Thank you for the tip about the pens! |
Cash is king. |
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My sister pays all her bills with checks by mail, including her mortgage and credit cards. She doesn’t do online banking, instead she calls the banks automated phone line and punches in the check numbers to make sure they clear. She calls from her land line phone.
Her stories of lost mailed payments and late payment fees are hilarious. One time none of her mailed monthly bills never arrived and she accused the post office of losing them. She found all of them weeks later in her car, she forgot to mail them. |
Given mobile deposit, photoshop, etc. the type of ink is irrelevant |
| Yes of course, a lot of people prefer checks - especially people in service industries like landscaping, home repairs, etc. This allows them to avoid processing fees charged by credit cards. Even Venmo takes out a processing fee for businesses. |
The fees are not new, LOL! They have always been there. It's just that more companies are starting to pass those fees along to the consumer instead of absorbing them like they used to. |
| How are you people buying cars without checks? We just bought a car and the dealership would only put $2000 on our credit card. They wanted a check for the rest. |
Tell that to the tradespeople. They are all very much in demand, PP. |
The pen/ink is important because checks stolen in the mail (a common occursnce) are washed and rewritten to be to other people and for large amounts. If you use a pen with ink that cannot be washed, you are protected |
| I started carrying a checkbook again to avoid paying the processing fees. I had to teach my adult kids how to write a check. |
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Some places won’t take cash, some won’t take cards, some only checks.
Like everyone said a check book comes with a checking account. I use it sometimes. |
We wired the money from our money market. |
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Do not send a check through the mail. I'm not 100% sure, but think this is how my account information was stolen. They do not need to "wash a check". As long as they have your account number, they will obtain false ID and walk into your bank to take out money. Ask me how I know. There is a big market for false IDs and the criminals know exactly how/what to counterfeit. They will use a branch of your bank that is not near your home so it is less likely that you go there. Make sure that your bank or credit union has a recent picture of you on file (through your drivers license). I never use checks anymore. If a contractor does not allow plastic, I ask for the amount and go get a cashier's check from my bank. They will understand. At a restaurant I use cash if the policy is no plastic. If online (taxes, etc.) I am fine with using electronic transfer. |
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^ I have not purchased a car recently, but would probably use a cashier's check or a direct electronic transfer if they would allow that. With a car I feel like you have time to work that out. |
| I use checks if it will save me more than a few dollars on credit card fees. Probably saved a couple hundred last year. |