Here's a New Year's resolution that I bet you didn't think of—stop balancing your checkbook!

Here's why you should at least consider my advice. Take the case of a man I know—Tom—who always balances his checkbook to the penny. He estimates taking about two or three hours per month on the financial administration necessary to balance his checkbook. That works out to about 30 hours per year. The last time he found a mistake was five years ago. He recouped a whopping $10. Thus, for his 150 hours of "work" the past five years, he earned about 7 cents per hour! Now suppose he actually found a $100 error every other year. His pay rate would still only be a mere $1.67 per hour!

What's really interesting about Tom's situation is that like many other people, he's busy and has little free time. He hasn't taken the time to learn about and fully utilize his employer's benefits package. He also isn't that knowledgeable about tax reduction and investment strategies. That's why I think Tom is wasting his time balancing his checkbook—time that could be better spent learning about and implementing financial strategies that have a big payoff.

Given how many hours we work to earn money, you should want to make the most of your finances. But you must prioritize your money tasks. Time is limited, and life is short. Knowing the precise balance of your checking account doesn't give you bonus points or increase your life expectancy.

Even if Tom was doing everything right financially, I'm sure he could better spend those 30 hours per year now spent hunched over his checkbook register and calculator. He could read a good book, spend time with friends, and do other things that he really enjoys.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that everyone should overlook what's going on in his or her checking account! Everyone should definitely track large deposits and withdrawals in their accounts to ensure they are accurately processed. If you regularly bounce checks due to low account balances, it might cost you a bundle to not know what your current balance is. But that doesn't mean that you have to balance your account to the penny. You have my permission not to!

For Sound Money, I'm Eric Tyson.

Eric Tyson is a financial counselor, syndicated columnist, and author of the best-selling books Personal Finance for Dummies and Investing for Dummies.