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Does Anyone Take a Checkbook When They Leave Home?

dioxide45

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Chances are any rotary phone wouldn't work anymore since I don't even think pulse dialing is supported anywhere anymore. Is it?
 

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Glynda

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Brewster Green (two weeks).
As I've gone paperless for any company that allows it and have been paperless for at least ten years, I would love to know your thoughts on why you would not go paperless.

We went paperless until we were the subjects of a full IRS audit. That was four years ago. Everything had to be accounted for on paper: personal, small business and rental property! That took a lot of time, paper and ink. Some online statements, etc. weren’t hard to find and print, but some institutions only kept so many years in their online archive and we had to submit requests for copies and wait. It was a long process and extremely frustrating. Turned out they owed us.
 

MommaBear

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I carry one because some of our support staff for our vacation rentals only take checks, and I want to make sure I pay them promptly. Their being there makes it so I can vacation.
 

presley

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I don't carry it unless I know that the place I am going doesn't take credit cards. I do still write some checks for business. I will very rarely write one from our home account. I do not own or use an ATM card. I use credit cards and that's only because I want the cash back. I get anywhere from 1%-5% cash back on purchases with my cards.
 

louisianab

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I write monthly checks for - the water bill (surcharge to do online or auto) the sewer bill (surcharge to do CC and you would have to park to go in the township building to do it, those workers are a mess to do anything) and my kids school lunches (well I did). We receive a check every month for our rental property. I even have cute fancy checks that I order online for cheap. Our special assessment for our road being paved gets a check, which is the gift that keeps on giving since they did not roll it into our property taxes.
 

bbodb1

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I write monthly checks for - the water bill (surcharge to do online or auto) the sewer bill (surcharge to do CC and you would have to park to go in the township building to do it, those workers are a mess to do anything) and my kids school lunches (well I did). We receive a check every month for our rental property. I even have cute fancy checks that I order online for cheap. Our special assessment for our road being paved gets a check, which is the gift that keeps on giving since they did not roll it into our property taxes.

For the longest time, our local utilities were similar to yours but they at least offered a direct draft of a bank account option. I don't really like that option (mostly in case of billing error) but we have not had any issue with the direct draft. Does your utility offer something like that?
 

louisianab

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For the longest time, our local utilities were similar to yours but they at least offered a direct draft of a bank account option. I don't really like that option (mostly in case of billing error) but we have not had any issue with the direct draft. Does your utility offer something like that?
Our water - which is through the city, only does cash or check, otherwise you have to go through a third party for recurring anything. It exists but not for free. Our sewer - which is through the township, literally sends a post card bill and has a drop box. No options. Midwest small town. No biggie. Lets me teach my kids about checks and bills and things like that. City Hall is an old bank building, so they do have a drive thru, which is nice.
 

dioxide45

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In most cases where you are paying a utility via check, you could just be using your banks online bill pay.
 

Luanne

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In most cases where you are paying a utility via check, you could just be using your banks online bill pay.
We have all of our utilities set up to be paid automatically. I don't think it's through our credit union online bill pay. The only account I see on the online bill pay is my dh's credit card. I pay my credit card bill online, but I go in each month and pay it through the credit card site.
 

missyrcrews

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It is, but when out and about we just go without. We use the flip if there is something urgent, but otherwise it can wait. It also eliminates the texting while driving issue I see all to often.
AMEN. My car time is my alone time. If I need something, I can use the flip phone (which actually tends to be able to make a connection even when my kids smart phones don't have service.) I don't need to be available all the time. :)
 

louisianab

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In most cases where you are paying a utility via check, you could just be using your banks online bill pay.
This is true, my credit union will send a printed check monthly, our utilities are not the same amount every month, so I still would have to adjust the payment or overpay. The only online account to see the bills is through the online bill pay which incurs a charge, so to hook it to my bill I would pay and then it defeats the purpose. :)
 

bbodb1

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AMEN. My car time is my alone time. If I need something, I can use the flip phone (which actually tends to be able to make a connection even when my kids smart phones don't have service.) I don't need to be available all the time. :)

And in Maine, no less!

Missy I watched a show recently discussing how remote some areas of the country still are to this today in placed you would not expect and (to no surprise to you, I am sure), parts of northern Maine fell into that consideration.
 

Talent312

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I find it annoying that there are still merchants who do not offer free wifi connections.
Like, how am I supposed occupy my time, while DW drags me along to go shopping?

... our utilities are not the same amount every month, so I still would have to adjust the payment or overpay...

To deal with variable bills, our city utility has a "budget-pay" feature which draws the same amount on the same day each month. The amount is based on an average of the previous 12 months. If you get too far behind or too far ahead (2 mos. worth), they'll adjust it.
I don't mind auto-drafts when the amount is the same each month.
 
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bbodb1

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I find it annoying that there are still merchants who do not offer free wifi connections.
Like, how am I supposed occupy my time, while DW drags me along to go shopping?

You're missing an opportunity here, @Talent312 - only allow trips to stores with free wifi! That will cut the length and duration of those trips!
 

dioxide45

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This is true, my credit union will send a printed check monthly, our utilities are not the same amount every month, so I still would have to adjust the payment or overpay. The only online account to see the bills is through the online bill pay which incurs a charge, so to hook it to my bill I would pay and then it defeats the purpose. :)
With my banks online bill pay, after I get the bill (usually an email where I can then view online) I then just login to by banks online banking and schedule the bill to be paid on or before its due date. No fees for that. If the utility doesn't accept EFT payments, my bank mails then a check 5 days in advance. Though as far as I know, all my billers are setup with EFT, so my bank just sends them the money electronically on the date I specified.
 
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We still pay our lawn/gardner via check.
There are other occasional uses. But check boxes last a long time now.

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tschwa2

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Yep. And I have a flip phone. I am an embarrassment to my teenagers...…!
My husband has a flip phone and writes 3-4 checks every month.
 

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I'm a flip phone guy also. My phone is not set up to receive text messages which becomes a problem when I need to have a code sent to me to get online access to one of my accounts. It seems like some companies don't realize that some of us only buy el cheapo phones...

George
I'm a flipper, too. No texting. I elect for the phone call for the secret code.

Aside from the assumption that everyone carries a smart phone and wants to let that number be known far and wide, there is a lot of must use Facebook, must text ... it's easy for me to simply not do biz with those. gee, too bad, I might have bought something from your website, but I'm not joining FB to get access to anyone's company. To me it is quite shortsighted, and also a little silly, to expect people to use FB when all they really wanted was to do business, and not with FB,
 

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Was thinking of similar experience when I took a friend grocery shopping recently and she took out her checkbook to pay. Had to hold my tongue not to say anything. Figured at 87 she's not wanting to change the way she is used to doing things.
Yes, my mother is 86 and will not use a debit card, goes to bank to cash a check vs use ATM.
 

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T-Mobile, VeriZon, Car and Home insurance, all go on the cc for rewards. I wish we could pay some other large bills like our real estate taxes (check), our IRS taxes (come right out of checking) and even our car lease with a cc. This would add up to a nice chunk of change/rewards. Many years go, my kids' colleges used to take cc without a surcharge - really disappointing when they started charging a fee :(

You can usually pay taxes and tuition using CCs however IME there’s always a surcharge that can be sizable as it’s usually based upon a percentage of the payment amount. Wish this wasn’t the case.


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HitchHiker71

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It is, but when out and about we just go without. We use the flip if there is something urgent, but otherwise it can wait. It also eliminates the texting while driving issue I see all to often.

That’s what Apple CarPlay/Android Auto is for - voice to text and text to voice - eliminates actual texting while driving - everything is hands free. I use it quite often in my truck.


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HitchHiker71

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It is so much easier to just go into my file cabinet and pull out the statement for something. I know when I also receive the bill in the mail, I will look at it same day. If I were to get it via email, or would have to log in to the website/portal (however it's posted), I bet I would not be checking it monthly.

Also, there are many times when I have had difficulty with the desk top computer or my laptop. My Mac laptop, I once spilled hot chocolate - it took a few days to bring it to Apple only to find out it could not be saved and bought a new one. My desktop - pretty new - but I don't use either for much (emails, browse websites, store pictures), sometimes I sit there and it does not load up or out of the blue, it is slow loading up/turning on. Not sure what the terminology is. I also have to go look at my password on my typed sheet of passwords. It is just so much easier to pull open the draw and pick out the file. The good old fashion way. It takes me a while to keep up with technology :) - but mainly because - I doubt I would go and look at my bill each month on the computer - and then I would not catch certain things. Crazy to some....;)

This is where having an actual smartphone - which is a miniature computer - or a tablet - IMHO works much better than any PC/laptop. Almost all fiserv companies have smartphone apps to easily manage just about every aspect of your financials. You can configure widgets and automatic push notifications to your smartphone for statements, charges, suspected fraud, etc. We have one credit card account that we use for pretty much everything and I have it configured to notify me for every single charge so I can review any/all charges instantly no matter where I am. I can disable the card via the mobile app on the fly via a toggle button if I even suspect there’s any issues. It’s all right there at my fingertips. I can then toggle it back on if I’m able to validate all charges. No phone calls - it’s all right there in the mobile app.

Couple these apps with Face ID and/or fingerprint authentication and passwords become irrelevant for account access. Much easier than using a PC/laptop that requires password tracking - though on my laptop I use a password manager (LastPass) so I don’t have to remember passwords on my laptop either.

Today, whenever I get a push notification that I have a new credit card statement available - I simply click on the notification and it brings up the mobile app and I’m looking at my online statement. I can then schedule a payment right there for the due date that will automatically deduct from my checking account. Boom, done.


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