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I’m waiting for a check worth a good amount to be sent to my attention. I’m really not sure why I am setup for checks because I’m always anxious whenever I wait for that check to come every month. Checks are slow, provide almost no visibility of when it will come and inconvenient to process.
How I Stay Away From Checks
Nowadays, I try to stay away from checks as much as possible. In fact, the checks that came with my checking account are buried in my desk drawer because I never use them anymore. If you are wondering how to avoid checks all together, here are some ways of how I avoided this ancient technology.
Direct Deposit
This is very common as the majority of employers will push for paying everyone’s salary this way. Direct deposits are quick and automatic. Not only does it avoid the transit time of a check through the mail, the bank will generally not need to hold onto the money since there’s less fraud going on with direct deposits. This means money from direct deposits are available for withdrawal on the same day it’s made.
Aside from our employer, direct deposit is also offered by Uncle Sam and many other companies that would rather pay you electronically.
Wire Transfers
Unlike direct deposit which uses the ACH process and is specific to United States, wire transfers are accepted globally. The down side is that wire transfers are much more expensive for us, as the initiating bank and the receiving bank will both charge fees for this process.
Paypal and Other Internet Payment System
With the growth in popularity of the internet, systems such as Paypal has transformed how we send and receive money today. Just to give you an example, a majority of my business is done through Paypal because of its convenience for myself and my customers.
As with wire transfers, Paypal has some pretty steep fees as it charges a high percentage, but the convenience and the ability to automatic get payments from customers is an advantage that many of us appreciate and is willing to pay for.
Bill Pay
I love Bill Pay as there are so many bills due each month. I can automatically send payments to pay for my bills so there are no more late payments and hassle of writing checks. If the amount of the bill fluctuate from month to month, I can always set it up so it reminds me to check for the correct amount before I send the payment. Ultra convenient!
Credit and Debit Cards
Love it or hate it, credit and debits cards have made purchases much easier. With a swipe of a card, I can safely keep my checkbook at home. The great thing about these cards are the rewards because I’m literally getting $2 dollars back for every $100 that I spend. I just love automatic discounts.
Stop Those Checks
Checks served a purpose for many years but it’s time for it to retire. The added convenience, reliability and speed of its alternatives make checks look like something of the past. If you would like to simply your life, join me today and stop using checks.
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So I may be the last of the dinosaurs, but I feel checks are much easier and less stressful for me than online bill pay. So I’ll just keep writing checks for the few bills I need to pay. (Being debt free, there are few to write)
I write one to the credit card company - in full each month - the card with rewards, of course.
I write one check for the electric bill and one check for the water/sewer bill and on my daily walk, drop both off in the envelope drops for them - both are within 9 blocks of me. When car/house insurance and property taxes are due I again write a check, and they are within 10 blocks of me on my walk.
That’s my bills. It’s just not worth the hassle of worrying if I meet the minimums of 2 checks a month for the free online (I sometimes don’t write two checks a month as I pay utilities two months at a time) - and I don’t want to pay $5.95 month just to pay bills.
Plus when the electric is out, which happens a lot here, my info is in my checkbook, and not online where I can’t get to it.
If my employer offered direct deposit, I would use it, but they don’t. I do use direct deposit for other incoming checks tho and agree that it is hassle free
I have direct deposit for my main job, but all other side incomes are coming as checks, and yes I hate hate hate to wait for them to arrive.
http://orange4money.blogspot.com/
I stopped writing cheques a long time ago as well. In fact I just dug out my cheque book from my bedroom drawer and noticed the last cheque I wrote was dated 23 August 2004.
I agree that checks can be a pain in the butt, but I don’t mind them much. They also provide a nice feature that immediate transfers don’t allow. The float! heheh. I know we shouldn’t use it, but I’m guilty at times of moving money around and using the float.
Joe