Dear LPG,

I find it interesting that the way we treat our money has changed so much since the time when I was young.  Back in those days it was relatively easy to know how much you had, because your wallet gave it away.  Most of us got paid in cash and we also spent in cash so every time we decided to part with some of the stuff we could see what was left behind, and when things looked a little light in the coinage department we learned to make economies because the weight of our wallet was a constant reminder of where we were up to financially.

Since the Post Office decided that we all have to be paid into an account, things are so different.  We have all had to learn to be our own personal accountants, and we can’t do that unless we make a habit of checking what is happening in our bank accounts regularly.  There is also the fact that it is accepted that we just set up a direct debit for nearly all our bills with the result that we take it for granted that they are all being paid out accurately and forget them too.

So many of us don’t even bother with the monthly bank statements that we are sent;  in fact my bank recently sent a letter asking if I would rather get a quarterly one instead of a monthly one in a bid to save paper.

I compile my own list of what I spend each week and, when my statement arrives, I reconcile my list and the statement that the bank sends to make sure that we both agree and I urge readers to take a good look at what is coming out of your account and what is going in to make sure that you are not being short-changed.

It is so important to make sure that direct debit amounts don’t increase while you are not looking or leave your account a little too often.  Also please remember that when you have finished paying for something the corresponding direct debit actually gets cancelled.  Remember that the company you decide to pay by direct debit are really good at setting them up but will tell you that it is your responsibility to make sure they stop when the time comes.

So, can I just remind readers of how important it is to regularly take a look at what is going on in your bank account, either online if that works for you or by taking a serious look at the paper statement when it arrives on the front doormat?  Also remember that they are worth keeping as proof of what has happened when dealing with discrepancies, which so often have a really funny habit of coming to light some years after they actually occur.  

RW, Dulwich.

LPG looked for some information on this subject, but found that most of what is available on line is again from the USA and written by companies trying to sell a product that will do this for you.  For some reason it is generally accepted that only businesspeople need to reconcile (check that the banks and their version of what has been spent and deposited into an account is the same as your  version).  It can be a bit of a long-winded job and most of the information we have found is quite complicated, but so many people miss bits of money that are being taken out of their accounts these days that LPG agrees with RW that we should all make the time to find out how to check what is going on in our accounts…

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