date you last balanced your checkbook. * Find transactions are in your checkbook but NOT in bank’s online records from that date forward. * On a piece of scrap paper, ADD transaction checks/debits to your checkbook balance. * SUBTRACT transaction deposits/credits from your checkbook balance.

6. Look at bank’s balance and then your updated checking account balance. If they agree, you’re DONE.

7. If they don’t agree, either bank made an error or you did when you Instant Balanced. Try comparing bank transactions against yours to find out who’s in error. If this doesn’t work, you made a math error. Give it to someone else to check.

Disclaimer: The information in this article is beneficial if properly used by reader. The author cannot be held liable for monetary loss resulting from using Instant Balancing or from failure to take adequate Internet security measures.

Copyright 2005 by Valerie Mills

Valerie Mills is a sales copywriter specializing in direct mail and web advertising. She writes sales letters, web pages, and brochures for the finance, self-help, and technology areas.

Valerie has also written several articles and an ebook for parents: please refer to http://teachyourkidsaboutmoney.com for more information.

The Sports. Very briefly US pros generally turn to Basketball as a major source of income simply because of sheer number of games - you need to bet high numbers of games to get returns. Remember a good bettor will still lose around 4.4 to 4.6 bets out of 10. Football (NFL) is big too though game numbers are few. Hockey does not have many takers but lines are often best value - prices can be very generous. Baseball runs somewhere in between. In UK and Europe it is mainly Soccer and Horse Racing. There is no tax on betting in UK which is a big advantage and no pari-mutuel system on horse racing. The price you get in morning is price you stay with - unlike US horse betting which is subject to starting price odds and heavy taxes.

The key to success in any trading or betting environment is value. If you are not getting a value price, then you will find it hard to make a profit. You need to indentify "product" eg a stock or a team - it doesn't matter. If your expectation of that product doing well is higher than price on display - in relative terms, you "buy" it. Still, if you are not profitable in your betting after say 350 bets or thereabouts - it may be time to say "ok this is not for me" or "ok let me re-think my betting strategy." You simpy cannot tell if you are a good or bad bettor after 10, 20 or 50 bets - with those low numbers you are still falling victim to standard deviation and probability.

Generally I have found that sports betting produces better average returns year on year, than stock markets. It is tougher work psychologically, as you generally act in a lone capacity. No corporate social or support structure, no lunches, no team environment. But then no bosses or politics...

Betting is also virtually recession proof, lets face it only a huge war might disrupt national sports schedule. Sports markets are not influenced by economy. As a pro bettor, you worship different gods and your path is one that runs through wilderness and is not well trodden. You will love it or hate it..

The author has been a professional sports bettor and trader for 8 years and is actively involved in the betting industry: