How often do you use a checkbook? or do you pay all bills online?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you have automatic payments set up for everything and just check your bank once a week? My wife wants me to do everything online, I actually like writing a check. It make me feel more accountable.

What does accountable mean? You can keep a paper ledger if you want.

[Anonymous]

Is it paper you like, or is it individually signing off on each payment you like? These are separable issues.

[Anonymous]

Writing checks is a one-off. For utilities/mortgage, I use automatic payment. For medical bills, I use the online option. Ditto DC speeding camera/parking tickets (UGH).

For money owed to friends (say, someone got me a concert ticket and I need to pay for it), PayPal or Venmo.

Last time I used a check, I think it was to the contractor (his preferred method of payment).

[Anonymous]

I write checks for most of my bills: rent, electric, cell phone, home phone, Internet service, etc. I do have my credit cards set up so that I can pay them directly from my bank account. I would never do auto-pay for anything. Billing mistakes happen, and I don't want to end up with a negative balance because I mistakenly got a $10k bill or something like that.

I am sort of ambivalent about actually _paying_ by check, but I do like getting paper bills. They are useful as proof of residency, and also as a reminder to not forget to pay them. I normally pay bills as soon as they arrive, but it is occasionally helpful to have some flexibility on whether to pay them immediately or closer to the due date.

All of the above being said, I would _never_ write a check in a retail establishment. I hate when old people do that and tie up the checkout line at stores. I am normally a cash user for day-to-day purchases, but I use credit cards for large purchases, mail-order purchases, or when I need a record of the transaction.

[Anonymous]

I write checks to avoid pay 1-3% fees for wire transfers, auto withdraws or credit card payments to pay bills. I just did a 6 figure kitchen remodel, paying all by checks, because the contractor and subs all wanted 3% extra for fees. I said no way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I write checks to avoid pay 1-3% fees for wire transfers, auto withdraws or credit card payments to pay bills. I just did a 6 figure kitchen remodel, paying all by checks, because the contractor and subs all wanted 3% extra for fees. I said no way.

Who charges a fee for ACH bank withdrawals?

[Anonymous]

I use a mix. However, the main checking account that we pay our daily bills out of has paper checks and I keep the ledger and balance it all the time. Sure, I'm usually off somehow by a couple of bucks, but I don't get upset about that.

For accounts that are holding reserve funds, I usually don't write checks or keep the ledger, but I do have one so I can remember what I wrote a check for in unusual circumstances from that account. But the running total isn't correct on that one because it's reserve.

I pay most of my bills online, certainly all the monthly ones and through autopay as the cell bill gives a discount.

[Anonymous]

I pay most of my utilities by check. Why? Because I work for the Postal Service. We need as much mail as possible!

[Anonymous]

I pay a few contractors by check because they offer a discount or it makes them happy. I also send checks for some bday gifts. I think we needed one to buy a car last year?

My checks still say Chevy Chase Bank on them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I write checks to avoid pay 1-3% fees for wire transfers, auto withdraws or credit card payments to pay bills. I just did a 6 figure kitchen remodel, paying all by checks, because the contractor and subs all wanted 3% extra for fees. I said no way.

Who charges a fee for ACH bank withdrawals?

My contractor/designor for my kitchen (design/build) wanted to charge 1%. I said no.

[Anonymous]

Just my lawn guy. He’s old school and sends me a paper bill with a self addressed envelope, so I write a check and have to pay for the stamp as well.

Everything else is either ACH or credit card.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Once a year I set up all of my payments for the year. I pay a set amount for utilities and then at the end of the year either have a credit or have to pay a little bit.

For bills that do not do electronic pay, I have them automatically bill my credit card.

For property taxes and insurance, when the bill arrives, I schedule it for payment online - taxes have to be debited, insurance takes electronic pay.

I have two annual bills that charge to pay he credit card and don’t take electronic payments. For those, I write a check and deliver it in person.

The reason I have so many bills that don’t take electronic payments is because I have a second house in a rural area and they just haven’t caught up.

Very occasionally I will have another bill, like a medical bill. I pay those when they arrive.

My bills are never late and I spend next to no time dealing with them.

Same! I seriously know the name of the lady in the clerk's office in our town in Vermont who handles our property tax bill. I send her a check with a post-it note on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have some things I have to write checks for, all related to my kids' sport. Don't ask me why they don't use Venmo/PayPal/Zelle but they don't. That's it. Everything else I do has automatic checks or electronic payments.

There's the psychology behind paying cash - it makes it feel like you're really parting with the money. I'm sure writing a check for you is similar.

We moved from DC to a rural area and I’m writing a lot more checks now. I don’t know why some people won’t take Venmo. It would make their life so much easier

[Anonymous]

We write about 10 checks a year, for miscellaneous things that online payments are not available for.