Even though addition and subtraction are skills learned at a young age, they are used throughout your life. Let’s look at bank registers, which are used by bank customers to keep track of the amount of money in their bank account.

• A bank register is a table the bank usually provides when an account is opened. It is used to record all transactions and to keep track of the current account balance.



• A transaction can be a deposit or a withdrawal.
• A deposit is when a bank customer places more money into his or her account, such as depositing a paycheck.
• A withdrawal is when a bank customer takes money out of his or her account. Withdrawals can be in the form of a check, a cash withdrawal from the bank, or an online bill payment.

Decide if the following would be deposits or withdrawals from a check register and move them to the correct column.

Below is an example of how to use a bank register.

Samantha wants to save for a new computer. She has $10.00 saved, so she is babysitting to earn more money. Each time Samantha babysits, she adds her earnings to her previous savings.

This week Samantha babysat three times. On the first day, she received $25.00. On the second day, she received $36.00, and on the third day, she received $15.50.

She has to pay her parents $1.75 each time they transport her to or from her babysitting jobs, so Samantha subtracts her transportation expenses from her earnings to obtain a current balance of the money she has saved.

Samantha decided she would enter the information into a bank register. This way she can have an accurate current balance of her savings.

Below is the check register Samantha uses to keep track of her current balance. Click on the arrow to see how Samantha filled in the check register.

How are mathematical operations represented in the check register?

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Need a hint?

Check the column headers to find the two mathematical operations represented.

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Check Your Answer

The amounts in the withdrawal column are subtracted from the total, and the amounts in the deposit column are added to the total.

Samantha pays her parents at the end of the month, but she uses the check register to keep a daily total. How can she determine the total amount she would pay her parents at the end of the month?

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Need a hint?

The withdrawal column includes all of the transportation costs.

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The transportation costs are a withdrawal. To find the total amount withdrawn for transportation, add all the costs in the Payment/Withdrawal column labeled “transportation.”

Julio started the month of October with $453.56 in his checking account. He wrote this week’s transactions in his check register but hasn’t balanced it. Julio’s check register is below. Move the correct values into the balance column of the check register by clicking and dragging on the transaction amount.

Practice

1. Sara has $53.27 in her bank account. She deposited a birthday check from her grandparents for $50 and a check from her aunt and uncle for $25. Yesterday, she wrote number check 421 to ABC Groceries for $36.58. Find Sara’s current balance.

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   Need a hint?

   Add the deposits to the balance, and subtract the withdrawal.
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   Check Your Answer

   
2. Julio has $2,537.56 in his bank account. He wrote check number 578 to XYZ Garage for $47.89, check number 579 to LMN Utilities for $189.93, and made a direct payment from his account for $987.26 to be sent to his mortgage company. What is Julio’s current balance?

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   Need a hint?

   The checks and the direct payment are all withdrawals. They will be subtracted from the balance.
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3. George would like to purchase a new cellphone that costs $399.99. He paid this month’s bills, and his bank register shows a balance of $176.24. George deposited a check for $524.89 that he received for a job he did last week. Unfortunately, his tire is flat and he needs a new tire for his car. George wrote check #321 to DCB Tire for $224.98. Determine if George will have enough in his bank account to purchase the cellphone.

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   Need a hint?

   First, find the current balance of George’s bank register by adding his paycheck and subtracting the check. If his current balance is more than $399.99, he will have enough in his bank account to purchase the cellphone.
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   The cost of cellphone is $399.99, which is less than George’s current balance of $476.15. George will have enough in his bank account to purchase the cellphone.