Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open.

How long should I keep an uncleared transaction in my checkbook?
Typically I'll carry the charge for quite awhile, up to a year.  If it hasn't cleared by then, I contact the institution that should have received the money to see what they want to do about it.  If they tell me not to worry about it, then I change the payee to be "Overdraft Protection", and consider it as having been spent.  That way I build up (slowly) a cushion in my checking account.