When was the last time you wrote a check?

It’s crazy to think that back in the 90s and even the early-2000s, I wrote a check when I made my bigger grocery purchases (which back then were probably all under $50). I don’t know that my mom still does that, but she was doing it well past the time most people had stopped writing checks at grocery stores.
 
ZenMode said:
Check? What's that?

I think I remember my grandfather talking about "checks".

I wrote one a few years ago. I don't remember why, but I remember going to the bank and getting a couple of counter checks.

I haven't bought a book of checks in probably 20 years.
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What do you do if a serviceman does work at your place?

Especially the solo guys don't have payment systems
 
aGDevil2k said:
What do you do if a serviceman does work at your place?

Especially the solo guys don't have payment systems
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The last work we had done was a garage door repair and I'm pretty sure he had a tablet that took "Tap".

Prior to that, we either pay cash or, for our landscaper, we pay via Venmo, PayPal, etc.

Our previous garage door repair, for a broken spring, we paid cash.

EDIT: The Metro Phoenix area is growing incredibly fast and there are a ton of new businesses. I think all of those new businesses probably have newer payment technology options like tap, Venmo, etc.
 
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This site is currently running from some fine folks writing checks in our past. So props to you check writers! 🩷
 
I write a check every two weeks for our house cleaners. But that's about it. I wrote a check to a neighbor about a year ago for doing some HVAC work. Prior to that, it was probably buying a car and paying cash for it.
 
ZenMode said:
The last work we had done was a garage door repair and I'm pretty sure he had a tablet that took "Tap".

Prior to that, we either pay cash or, for our landscaper, we pay via Venmo, PayPal, etc.

Our previous garage door repair, for a broken spring, we paid cash.

EDIT: The Metro Phoenix area is growing incredibly fast and there are a ton of new businesses. I think all of those new businesses probably have newer payment technology options like tap, Venmo, etc.
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'round here, it's often most affordable to get "that guy who can do stuff" for various projects. Those are check situations.
 
BubbaOtis said:
Checks for income taxes postmarked on the due date usually take over a week to clear.
I'll hold on to my money as long as possible.
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You sound like my mom and that is a compliment
She could pinch a penny
 
05C40 said:
I have not written a paper check in over ten years. Is this typical for folks on this board?
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Wrote 4 yesterday to pay bills. As far as automatic bank drafts and "paperless billing", I only pay things like Home and Auto insurance, cell phone bills, monthly streaming services, things like that. (Don't have a mortgage or that would be auto bank draft too, same with car payments - auto draft). But everything else is all paper baby.

Things like City utilities bills, credit card bills, hospital/medical, etc. those m-fers better send me a paper bill via the U.S. mail - and then I will in turn send them a check via the same route. I'm also not giving anybody my CC # or a debit card # to pay "online".

I got tired of electric bills, water and sewer bills, credit card bills etc being WRONG AND OVER CHARGING ME AND TAKING MY MONEY directly out of MY BANK ACCOUNT leaving me with not much recourse to question THEIR FUCKING MISTAKES in billing.

Good example: colleague of mine got a water/sewer bill from the town in which he resides for close to $1000 for a single month of usage. He immediately checked all his water lines for leaks, perhaps a toilet constantly running, broken water pipes in his house, under his house, in his yard all the way to the street. Nothing. He went to the town's billing dept. with a "help me understand" attitude and the kindly old lady said "No idea. But this is what you owe. Would you like to pay in full now or set up installments?"

So he appeals, does some more digging, has he's folks at the town do some digging... come to find out it was a simple, clerical, billing error - done completely innocently (digitally, probably and automatic whatever-the-fuck they do these days).

But here's the rub: if he had his payments set up online, digitally, automatic bank draft "paper-less" billing... he would not have noticed it until he got his "paperless" bank statement online (which he may or may not look at very closely) and his $1000 would be gone and sitting in the town's bank account. Trust me, he would have had to gone through hell and high water to get that money back, and even if he did, it would have taken months and months. And at the end of it all, the town would probably have said: "We'll keep the $1000 and credit your next billing cycle."

No, not me. Send me a fucking itemized bill so I can scrutinize it and then, only then, when I'm satisfied "an honest mistake" hasn't been made, I'll send you a check in the mail.
 
Once when we had some landscape folks cleaning up a pretty big mess (downed tree limbs from a thunderstorm) in our yard that was going to cost several hundred dollars. Early on, I told my wife I was going to drive over to the bank and make a cash withdrawal to pay the landscapers. When I got inside the bank, there was a line. (No idea why I wasn't using the ATM, maybe it was because this bank always had young attractive female tellers.) While I was in line, I glanced behind me and saw, the head guy from the landscapers (who moved from project to project) was standing behind me with a couple of checks in his hand. He looked at me, laughed, and said, "You're the first person today to pay by cash. Thank you." I just laughed.

ETA: I paid him as soon as I got the cash and he pretty much handed my cash and the other cash he had collected back to the same teller.
 
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Centerpiece said:
Wrote 4 yesterday to pay bills. As far as automatic bank drafts and "paperless billing", I only pay things like Home and Auto insurance, cell phone bills, monthly streaming services, things like that. (Don't have a mortgage or that would be auto bank draft too, same with car payments - auto draft). But everything else is all paper baby.

Things like City utilities bills, credit card bills, hospital/medical, etc. those m-fers better send me a paper bill via the U.S. mail - and then I will in turn send them a check via the same route. I'm also not giving anybody my CC # or a debit card # to pay "online".

I got tired of electric bills, water and sewer bills, credit card bills etc being WRONG AND OVER CHARGING ME AND TAKING MY MONEY directly out of MY BANK ACCOUNT leaving me with not much recourse to question THEIR FUCKING MISTAKES in billing.

Good example: colleague of mine got a water/sewer bill from the town in which he resides for close to $1000 for a single month of usage. He immediately checked all his water lines for leaks, perhaps a toilet constantly running, broken water pipes in his house, under his house, in his yard all the way to the street. Nothing. He went to the town's billing dept. with a "help me understand" attitude and the kindly old lady said "No idea. But this is what you owe. Would you like to pay in full now or set up installments?"

So he appeals, does some more digging, has he's folks at the town do some digging... come to find out it was a simple, clerical, billing error - done completely innocently (digitally, probably and automatic whatever-the-fuck they do these days).

But here's the rub: if he had his payments set up online, digitally, automatic bank draft "paper-less" billing... he would not have noticed it until he got his "paperless" bank statement online (which he may or may not look at very closely) and his $1000 would be gone and sitting in the town's bank account. Trust me, he would have had to gone through hell and high water to get that money back, and even if he did, it would have taken months and months. And at the end of it all, the town would probably have said: "We'll keep the $1000 and credit your next billing cycle."

No, not me. Send me a fucking itemized bill so I can scrutinize it and then, only then, when I'm satisfied "an honest mistake" hasn't been made, I'll send you a check in the mail.
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These are all legitimate concerns. I pay everything on-line. But I have NOTHING that is set-up for automatic withdrawals. I have absolutely no problem going to the biller's website on a monthly basis and paying the bill. Like you, I would NEVER sign up for automatic withdrawals. For me, there is a BIG difference between paying on-line and automatic withdrawals, i.e., one happens without me doing anything and the other requires me to go on-line and make the payment every month. I do the latter and feel more comfortable looking over the bill before I pay it. When I still worked and I was going in early enough to get a seat, I would usually pay bills while riding the Light Rail to Uptown.
 
05C40 said:
These are all legitimate concerns. I pay everything on-line. But I have NOTHING that is set-up for automatic withdrawals. I have absolutely no problem going to the biller's website on a monthly basis and paying the bill. Like you, I would NEVER sign up for automatic withdrawals. For me, there is a BIG difference between paying on-line and automatic withdrawals, i.e., one happens without me doing anything and the other requires me to go on-line and make the payment every month. I do the latter and feel more comfortable looking over the bill before I pay it. When I still worked and I was going in early enough to get a seat, I would usually pay bills while riding the Light Rail to Uptown.
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I'm a Luddite.
 
probably at least once a month. i give to my church by check, pay my water bill by check, HOA dues, various vendors and contractors, etc.

90% of my bills are paid electronically at this point but a few things here and there are still done by check.
 
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