How to Prevent Bounced Checks

When you bounce a check, you basically wrote a check when there wasn't any money in your back account to cover it. This mistake can be embarrassing and costly. Prevent bounced checks by paying attention to your finances and bank transactions.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Record all uses of your checking account diligently. It's easy to write a check and forget to write it down, leaving you with an incorrect balance on which to operate.

2. Balance your checkbook weekly. Match receipts to your entries as recorded and immediately deposit more into the account if it looks like you overspent on the account. Always balance your checkbook against your bank statement.

3. See if your financial institution offers courtesy bounced-check protection. This service is often free, and transfers money from another one of your accounts if your checking account experiences an overdraft.

4. Avoid writing a check if you know you don't have the cash to cover the amount. If this becomes an issue, stick to making purchases with cash as much as possible.

5. Use your savings account to cover your checking account. This way, balances are connected, and rather than an overdraft, a potentially bounced check will be saved from the balance in your savings account.

6. Couple your checking account with a credit card. This can be a beneficial service, however, it can also be abused. Before signing up for such a service, make sure you understand all rules and service fees involved.

7. Know what banking fees will be deducted from your checking account each month so you can prevent a bounced check based on automatically deducted fees you weren't expecting.