Why is it important to review your bank statement every month?

A bank statement is an essential document that displays a summary of transactions that took place via your account during a certain period of time. With the increase in use of digital payments and net banking, the scrutiny of these statements has become crucial than ever. Reviewing a bank statement doesn't need you to visit the nearest branch as you can request for an e-statement that would be sent to you instantly.  

Why is it important to review your bank statement on a monthly basis?

If you're still wondering why you should review your bank statement every month, let's look at a few reasons to do so.

• Verifying recent transactions: Reviewing your bank statement would aid you in knowing the details regarding recent transactions. Since the details would be still fresh in your mind, it would be easier to determine where and why the money was spent. If there's a discrepancy in the records, you will be able to catch it immediately and can avoid confusion in the future.
• Safety from fraudulent transactions: Rise in digital transactions has also led to a rise in online frauds. Therefore, it's necessary to review your bank statement as often as you can, preferably every month. It will aid you in ascertaining if any funds were debited without your consent and tracing fraudulent transactions would be easier. In case you identify such a transaction, get in touch with your bank immediately to resolve the matter.
• Keeping a check on bank charges: Banks may impose charges on transactions or services and you might not be aware of it. For instance, some banks charge a fee for issuing a duplicate passbook and levy debit card charges. To keep a check on these charges, review your bank statement on a monthly basis. You can also identify charges that have been debited but you're not liable to pay them. In such cases, raising a complaint with the bank would be helpful.
• Keeping your expenses under check: You might be spending more than usual. Keeping a check on all your spendings is tricky without reviewing your bank statement in regular intervals. You can read the statement every month to know the unnecessary expenditures made by you. 
• Invest your savings: By reviewing your bank statement, you can find out the amount of savings in the account. You can invest the idle funds in various financial instruments to earn returns. This move can help you build a significantly high corpus in the long-run. If your bank account needs to maintain a minimum balance, then strategise your investment in a manner that these requirements are met.