Do you still write checks?

[Guest]

...Telephone solicitors often say they would prefer that I use a card, but I tell them that if they want a donation, they will have to send me a letter and I will send them a check...

You respond to telephone solicitations? Your phone must ring off the hook. If someone calls me without identifying himself in the first sentence, I immediately hang up. If he says “This is Fred from XYZ charity...,” I respond with “I never respond to phone solicitations, and if your organization calls me one more time, I’ll never donate another penny to you, and I’ll take you off my will. Understood?”

[+ Avalon]

There are several Czechs I'd like to write up! ;-)))

[MikeBiDude]

Yes

[TruthBTold]

Hardly ever. Luckily most of my siblings bank at the same bank so we can use Quikpay and send money to each other online through the bank. Providers (non-sex) mostly will take credit cards (although they don't like it and a few won't). The few that will absolutely only take a check I have to write through my bank online and then they send the check to the entity. It takes about a week.

[+ bashful]

Still writing checks, but nearly not as many. Pay credit card bills online, but still have paper statements because, for whatever reason, I notice discrepancies on paper easier than looking online. Charities get checks, except for the one-offs (natural disasters, friends running, or walking for something, etc.), tradesmen, and I like to be flexible with paying my monthly association fee by check (may pay a few months ahead).

 

Have paid for cars with checks for more than a decade except for recently. Loan rate was very low, and I think my savings rate will surpass the loan rate shortly, but the payment is deducted from my savings account, so no check.

[+ Charlie]

You respond to telephone solicitations? Your phone must ring off the hook. If someone calls me without identifying himself in the first sentence, I immediately hang up. If he says “This is Fred from XYZ charity...,” I respond with “I never respond to phone solicitations, and if your organization calls me one more time, I’ll never donate another penny to you, and I’ll take you off my will. Understood?”

I only respond to organizations that I have given to regularly over the years, but I always tell them to send me something in the mail. I never give to anyone who makes a cold call solicitation, and I tell them that. My phone does ring constantly with requests for contributions, and most of the time I look at the caller ID but don't answer. I am more likely to give to organizations that never use phone solicitations.

[instudiocity]

This and checks to charity. Annual check to the tax guy and then a check to the feds or state if I owe something. That's about it. Most of the checks I formerly wrote are now either directly payments from the bank or in some cases they do still send a paper check.

One of the greatest feelings in the world is when I’m paying my fed taxes online with my 2% cash back credit card!

[OneFinger]

I don't use banks and only 2 credit unions. Both credit unions offer to print and send checks for my recurring bills (no charge). So all my recurring bills are paid by the credit union using their checks - not mine.

 

I'm not a big fan of giving other business access to my accounts for automatic payments. I must prefer doing the electronic checks rather giving them access. Don't trust a business automatically debiting my account.

[RM]

I write checks for condo fees every three months, property taxes, a few charities, and hardly anything else. My bank billpay mails checks for any medical bills I receive. Now some are asking for a copay when I visit, so those get paid by credit card. Most everything else is automatic or online.

[Smurof]

My grandmother (I suppose bless her heart could get inserted here) whipped out a checkbook at Carl's Jr. back in the early eighties. She drove to the bank leaving me there as collateral to retrieve money to pay for our now very cold food upon return. We are soon closing in on the day when my bank will tell me they no longer issue or honor them.

[body2body]

Yes, I wrote a check last week to a neighbor for $64 to pay for a bottle of Cologne she had picked up for me in France (it’s no longer available here). I used a check to pay my plumber to install a new kitchen faucet. They still have a use for me. At my business, we encourage clients to pay by check. Because we deal with expensive merchandise the credit card merchant fees can amount to thousands of dollars. I’ll gladly wait a few days for a check in the mail.

[+ GregM]

Haven't written a check since 1996. Everything is pretty much done online or I use Samsung Pay on my phone when I buy from a merchant. I'm almost considering doing away with accepting g cash when working. Do it digital either fiat or crypto. Trying to get to an ATM can be a pain sometimes. Try as one might, in 8-10 yrs cash will be no more.

 

Hugs,

Greg

[LADoug1]

Yes I still write check although I do use autopay whenever possible. Not sure how to use bank’s bill pay option.

[mike carey]

Not sure how to use bank’s bill pay option.

That's one thing that's really easy here, and it's the same system at all the banks. Merchants put a merchant number and an account number on every bill, you go to the bank's site (or log into their phone banking) and enter that detail and the amount into the BPay option. You can use any account to pay or your bank credit card if the merchant allows card payments. Australia Post also has a payment system that uses its own set of merchant and account numbers. You can use that by phone or on-line and you can also take paper bills into any post office where they scan the Post Billpay barcode then you pay over the counter, and they take cheques and credit cards (I'm not sure if you can pay all bills by card). [You can take multiple bills in and pay them in one transaction, with one cheque. The bills are itemised on the receipt.]

[Chuckball]

I haven't written a cheque in years. I pay bills on line. Even cash purchases such as at coffee shops or fast food outlets, can be paid by credit card or bank debit card. Banks charge too much service fee if cheques are used.

[Inkdnaija00]

I sure do...

[Guy Fawkes]

One Check each month...

[+ tassojunior]

I periodically forget where I keep my checkbook.

 

Same here. One check every 6 months or year.

 

Also haven't been to a bank to deposit in 3 years. All by bank app.

[Guy Fawkes]

The Rent is the only check I write... They're still working to fix that.

 

Edited August 4, 2018 by Guy Fawkes

[TruthBTold]

No however for a very few vendors I have to have the bank send a check through my account. However I do not actually have checks or do the writing.

[sincitymix]

1 check a month. it took me over 2 or 3 years to finish out one check book.. and i still have 3 more check packs in the box they sent..

[+ WilliamM]

I moved recently, and paid two credit card bills by check And I will continue to pay by check. I like the due dated nearby on paper.

[TruthBTold]

No however for a very few vendors I have to have the bank send a check through my account. However I do not actually have checks or do the writing.

 

However, it has been hard not to have any checks available at times. Generally it is with service people (no, not them). I simply do not have any checks so they can either take a credit card or send me a bill and I can send that to the bank.

[mike carey]

I still have cheque books for a small number of bank accounts, suffice to say they have 19... printed at the end of the date field, and two of them are for banks that no longer exist (the old banks have been bought out and the accounts migrated to the new bank, but the old cheques still work). Last time I called an electrician, I made sure I had cash to pay him. Interestingly, when I had my car serviced last month ($1600 - some major work needed, new brake pads for example, it was the 250,000 km service) they gave me the bill and asked my to pay it by bank transfer on-line, they were sick of the credit card costs (note, here companies are allowed to charge you what it costs them to use CCs but they didn`t do that). I may offer to pay by cheque next time (although I suspect that having me do it on-line works better for them). Also, when I had a furniture removal a couple of months ago they were happy for me to pay by bank transfer.

[+ purplekow]

I write checks all the time. Home repair guys, landscaper, gifts and even the occasional escort. It is easier when traveling not to have to carry enough cash to cover an overnight or two. Of course the only ones who will take a check are guys I know well and have seen multiple times. I would think for traveling escorts, checks from a reliable source would cut down on the amount of cash they have to carry. In any case, check me off in the check column. Check.