Funny money story

[Sam_2.0]

My DH is a youngster Yesterday an older lady at church was supposed to give my mom a check. She accidentally gave mom the wrong check and didn't realize it until later. Since we live out by this lady I took the check home with me for her to pick up last night (there was a church meeting at our house). DH forgot to give her the check and she forgot to ask, so it was still there this morning. I asked DH to run it by her house first thing.

On my way to work I get a call from him and he sounds very concerned. Apparently the check was one she had written to herself. He thought that something was wrong with her because he had no idea why she would be writing checks to herself I had to explain to him that some people write checks that way to get cash out when they don't use ATMs or debit cards. He had never heard of such a thing! LOL!!

[Deleted]

Sam, I think that sort of thing is much rarer today than it used to be, obviously. But I agree, there is still an entire generation of people who are reluctant to use ATMs, computers, or anything electronic.

I have a similar story, but it dates from "way back". My ex DH's great aunt was a lovely, classy lady we all adored. After her DH died and she became a widow (about 25 years ago, way before the internet) she made an appt with the bank. Her banker said, so you're here to go over your accounts. She said it's very kind of you to offer, but no. I'm here because I need you to teach me how to write a check. 

She could have asked any of her 3 kids (or their spouses) or countless other family members. But she was too embarrassed to admit that she was 65 years old and had never written a check in her life.  

She also approached her doorman asking him to please take her out to the gas station and show her how to put gas in her car. He told her, no need, I'll take care of that for you. And he did. 

Unbelievable, isn't it?! But I'm sure it still happens, albeit rarely. 

[TheHaitian]

Sept 12, 2014 19:30:56 GMT -5 @debthaven2 said:

Sam, I think that sort of thing is much rarer today than it used to be, obviously. But I agree, there is still an entire generation of people who are reluctant to use ATMs, computers, or anything electronic.

I have a similar story, but it dates from "way back". My ex DH's great aunt was a lovely, classy lady we all adored. After her DH died and she became a widow (about 25 years ago, way before the internet) she made an appt with the bank. Her banker said, so you're here to go over your accounts. She said it's very kind of you to offer, but no. I'm here because I need you to teach me how to write a check. 

She could have asked any of her 3 kids (or their spouses) or countless other family members. But she was too embarrassed to admit that she was 65 years old and had never written a check in her life.  

She also approached her doorman asking him to please take her out to the gas station and show her how to put gas in her car. He told her, no need, I'll take care of that for you. And he did. 

Unbelievable, isn't it?! But I'm sure it still happens, albeit rarely. 

My wife did not write her first check till last year.

This year I left her with a blank check for the garage door installers and she had to call me to make sure she was writing the check properly.

We pay everything online or with debit/credit card. I write maybe 2 checks max a month if even.

[Deleted]

Carl, we use checks more here. Even my 16YO knows how to write one LOL. 

But that story is about ex-DH's late great aunt, who lived in NYC. And 25 years ago, people still used checks LOL. 

[Deleted]

Sept 12, 2014 20:49:14 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

Sept 12, 2014 19:30:56 GMT -5 @debthaven2 said:

Sam, I think that sort of thing is much rarer today than it used to be, obviously. But I agree, there is still an entire generation of people who are reluctant to use ATMs, computers, or anything electronic.

I have a similar story, but it dates from "way back". My ex DH's great aunt was a lovely, classy lady we all adored. After her DH died and she became a widow (about 25 years ago, way before the internet) she made an appt with the bank. Her banker said, so you're here to go over your accounts. She said it's very kind of you to offer, but no. I'm here because I need you to teach me how to write a check. 

She could have asked any of her 3 kids (or their spouses) or countless other family members. But she was too embarrassed to admit that she was 65 years old and had never written a check in her life.  

She also approached her doorman asking him to please take her out to the gas station and show her how to put gas in her car. He told her, no need, I'll take care of that for you. And he did. 

Unbelievable, isn't it?! But I'm sure it still happens, albeit rarely. 

My wife did not write her first check till last year.

This year I left her with a blank check for the garage door installers and she had to call me to make sure she was writing the check properly.

We pay everything online or with debit/credit card. I write maybe 2 checks max a month if even.

Nearly all my checks are kid related.  In fact in the past year I only see 2 that aren't.  Daycare, field trips, lunch money, book orders, school pictures...

[Sam_2.0]

DH deals with checks from clients all day long. He just thought this poor woman was going senile since she wrote one to herself

I write maybe 2 checks a year. I use the heck out of my online bill pay and even have my parents set up to send them money that way when I need to. DH is the one that writes checks, typically for donation requests he gets from clients.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using proboards

[Deleted]

I write checks for all my bills. I have a phobia about online bill pay. I prefer to have the bill in my hot little hands so I can whine about it before I write the check out. Not that I have a lot of bills anymore, thankfully.

Debt, I can understand about ex-DH's great aunt there as I would never have bothered to learn how to put gas in my car except after I got my license my best friend made me learn. I figured I could look pretty and get some guy to do it, but Noooooooooooo she said I had to do it. Good thing as I live in the state of self-serve and full-serve stations are rarer than unicorns that fart rainbows and glitter.

[cronewitch]

A wealthy man died leaving a widow and three sons. Six weeks latter the widow called a son to say she had run out of money. Son said you can't have run out of money dad left you plenty of money but she assured him she had. So he came over to see what the problem was. Turns out in a long marriage whenever she wanted money her husband gave her some, she didn't have a clue. Sons were running dad's business and had to teach her how to do basic things like writing a check. One son was special, he had trusts and a job. He would bring his check book to the CPA firm himself and could drive but wasn't bright. Mom paid someone to hire him and made him pay his own rent and deal with his own money. If he wanted something like a car the trust bought it for him but he handled his own budget so he was doing better than mom. She would come to bring back tax returns we mailed her so we could make sure she signed them in the right spot, by the red X, never learned to trust herself. Good thing she had a couple of smart sons and a good CPA firm to take care of her.

[marvholly]

I write checks to myself when I want to transfer money between accounts where I do NOT want any electronic cross reference (example: my main money receiving account & my online bill pay account).

[alabamagal]

My kids don't write checks for hardly anything.  They all opened checking accounts at 16 and got a complimentary 50 checks.  They still have them.  They are 23, 22 and 20.  (well the 23 year old has a second account though).

[sarcasticgirl]

It's okay Sam... Your husband is very pretty, so he is excused! Lol

Sent from my Nexus 4 using proboards

[Deleted]

I send almost all bills to my cc... Fewer transactions, lots more points...

I sign payroll checks, meaning I sign checks to son who signs them to me and then I sign to cash them... Closest I get. 2 months till our bank lets him have a checking account.

[Deleted]

I write a check to myself every month. My daily bank account is at a bank, but the house account is at the credit union. The two are not electronically linked.

I could cash a check at the bank and take the cash over to the credit union, but that's an extra step.

The only other checks I write are to stuff at school (there's a surcharge for CCs) and the guy who cuts my grass.  I did send my DIL one today to pay for the Boy Scout's popcorn that I'm pretending to buy. (I refuse to pay $30 for popcorn, but I will happily give them $30 to spend on scouting expenses. They never buy popcorn with it. LOL.)

[Timberwolf]

When I was a kid (like around 6 or 7 yrs) I remember looking through my Dad's checkbook register.  When he needed cash he used to make out the check as "cash" and that worked for him.  I remember asking him who "cash" was and he said that's my girlfriend.     DAD!!!

[toomuchreality]

I have to write one check every month for my rent. They don't accept cash or credit/debit card payments.
When I used to write checks for everything, I wrote one out for CASH, when I got money for myself.

Funny, when I was in highschool, we learned about debit cards (they hadn't actually come out yet). I remember thinking there was NO way they would be able to see if you had the funds available, before you made a purchase!
I couldn't fathom how the phone could tell you who was calling, before you answered either.

We've come a LONG way!

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

I have to write one check every month for my rent. They don't accept cash or credit/debit card payments.

You can also go to your bank and get a bank draft (which is the same as a check). They print-out the draft with the payee and amount, and deduct the funds from whatever account you withdraw the funds from. The teller and bank manager both sign the draft to confirm the funds are in the account.

[Opti]

Sept 12, 2014 21:16:45 GMT -5 @empressspunkles said:

I write checks for all my bills. I have a phobia about online bill pay. I prefer to have the bill in my hot little hands so I can whine about it before I write the check out. Not that I have a lot of bills anymore, thankfully.

Debt, I can understand about ex-DH's great aunt there as I would never have bothered to learn how to put gas in my car except after I got my license my best friend made me learn. I figured I could look pretty and get some guy to do it, but Noooooooooooo she said I had to do it. Good thing as I live in the state of self-serve and full-serve stations are rarer than unicorns that fart rainbows and glitter.

I semi-reluctantly went to on-line bill pay for several bills.

I saved some money on my car insurance by doing so, so I

set it up instead of doing an electronic check by phone.

[Peace77]

Sept 14, 2014 1:39:36 GMT -5 ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ said:

I have to write one check every month for my rent. They don't accept cash or credit/debit card payments.

You can also go to your bank and get a bank draft (which is the same as a check). They print-out the draft with the payee and amount, and deduct the funds from whatever account you withdraw the funds from. The teller and bank manager both sign the draft to confirm the funds are in the account.

Using your bank or credit union's bill pay feature is much easier.

[toomuchreality]

Sept 14, 2014 1:39:36 GMT -5 ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ said:

I have to write one check every month for my rent. They don't accept cash or credit/debit card payments.

You can also go to your bank and get a bank draft (which is the same as a check). They print-out the draft with the payee and amount, and deduct the funds from whatever account you withdraw the funds from. The teller and bank manager both sign the draft to confirm the funds are in the account.

I could also go buy money orders, but writing a check is easier for me. I can handle one per month, plus it's cheaper.

[Peace77]

If you write checks, you have to pay for the checks and if they have to be mailed you may have to pay for stamps and envelopes too.

The bank or credit union's bill pay feature is FREE. 

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

Sept 13, 2014 8:29:53 GMT -5 @wxyz said:

GUILTY.

yes I write checks, even to myself.

I do use credit cards and debit cards and even cell phone banking.  But, all monthly bills are paid by check.  When I was in business all bills were paid by check also and I wrote all the checks.  I do not allow any bills to be pulled out of my account be bank draft or automatic payment.

I find that writing checks gives me a greater handle on budgeting and awareness of where the money is going.  It gives me control of timing of payments. I also keep a check register, including all debit card transactions. (I use debit for most transactions other than regular bills)  Yes, I still check my account online often to verify everything is in proper order.

I dont know how any business owner can have the slightest clue what is going on in their business without writing checks and doing it themselves rather than having some accountant or bookkeeper do it.

AND YES, I do often write a check to myself.  I will often make a purchase on visa rather than using cash or debit.  I just write a check to myself and put it in with the bills to be applied to the visa bill when it comes.  That way I can debit it out of the checking account immediately and have an up to date idea of current balance even though that visa bill has not actually been paid yet.

Just so you know, although it sounds like it won't matter, you can do all that through online banking as well.  You are PUSHING the money out of your account on your own timing, rather than having the creditor PULL the money.  Like a check.  You can generally set the payment to go out at any time of your choosing (like a check), and my bank's online banking tells me exactly what my ongoing balance is with scheduled (but not completed) payments to be made within a set future time-frame.  And even better than a check - I often know exactly which day the receiver will get my payment. 

The only real difference that I see between writing checks and using a good bank bill-pay system is that you're not physically stuffing an envelope and putting a stamp on it. You could easily even keep a separate register if you need to do that for your own system.

Just so you know. 

[hoops902]

I realize this will expose my terrible and untrusting marriage, but my wife and I write checks to each other.  We're separate potters so on the occasion that one of us spends money on an expense we split (typically just groceries or something major for the house) one of us pays and the other writes a check out for their portion. 

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

Sept 13, 2014 20:03:28 GMT -5 Timberwolf said:

When I was a kid (like around 6 or 7 yrs) I remember looking through my Dad's checkbook register.  When he needed cash he used to make out the check as "cash" and that worked for him.  I remember asking him who "cash" was and he said that's my girlfriend.     DAD!!!

  Your dad and I had the same girlfriend, apparently! 

[toomuchreality]

Sept 15, 2014 17:00:04 GMT -5 Peace77 said:

If you write checks, you have to pay for the checks and if they have to be mailed you may have to pay for stamps and envelopes too.

The bank or credit union's bill pay feature is FREE. 

If I could use bill pay, I would. Then I wouldn't have to leave my apt, or write out a check. Unfortunately I don't make the rules. They do. Thank goodness my bank gives me free checks. I just have to take it to the office and drop it off. This always happens at the last minute though, because it's a PIA.

[Peace77]

Sept 15, 2014 18:30:11 GMT -5 toomuchreality said:

Sept 15, 2014 17:00:04 GMT -5 Peace77 said:

If you write checks, you have to pay for the checks and if they have to be mailed you may have to pay for stamps and envelopes too.

The bank or credit union's bill pay feature is FREE. 

If I could use bill pay, I would. Then I wouldn't have to leave my apt, or write out a check. Unfortunately I don't make the rules. They do. Thank goodness my bank gives me free checks. I just have to take it to the office and drop it off. This always happens at the last minute though, because it's a PIA.

Why do you think you can't use bill pay?   When I was an apt. manager some of my tenants used it.  The bank sent a check to the apartment office through the mail and I deposited it along with all the others.

[toomuchreality]

Sept 15, 2014 18:48:30 GMT -5 Peace77 said:

Sept 15, 2014 18:30:11 GMT -5 toomuchreality said:

If I could use bill pay, I would. Then I wouldn't have to leave my apt, or write out a check. Unfortunately I don't make the rules. They do. Thank goodness my bank gives me free checks. I just have to take it to the office and drop it off. This always happens at the last minute though, because it's a PIA.

Why do you think you can't use bill pay?   When I was an apt. manager some of my tenants used it.  The bank sent a check to the apartment office through the mail and I deposited it along with all the others.

IDK- All I can think of is that they have an OLD system to process payments. The apts are not that old (built for the Olympics, to house officials), but I've heard many of the things they put in them were a bargain, because the item had been discontinued.

I'll have to inquire. (Now I'm curious!) 

[greeniis10]

Sept 15, 2014 17:09:24 GMT -5 hoops902 said:

I realize this will expose my terrible and untrusting marriage, but my wife and I write checks to each other.  We're separate potters so on the occasion that one of us spends money on an expense we split (typically just groceries or something major for the house) one of us pays and the other writes a check out for their portion. 

DH & I do the same thing except we usually exchange cash instead.  I can deposit checks via the ATM but he banks at a credit union, so we figure getting cash from the ATM and exchanging it is easier.

I don't see it as "untrusting".  Just a different method for separate potters.

[CarolinaKat]

Sept 12, 2014 20:49:14 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

Sept 12, 2014 19:30:56 GMT -5 @debthaven2 said:

Sam, I think that sort of thing is much rarer today than it used to be, obviously. But I agree, there is still an entire generation of people who are reluctant to use ATMs, computers, or anything electronic.

I have a similar story, but it dates from "way back". My ex DH's great aunt was a lovely, classy lady we all adored. After her DH died and she became a widow (about 25 years ago, way before the internet) she made an appt with the bank. Her banker said, so you're here to go over your accounts. She said it's very kind of you to offer, but no. I'm here because I need you to teach me how to write a check. 

She could have asked any of her 3 kids (or their spouses) or countless other family members. But she was too embarrassed to admit that she was 65 years old and had never written a check in her life.  

She also approached her doorman asking him to please take her out to the gas station and show her how to put gas in her car. He told her, no need, I'll take care of that for you. And he did. 

Unbelievable, isn't it?! But I'm sure it still happens, albeit rarely. 

My wife did not write her first check till last year.

This year I left her with a blank check for the garage door installers and she had to call me to make sure she was writing the check properly.

We pay everything online or with debit/credit card. I write maybe 2 checks max a month if even.

DH didn't write his first check until he was 22. I had to A) show him how to get checks from the bank and B) show him how to write one. We actually have to write a few checks a month, so he's learning, although he prefers me to write them...

[CarolinaKat]

Sept 15, 2014 17:00:04 GMT -5 Peace77 said:

If you write checks, you have to pay for the checks and if they have to be mailed you may have to pay for stamps and envelopes too.

The bank or credit union's bill pay feature is FREE. 

Meh, our checks are free through the bank. However if I want fuzzy bunnies on them I have to cough up extra money

[Peace77]

Sept 16, 2014 11:29:21 GMT -5 CarolinaKat said:

Sept 15, 2014 17:00:04 GMT -5 Peace77 said:

If you write checks, you have to pay for the checks and if they have to be mailed you may have to pay for stamps and envelopes too.

The bank or credit union's bill pay feature is FREE. 

Meh, our checks are free through the bank. However if I want fuzzy bunnies on them I have to cough up extra money

Yeah, there are a few banks that provide free checks.  But, you still have to deliver or mail them.  

One of the tenants that had bill pay lived above the office.  They could have dropped it in the office mail slot on their way out the door.   It. Was easier to have the bank handle it and they were never late.