Teaching your students how to balance a checkbook is one of the most important skills you can teach them. They will be able to do so with confidence when they are asked to make the paper work that is required by law in order to protect themselves from large financial burdens. Just because it is a legal requirement to have this document, however, does not mean that you can’t teach them the skills to be able to keep it in good shape on their own.
There are many ways to teach your students to balance a checkbook. The best way is to have your students practice doing it so that they can check for themselves. This way they can see the steps involved when checking the checkbook for a balance before they even know what they are doing. Students need to see a balance and they will learn at an early age just how important it is to be able to maintain a balance and know how to keep it correct.
Before a student is taught how to balance a checkbook, there needs to be a sheet of paper with all of the numbers on it that represents the various balances. The number from zero to the total of the sum total of the checks in the account needs to be written in the correct place. Each time the student checks the balance of the account he or she will have to look at the number and write down the corresponding amount to be paid. The student needs to check the balance every time to keep the paper checkbook correct.
Teachers can also use a worksheet that is specific to each checkbook in the account. There may be times when a student has trouble writing a specific sum due for a check. That worksheet will provide the student with the guide to write a specific sum due on the checkbook. When students don’t know what the total amount is, they will be able to look at the correct number and then write it down on the worksheet.
Students will have to check the amounts on the checkbook for each of the two categories. In a regular checkbook there are a zero to the amount for income and a sum of the net value for expenditures. In this instance, the total would be the income and net account value for each category.
This example is meant to illustrate how simple money management can be if you keep all of the money you spend right where it belongs. As you are learning how to balance a checkbook, you need to teach yourself to keep a balance between your income and your expenses. When you see the money left over after all of your expenses you will have the ability to pay off your bills in full.
Most checks, whether they are made out in cash or electronically, will have a total on them to show how much the check is worth. When students are first learning how to balance a checkbook, they will learn about the total amount to be paid and what the balance is on the check. You need to show students that they need to be careful with the amount they take out of the account and this will help them to learn the difference between your income and your expenses. When they learn how to write the checks themselves, they will be able to write the correct amount on the check that will be used to pay off the student’s debts.
Balance sheets are the most important part of the checkbook. Students will not have the skills needed to write a balance and the teacher will not be able to show the students how to check for themselves. Without learning how to balance a checkbook, students will never be able to learn how to keep the accounts in good condition and be able to pay off their bills on time. Teaching your students how to balance a checkbook and what the process is that they need to do to write a check is very important.
