In an effort to move deeper down the rabbit hole of technology, I have started using a digital bank ledger. I had trepidations at first, but iCheckBalance by Sonmbol held my hand and walked me to the other side.

The app is simple to use with minimal features. That is a good thing in my opinion. I just need an app to keep track of my bank accounts. I’m still not ready for all the bells and whistles that come along with fancy financial programs. iCheckBalance lets you input withdrawals and deposits of multiple accounts, lets you track your bills, including due dates, and lets you input account transfers. It works just like a bank ledger, except for the bill tracking part.

Most of the people I know don’t even balance their checkbook. They just check their accounts online. I’ve never felt comfortable doing that. What if there is an outstanding check that I forgot about and my account shows that I have a few hundred bucks, but suddenly I am overdrawn later that day. I feel like I have more control when I balance my checkbook. Going digital started out as an experiment in old-dog-new-tricks ideology, but has turned out to be a more convenient choice. I don’t carry my checkbook around with me, so I would have to wait to enter a purchase. Since I carry my iPhone with me everywhere, I can balance on the go with ease.

My only complaint is that there is no way to sync the information to anything. If something went wrong with the app, all of my purchases would be lost forever. Again, probably not a big deal for most people, but it scares me a little. I overcame that missing feature by taking screenshots of the ledger every once in a while and emailing them to myself. That way, there is a back-up record of my banking transactions.

The iPhone version is currently on sale for $1.99. There is also an enhanced iPad version for $2.99 if you need a larger view.