Do you still write checks?

[Pam]

This thread will definitely date me, but I was wondering who still writes checks. My son thinks I am living in the Dark Ages because I was just balancing my checkbook. I found an error that I made in the amount of $.06 and told him that I was able to find it and fix it. He said "that would never happen to me because I don't write checks." He pays everything on line and uses his debit card. My daughter is pretty much the same way. I just feel comfortable with paper. :p There is something comforting about writing a check. :) How about you. Anyone still write checks?

[sparks19]

Nope.... I have checks... but I don't have a license. LOL so they are pretty useless to me unless it is check by phone hahaha.

[Scooter's Mom]

I pay most everything online. I do mail my car payment in by check, because if you pay by phone or online they add a $10 fee. I don't want to give them an extra $120 a year for that 'convenience' so I just mail it...

[Freckles]

I pay all my regular monthly bills by check. I buy a lot of stuff online and use my credit card for that.

[Karen]

We still use checks, it helps to have a "paper trail" in case there are ever any questions. Also we get nice animal checks, so that people receiving them maybe get a little boost by the cheery picture.

[critter crazy]

I pay all my bills with checks! I do buy things online with my card. I also shop with my debit card. But regular monthly bills get paid with checks! :D

[cali]

I only use cheques for a few things, for axmple when Electra was CERF'd I mailed in the form with a cheque. or I used Cheques to pay for Leck in the first place. basicly things that a Cheque is my only real option. for the most part though I pay with paypal, debit card, or credit cards.

[sparks19]

LOL I am amazed at how many people write us checks at the bead store.... and they are ALL different. We have one lady with Winnie the Pooh checks... we have one lady with Ozzy Osbourne checks lol. I always like to see what the next check will have on it hahaha.

OH plus, my checks are from my Canadian Bank account LOL so that's another reason I can't really use them lol

[Glacier]

I still have them, but I rarely use them. I've had the same bank account for seven years. I'm still using the cheques that came with it. Never had to reorder.

I don't pay any bills with cheques. All on-line or automatic withdrawals. About the only time I use cheques is when I'm buying something from a fundraiser. I seem to write them most often to someone's kid at work! There's always someone selling something for their sport or school.

[sparks19]

I still have them, but I rarely use them. I've had the same bank account for seven years. I'm still using the cheques that came with it. Never had to reorder.

I don't pay any bills with cheques. All on-line or automatic withdrawals. About the only time I use cheques is when I'm buying something from a fundraiser. I seem to write them most often to someone's kid at work! There's always someone selling something for their sport or school.

LOL I am glad you are spelling it cheques. I "corrected" myself everytime I wrote that in this thread LOL. I put CHQ on the deposit sheet at work for our records and my boss says "what is CHQ" LOL oops

[Glacier]

LOL I am glad you are spelling it cheques. I "corrected" myself everytime I wrote that in this thread LOL. I put CHQ on the deposit sheet at work for our records and my boss says "what is CHQ" LOL oops


I've always spelled it that way. Pretty sure that's the Canadian/British spelling. Drives me nuts when my spellchecker tries to change things to the American spellings!

[sparks19]

I've always spelled it that way. Pretty sure that's the Canadian/British spelling. Drives me nuts when my spellchecker tries to change things to the American spellings!


LOL it is. That is how I actually spell it. But it confuses people here in PA sometimes so I have been working on my American spellings :D

[chocolatepuppy]

I still pay bills with checks. I do use my debit or credit card in stores or online and I do have Paypal. ;)

[mike001]

Still pay most things by cheque.

[kimlovescats]

I pay everything online that is available that way! I love it! However, I do print out receipts and also document my confirmation / authorization numbers! So, I still have a "paper trail" of receipts ... but it is easier than writing out checks! ;)

[lizbud]

I still use checks for some bills. Some bills I have set up to be paid by
automatic deduction from my checking account & use a debit card to pay
for most everyday purchases.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

I use checks for bills only once a month- for rent. Sometimes, when a place accepts only cash or check they come in handy, as I almost never carry cash. I find it's too easy to spend and leaves you wondering later "Where did that $20 go?"

Most of the time, I use my debit card to pay for things, and have most of my bills deducted from my checking account, but I can't pay rent that way, so I write a check. :)

[prechrswife]

We pay some bills online, but still use checks for day-to-day things. We actually don't even have a debit card right now.

[momoffuzzyfaces]

I mostly use checks and never a credit card on line. I'm just not comfortable with all that info floating around in cyberspace!!! I seldom buy on line though; only from about two places I've shopped at for years! Yea, I'm old fashioned and that's fine with me! :D

[Cinder & Smoke]

Anyone still write checks?

:eek:
Now days you get accused of "holding up the line" if you write a cheque in a store! :p

I was in a lil Maw & Paw shop a month ago with a few items ($25.00 or so) and
a short line behind me ...
I (incorrectly) assumed they wouldn't have a "modern" card swiper system,
so I'd pre-filled a check with everything but the amount ...

Sweet Young Thing rang me up and ammounced my total --- I scribbled in the amount ...
<rip> ... and offered my cheque before the register tray popped open ...

<DEEP *sigh*> and a mumbled "Don't you have a CARD!? ...
I'll have to get this APPROVED! :mad: ... Cash would almost be easier!"

"Approval" required:
* Paging the Manager from the distant regions of the store
* The Boss arrived wearing a Dirty Look that got more sour we he was handed my cheque
* <DEEP *sigh*> (second one I'd heard for one cheque) and a demand for my driver's license
* A careful comparison of my driver license signature and mug shot
* An inquirey as to the correctness of the check's printed address & phone number
* The affixing of the Manager's Approval via initials in the corner
* And a parting Dirty Look as said Manager returned to his interrupted duties

Not to mention the increasing <mumblings> from the assembled multitudes
now stacked a dozen deep in line behind me! :eek:
"Oh, Good Grief! ... He's trying to pay with a CHEQUE! :mad: "

I grabbed my bag and ran!

/s/ Ole Phart Phred :p

[Cinder & Smoke]

... as I almost never carry cash.
I find it's too easy to spend
and leaves you wondering later "Where did that $20 go?"

Most of the time, I use my debit card to pay for things ... :)

BUTTTT ... :eek:

It's a heck of a lot easier to blow through a truckload of greenbacks using that
good ole Debit Card (well named) and a few trusty Merchants' Card Swipers!

Can be an *eye-opening* experience when you hook up the ole 'puter and have
a look at the Bank's version of the State of the Account ...
OMG!
WHERE'd all that money GO!?? :eek:

I don't remember spending THAT much!
/s/ Poor Boy

:rolleyes:

[Grace]

I pay most household bills on line. When I shop on line I use my credit card. When I go shopping around town I pay with cash or write a check. Don't have a debit card - don't want one. Too easy for someone to get your info and drain the account - IMHO.

[Cataholic]

I usually use my debit card, pay online, have automatic withdrawal, or just skip paying it all together! :D

[Cinder & Smoke]

... or just skip paying it all together! :D

Well, DANG ~

Why haven't I thought of that?

Do "they" still send out "enforcers" with clubs to break fingers? :eek:
:D

[joycenalex]

i voted both. i do a fair number of things online, but this am i wrote a check at the vets.

[sirrahbed]

I thought I would be the last one to do things electronically - but a year ago Missy showed me how to pay my bills online and now that is all I do. I reconcile my balance at least once a week and so always know exactly how much money we have - down to the penny. Our bank still offers this service at no charge and it is so easy for me. I still have my checks for those few times when I need to pay or send money to an individual. (not a business)

Funny story - two Christmases ago I was in Circuit City and bought some movies - I handed the guy my check and he just stood staring at it. He called over another employee and asked what to do with THIS? :D Is it possible he had never even seen a check before??

[jenluckenbach]

Checks I use, it is CASH I never have! LOL

Monthly bills = checks.

Credit card bills = mostly paid online.

Shopping = DEBIT CARD!!! I use that for EVERYTHING (that I don't use the credid card for. LOL)

[Killearn Kitties]

I don't remember the last time I wrote a personal cheque. I do still have a cheque book, but very rarely do I have to use it.

At work we still write the occasional cheque, to suppliers we rarely use, so that it is just not worth getting their details and setting up online payments.

[Freedom]

I do not pay ANYTHING online. I don't trust the 'net enough to link up to my bank, I don't even have access to my bank acocunt on the net.

Most of my bills are set for auto debit. Other things, I write checks.

I don't own a Debit Card, they are anti-consumer and I would never want one! I use the float and gain interest that way.

I use my credit card for everything - even the groceries! By the time I pay for them, we've already eaten them. :D

Cash, well, I've been known to go out with less than $1 in change. Drives Dad nuts. Can be a problem when you get to the front of the line and they have a $10 minimum for credit. I NEVER carry my check book, that stays in the house where it is safe. Only time I know I will need it is for doctor visits; they don't take credit cards, and I never have enough cash for my co payment.

Come tax time, I go through the checkbook register and the credit card statements to pick up all the deductions. If I paid cash, I 'd have a file folder for cash receipts (doubt there would be any receipts IN there, I'd forget to keep them for sure!) In fact last month Dad paid cash for a doctor visit copayment, and I made an entry in the check book register to remind me come tax time!

I do make purchases on line, using a credit card. And I worry. Five years ago, I bought something on line from a BIG company (either L L Bean or Land's End, I won't say more) and the following month I had over $2000 in purchases on my credit card. :eek: Someone had hacked in and used people's cards to go on a spending spree. That's the source of me not trusting the Interent for stuff.

[cyber-sibes]

We have most of the regular bills paid on-line. but i try to keep my on=line purchases really minimal. I still use checks for my retail store charge accounts, doctor appointments, hairdresser, charitable contributions and things like that. I have duplicates, so it's easy to track that way. I use my credit card for most everything else, like groceries & gas.

[Cookiebaker]

I have setup most of our monthly bills with an automatic transfer from our checking account. The bills that I can't do that with, I still pay with check. I just got new checks a couple of weeks ago with cute little children on them. Before those I had wild animals (deer, fox, rabbits etc)

[Daisy and Delilah]

I pay some bills with checks, some with automatic withdrawal. I use my debit card for most everything and try my best to record it in my check register(not always successful with this I'm afraid :rolleyes: ). I use credit cards occasionally and pay them off every month. I do use cash occasionally too. I guess I use all methods to get the job done. :)

[Edwina's Secretary]

The only checks I write are when I cannot either pay on line or by credit card. Such as sending a check to a family member or paying the people who clean my house.

I doubt I write three checks a month. I just finished my first book of checks since moving here two and a half years ago.

[Alasse]

I still write cheques, also pay stuff online using card & by direct debit

Just depends who it is i'm paying

[krazyaboutkatz]

I still have a checkbook but I rarely use checks. I usually use my debit card or cash when paying for things at the store or for gas. I use credit cards when shopping online or for very large purchases or vet bills. I pay all of my credit card bills online and some of my bills like my phone, high speed internet, and utility bill are automatically deducted from my checking account.

[carole]

I write very few cheques these days, (note we spell it differently down under) most of my payments are by automatic payment and i use eftpos for everything,but i do still write my power bill, internet bill, and the odd thing for school etc by cheque.

[slleipnir]

I write the odd check, but mostly I do it online. When I was younger my dad gave me money to pay bills (by check) and learn to balance it and send him a "report" every month or something. (I hated it D:)

[Donnaj4962]

I use my debit card to pay for almost everything.... even monthly bills like phone, cell, car payment, etc.! So easy to justy do it online, print out a receipt, complete with a confirmation #, then verify it with the bank account (also checked online!)

I get all bills that I can online, and that eliminates a lot of extra paper (and saves trees!) coming in my "outdoor" mailbox!

I keep having to buy extra check registers rather than checks since I keep the records, but don't use the checks!

I have noticed that my parents (77 this year) both use their debit card for most purchases, but that they DON'T pay anything online! They still don't trust the safety, and I respect that.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

We pay everything online that we can. If the bill doesn't have the option of paying online then we'll write a check. Some people said they feel more secure writing a check- I feel the opposite. The mail has to pass though too many hands and that makes me nervous. When we do write a check we NEVER put it in our mailbox we always drive it to the post office. Identity theft is far too easy with checks and I'm just not comfortable with them sitting in my mailbox.

[shais_mom]

if your son thinks YOU are outdated he'd fall over with me then!
I had trouble about 6 years ago managing my checking acct and the credit union closed it. So every payday since than I organize all my bills withdraw the cash and take it to one of the local stores and get money orders. (one of them has them for .29) I fill them all out and mail them in via snail mail! :eek:
Its archaic but it makes me feel as tho I have some control and I'm scared of getting a checking account b/c of my mistakes years ago.

[Kalei]

I don't use checks hardly ever, but sometimes something requires a check so I still write em.

[Twisterdog]

We write a LOT of checks.

If my husband had a credit card, it would a BAD situation. He is a spending fool. The ONLY way I can keep track of what he spends is to make him write duplicate checks for EVERYthing. Cash is gone some unknown place in a matter of days ... or hours.

[K9soul]

I pay my bills online and any online ordering is by paypal or my check card, but I still write checks occasionally. I guess I'm more with the times in that way, but I'm still in the dark ages in the fact that I don't own a cell phone.

[Logan]

I was just thinking of this, last week, Pam, when we paid the heating contractor, by check, for some work he did in our house. We don't write many checks at all.

I guess we mostly use checks to pay for things like that, when someone needs to be paid "on the spot". The only other things I can think of is that we pay our church pledge by check or cash, our petsitter gets a check or cash, and we usually pay our vet bill with a check. Everything else is done by automatic draft or by online banking.

[king2005]

I use cheques for rent mostly, but thats the only way to pay lol However I use certified cheques so they can never bounce! My Car insurance has a habbit randomly increasing every month by 50-100 dollars, so a lot of my things bounce cause of them :mad: I started at 120.00/month & I'm up to 450.00/month!! :eek: :eek: :mad: :mad: having a clear history does sqaut for me :( stupid INS! Luckly the INS ladies LOVE Chad so they are putting me into a lower risk catagory so I'll be paying 100.00 less/month WOOHOO (kinda) :p

I use to pay a lot of my bills by credit card as I used it kind of like a cheque but over the phone (instant).. but fraud fixed that idea for me.. stupid theves!! Chad has had his VISA for 3 days & someone already copied it & took all his $$ off it... luckly VISA noticed & stopped the card.

SO thats how I think Cheques better at times. They are harder to commit fraud on. Unlike Credit Cards :(

[lvpets2002]

:) Yes I still write checks.. I as well like the paper trail.. I also pay for some things on line..

[ramanth]

I still write checks or pay cash for just about everything. The only thing I pay for online are the two credit card bills.

Andy uses his debit card or cash.

I do a pretty cruddy job of keeping the checkbook balanced though. *laughs* I have .46 cents extra in my checking account and I have no clue where it came from. :rolleyes:

[k9krazee]

My mom still uses checks to pay bills and stuff.

I use cash or my debit card to pay for everything.

[pitc9]

I pay about 95% of my things on line. I only write about 3 or 4 checks a month.

[Cinder & Smoke]

I have 46 cents extra in my checking account
and I have no clue where it came from. :rolleyes:

:p
Well, don't fret ... wait a few days and
you'll usually discover that the balance has taken a noticeable shift
in the Other Direction!

:eek:

[Lobodeb]

I don't remember the last time I wrote a check. Heck, there are few places that accept them anymore. And now, I just signed up to do this pay by touch thing, that's liked to my bank card, so I don't even have to use that anymore! :o

[Rachel]

For several years now I have banked on line and in one fell swoop can pay all our monthly bills. I do have a separate checking account for bigger bills - insurance payments, real estate taxes, estimated federal taxes and those I write out, but now that I think of it, that account (at a different bank) also has on line banking and I could take advantage of it.

For me it's a no-brainer to save .39 postage (and it's going to be going up too). I'm really surprised at the number of people who authorize payments to be withdrawn from their accounts. I'm too much of a control freak for that, and I could see problems in resolving discrepancies in what is owed, for example in a credit card account. Then too you have to remember to enter those amounts in your payment record.

It's only been recently that I started to use a debit card. Surprisingly I love it and wonder why I resisted.

One thing when using on-line banking one has to be aware of a change of address for the payee. When you pay by check the new address will be on the payment stub, but when you pay on line, you have to change the address of your payee. The companies never seem to bring a *change of address* to your attention and I have run into situations where they didn't get the bank check until after the due date (forwarding time I guess).

Come on, Pam, join the crowd. You'll love on line bill pay. Staci, take a fresh start and find yourself a nice bank with low minimum balance and on line bill pay. You are a bright young woman...you can do this.

[Suki Wingy]

occasionally but I got a debit card so I use that a lot more often.

[finn's mom]

I don't write checks. They are the slowest form of payment at our store, and I can't stand to write them out. Up until recently, I paid bills with checks, though.

[ramanth]

:p
Well, don't fret ... wait a few days and
you'll usually discover that the balance has taken a noticeable shift
in the Other Direction!

:eek:
Don't I know it! I'm guilty of that. :o

Lately I have a buffer of $10 in the account so when monthly account fees get taken out, I don't overdraw the account.

[Cinder & Smoke]

Lately I have a buffer of $10 in the account so when monthly account fees
get taken out, I don't overdraw the account.

Good Luck with the slush fund ...

I used to try to "hide" an extra $100 in my checking account ...
to "cover" the lil "Ooopsies" - forgot to write in & subtract out the $70.00 toy I bought;
and "DARNs" - when I'd make the $20 subtraction errors;
and "Oh, CRAPs!" when I'd discover I entered the SAME paycheck deposit TWICE!

But what's with the "Monthly Account Fees"? :eek:

You need to find a bank that lets you store you money for FREE!
;)

[ramanth]

Good Luck with the slush fund ...
But what's with the "Monthly Account Fees"? :eek:

You need to find a bank that lets you store you money for FREE!
;)
I bank with the local credit union. It's something like $2 or $3 so it's not that bad.

As a teen working a part time job through high school I had an account at a large chain bank. One day they merged with someone else, became National City, and I was told that if I didn't have AT LEAST $300 in my savings account at all times then I'd get charged a WEEKLY fine. I didn't even make $300 a week and had car payments to pay and gosh forbid I actually want to spend my hard earned money.

Closed the account and I've been with Credit Unions ever since. :)

[Rachel]

But what's with the "Monthly Account Fees"? :eek:

You need to find a bank that lets you store you money for FREE!
;)


I'm with Phred on this one, but then I'm in an area that has a bank on practically every corner so have a lot to choose from. Still with a little research I would think you could locate a bank that works well for your particular needs as far as mimimum balances. That $2 - $3 is better spent on ice cream. :D

[kitten645]

I write two checks a month. One to my hairdresser and one for my rent because neither of them are set up to be paid online!
I have to admit that when I'm standing in line to pay for something..groceries etc...and someone whips out a check in front of me I groan silently to myself since it slows down the line :p
As far as someone paying me with a check it also drives me crazy cause I have to make a special trip to the bank and *REMEMBER* to deposit it. I've had a check sit in my wallet for a couple of weeks because I forget about it...which I also know is a PAIN to the writer as it holds up reconsiliation of their account :eek:
I also like using a debit card for the same reason..I spend what I have and that's that...no waiting for the check to clear or spending time chasing an incorrectly written entry!
I will not pay for things via PayPal with the additional fee's. I know merchants pay a percentage to Visa/mastercard etc and that those fee's are worked into the price of the goods or services but it irks me to pay a "fee". Just feels like being charged to use a fork at a restaurant!! :p Same reason I don't shop much online unless the savings are significant since delivery charges are often as much as the item itself. Again I know merchants that offer "free" delivery are working the delivery fee into the price of the goods (after all the Fed Ex guy has to make a living too!) but I'd rather take myself down to Target to get what I need than order it online...not to mention the instant gratification aspect :D
Like everything else, different strokes for different folks! Whatever floats your boat!