t is critical to know the normal balances of different accounts and classifications while you are recording transactions. In the first part of Chapter 2, we learned that the normal balance of an account refers to the side (debit or credit) that indicates an increase to the account. For example, when we say that assets have a debit normal balance, it means that all asset accounts increase with a debit (and decrease with the opposite side, a credit).

There are lots of different ways to remember normal balances! I prefer the acronym that I use in my lecture videos (WEAD CLRC: Withdrawals, Expenses, Assets have a Debit normal balance; Capital, Liabilities, Revenues have a Credit normal balance). The textbook has a nice chart, along with the sentence, "All elephants will love rowdy children," as a pnemonic device. There are also plenty of other memory aids used by websites on the internet.

1. How do you remember the normal balances of all the different accounts that we have learned about? Why is this specific way most helpful to you?