I was a bit taken aback but on recovery I said I realized we weren’t much alike, but on a philosophical note, I pointed out that it was good to have friends from a wide variety of personality types.
“Oh, no,” she said, “it isn’t just the personality thing; it’s more the way you keep your checkbook.”
“Keep my checkbook” I said, “what do you mean?”
She said: “You know, Mom, how you always write the number and amount of the check on the back cover. None of my friends keep their checkbooks that way. We always add and subtract every check and keep an accurate balance.”
I said I thought that was a good trait and certainly one I admired, but I admitted I didn’t know how my friends kept their checkbooks and certainly never choose friends based on checkbook-keeping.
But I was intrigued, so I decided to test the theory: What was the relationship between friends and checkbooks?
The next time I played bridge, I asked the folks around the table – good friends, all, – how they kept their check books. I didn’t have to explain, everyone seemed to know what I meant.
One said that when the statement came in from the bank each month, she threw it – unopened - in a box and planned to keep the box for seven years because she heard that was an IRS requirement.
Another said she changed banks every three or four months. She explained that she couldn’t stand to keep track and the bank eventually cleared things up and gave her a balance, so she could start anew.
And the final player said she kept her check register but admitted she rounded off to the nearest dollar and accepted the statement balance every month.
So, I went back to my daughter and admitted that her methodology was actually quite valid. How you keep your checkbook was a pretty good way to choose friends; however, it probably wouldn’t be the first question I’d ask.
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