It's very important to manage your personal finances these days, but doing so can oftentimes present challenges. The average American has more than one credit card and a lot of people have more than one financial account. That's a lot of numbers and figures to keep track of. Most banks offer overdraft protection in that they will pay for your purchases up to a predetermined figure, regardless as to whether or not you have the money in your account, but they generally charge fees for each thing you "bounce."

If you have ever found yourself paying overdraft fees at your bank, falling short of the money that you thought you had, or simply having no idea how much money you have then a checkbook calculator might be the thing for you.

Checkbook calculators have come a long way. For starters, they are no longer just calculators. Some of them do far more than your basic mathematical tasks. These days, you can find checkbook calculators that come with a variety of functions.

Adding, subtracting, dividing, and multiplying are still the basic functions of these calculators, but now they can do more. One of the best functions is the memory function. With this, the calculator can remember past actions that you have made, usually up to 100 actions. Some can even keep track of three accounts at once, a good idea if you have a savings, checking, and credit card account.

Keeping up with your credit card balance can be very important. Most credit cards charge their users with exorbitant over limit fees and late fees, sometimes making payments so high that they become difficult to pay. With a checkbook calculator that can keep track of your credit account, you won't have to get online or call your card to check on your balance.

Sales tax, gratuity, and even sale prices can be figured out with some of these calculators. No more trying to figure out how much you should tip your waiter or how much 25% off of that shirt you want will really be.

For those people that travel abroad, you are able to find checkbook calculators that convert numbers to the metric system.

Size should not be an issue, either, since most checkbook calculators are quite small. You can even find some that are about the same size as a credit card.

Are you afraid of losing your privacy? Well, there are even calculators that are password protected, just like your computer.

Depending on what you want and need, prices for checkbook calculators will vary. You can generally find an inexpensive one for around $10. For a higher end calculator that does a little bit more, they can run upwards of $100. There really is something for everyone.