You daughter-in-law sounds just like my daughter-in-law! Given up making them out to her; now make them out to my son.
Paying with checks, arrrgh!
- Thread starter Kilroy08
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You daughter-in-law sounds just like my daughter-in-law! Given up making them out to her; now make them out to my son.
There is a high probability that I have wrote less than 100 checks in my life. I've been with my current bank going on 4 years and have wrote 20 checks. And I have no recollection of who I wrote 20 checks too....
Until online banking, I would write many checks a month. Now, it's perhaps 20.
Still pay all my bills each month with checks, except for the DirecTV Nazis. Easier to pay extra on a bill that way.
Well, unlike many others in this thread, I'm with you.
I've given-up on checks as much I could, and pay with cash or credit/debit. I especially pay those who don't take debit/credit with cash, rather than check. This last crowd is usually tradesmen providing services at my house.
I don't like the accounting and I can't stand people sitting on my checks. So I try my best to never write one. I prefer online banking and plastic. Debit is my preferred method, unless I have some concerns with an entity having access to my debit card - then I use a credit card for protection. Thing is, where I live pretty much all but the very smallest contractors now are taking credit/debit, so no need for checks or cash!
Can I say I find this whole conversation odd? And I'm pushing 50, so it's not like I was born with my thumbs on a cell phone. I can remember when ATMs were newfangled. I remember checks, and check registers, and writing half a dozen checks every month to pay my bills. Mercifully, those days are over. If I write two checks in a year, it's a lot. If I cash four in a year (and two are from my mother for Christmas and my birthday; some things never change) it's a lot. Paycheck is direct deposited. Every recurring bill is paid automatically, electronically. Even my rent check is mailed automatically by my online bank. I can't remember the last time I walked into a bank to transact business with a human being. I login to keep an eye on things, but otherwise, money comes in, money goes out, no worrying about due dates, little direct interaction from me...
- Thread starter
- #27
It's not the keeping track of the outstanding checks, cheques, etcetera that bothers me. It's the double standard of "We expect our payment by a very specific time" versus "Oh, ok, you were prompt with your payment. We will now deposit it at our leisure." I sure as heck can't pay at my leisure!
Check register? It's called my big huge desk calendar I keep track of the household budget on. I have all the bills with the amounts owed on the due dates. Outstanding checks get written down on the day they were presented as payment, then crossed off as they appear on my account.
I guess I'm just a little overly grumpy.
Check register? It's called my big huge desk calendar I keep track of the household budget on. I have all the bills with the amounts owed on the due dates. Outstanding checks get written down on the day they were presented as payment, then crossed off as they appear on my account.
I guess I'm just a little overly grumpy.
I also must put up with this slowness.
But I notice this in my second checking account. This account is for charity. Here my checks are usually only about three dollars.
But I notice this in my second checking account. This account is for charity. Here my checks are usually only about three dollars.
We had a housecleaner who would sit in checks for months, deposit 5 or 6 of them at a time. Incredibly annoying
Congrats on the purchase of the house! The people like appraisers and inspectors are usually in business for self, or work for a small business. And they might not be able to get to the bank too quickly. Unfortunately that is just he nature of cheques. Also, the banks take a while to "clear" the cheques, whatever that means in this day and age. So even if they are deposited, the banks can hold the funds for a few days before crediting the depositors account. So it can take a while for you to see the debit, even if the cheque is deposited.
Back in the dark ages, I used to pay for things with cheques. Phone, utilities, credit card bills etc. I'd put them in the mail and tell myself that the money was gone. It could easily take one to two weeks before I'd see that in my bank book or at an ATM. Another option was to go to you bank with your bills and pay them out of your account with the help of a teller. I haven't written a cheque for years, as far as I can recall.
Back in the dark ages, I used to pay for things with cheques. Phone, utilities, credit card bills etc. I'd put them in the mail and tell myself that the money was gone. It could easily take one to two weeks before I'd see that in my bank book or at an ATM. Another option was to go to you bank with your bills and pay them out of your account with the help of a teller. I haven't written a cheque for years, as far as I can recall.
My takeaway from this thread is surprise.
In the age of electronic transfers, plastic, Apple Pay and the like, I have written perhaps one check in the last five years. Most businesses in my area don't even take checks. I recently had my basement windows replaced with glass blocks and the mason used his smart phone with a scanner adapter for payment. He was easily 60 years of age.
In the age of electronic transfers, plastic, Apple Pay and the like, I have written perhaps one check in the last five years. Most businesses in my area don't even take checks. I recently had my basement windows replaced with glass blocks and the mason used his smart phone with a scanner adapter for payment. He was easily 60 years of age.
What does this mean: You have to "mentally keep track ..."?
Are you saying you haven't recorded the transactions? What difference does it make if they have cashed the checks or not? The moment you handed them the check, as far as your concerned, the money is gone.
OK, sorry, I see you already answered. You keep track on money in your head. I suggest you write it down because IMO you are making a huge mistake.
The moment you hand someone else a check, the money is gone. End of sentence. Whether or not its actually been cashed and their is float, is moot.
A simple bank reconciliation should clear everything up.
I hate this too. I don't have to write a lot of them but it bugs me. However, I keep my ledger updated and just count the money gone the minute I hand the check over. I put a mark when I see that it's cashed for real.
I do see more and more of that, but I still see plenty of "check only" vendors that want a paper trail (i.e., no cash) but also do not want to pay any fee whatsoever. It doesn't make a heck of a lot of sense to me, either, but that's the way it is.
It's not like a have a lot of room to talk. I do not offer my clients any way to pay me other than by check. Honestly, I haven't even thought about it. I suppose I ought to look into it.
I'm guilty as charged (or checked)😊. I just cashed two checks today that were given to me in November. I work through my banks hours and honestly haven't even been to the bank in the past 4 or 5 years except when someone has given me a check. It's very inconvenient for me to go. I'm not saying I'm right, just saying I can't complain if anyone does this to me.
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