We haven't maintained a checkbook since sometime in the 1990's. We write 2 checks a month for our house cleaning services. I am the spreadsheet nerd in the family preferring my multi page spreadsheet for all things financial. At the beginning of the month I transfer every penny left over in the checking account as of the end of the previous month into another higher interest bearing account. I then transfer a fixed amount into a separate account maintained to cover irregular expenses such as taxes, insurance, oil, maintenance and repair funds, travel, pet care, kennel, medical and other such expenses. I then create a forward projected register of expenses that will hit the main checking account during that month and a likely ending balance. There are probably only 10 transactions to that account per month. Rinse and repeat. I do check my transactions online every few days. I also keep close tabs on credit card spending during the month so that the month end balance doesn't exceed a certain threshold(exclusive of irregular expenses). This process along with uploading all expenses from the checking accounts and credit card statements to my spreadsheet monthly, enable us to review our spending historically as well as from month to month.
