Are You Still Using Personal Checks ???

[GailL1]

Just wondering - if people here are still using personal checks or if you are using other banking  technology to pay your bills. 

Seems the dangers of using personal checks are becoming bigger everyday.

[DeniseR335373]

Prefer using the internet but tithe with checks.

[CarolE976970]

Yes, I am.  What is the problem with doing so?  I don't know. Carol E.

[MichaelB186142]

no

[CharlotteCharlie]

Yes

[MichaelB186142]

no

[MichaelB186142]

What's a check?  In Europe they do not even have checks.  I do not write checks, but my wife does because her friends are dinosaurs and won't use modern technology.

[r106997p]

Additionally, many banks have online bill pay services that pay, either electronically or, for smaller businesses and individuals, by paper check. There are no fees for these services at all, including no postage charges. Once set up it is much faster than paying by credit card and you can pay several bills with one visit to one website.

[SassySurvivor]

I am still using Personal Checks for some things. For instance, I write a check for my Tithes & Offerings to church. Periodically, I will send my parents a check. They are 93 and 89. My Dad (93) prefers receiving his bills in the mail and then personally writing out the check for payment. I tried to set them up with online bill pay, however my Dad takes pride in doing his own bookkeeping.

I pay my DMV fees at the local AAA office and they only accept checks or cash, therefore check it is. My gardener is also paid by check. I have had 3 independent contracts, (1 or 2 man operations) and they too prefer check or cash as they are not set up for automatic payments.

When giving money to my other family members, my college-aged nephews, for instance, I will purchase a Prepaid Credit Card for the amount I'm giving them.

I have several security measures in place. I do check my balances on a daily basis. If I see anything untoward, I immediately will contact the bank and have it resolved. I also have put a "Freeze" on my credit so no one can use my credit. I also have placed "Identity Alerts" on my credit and accounts. If I need to do a large purchase, such as buying a car, I will contact the credit agency, have the Freeze removed for 24 hours or will give the merchant's company name, i.e. car dealership. This way, only the dealer can receive my credit rating. Immediately after completing the purchase, I have the Freeze restored.

I track auto-payments. This has helped with one vendor (Netflix) when I discovered they had received 2 payments during the month. The vendor apologized and returned the second payment within 3 days.

I have pretty stringent security measures in place. I only purchase online from secured sites. I will sometimes use pay-pal as well, depending on a company's policies or by request. Another good practice is not to use the same passwords for accounts, do not use 1234 and change passwords periodically. I stay alert as much as I possibly can while encouraging my friends and family members to be vigilant. 

[angeleyes64]

As little as possible.    My husband wants me to go back to just checking because our checking account has been hacked a few times. I don't want to, they may be safer, but I pay the bills, so I don't, plus checks are also so darn expensive.

[fr16696984]

Hello. I still write a few checks a year but only because some of the people I owe accept only cash or check. My preferred method of payment is debit card.

[delsteele]

My husband and I still use personal checks for the majority of our expenses (we have been married over 50 years).  Neither of us likes the idea of giving a lot of businesses access to one of our bank accounts to automatically deduct their bills from us.  I would imagine it would be hard/time-consuming to try to get an error corrected if they deducted more money that the bill should have been.  Also, if any of the records of these businesses get hacked, the hacker can see all of your bank account numbers that have been provided.

I personally like the process of writing checks since that action makes you very aware of what your expenses are, and I always know what our current balance is from the end stub in the checkbook.  I enjoy buying stamps and doing my part to keep the U.S. Postal Service in business.

[wj8996]

Hi,

I am 63 years old and have not used checks for over 10+ years.  I had a box of checks just hanging around so I decided to used them at church for tithes.  Then my church set up an ATM machine at the church, then they set up on line.  So now I don't use the remainder of my checks at all.   I even told my mom who is in her 80's about paying her bills on line. She tried it and loves it.  So  the answer to your question is no I no longer use checks.  No need to.  PS.  My purse is now a little lighter. 

[wj8996]

I also now longer received paper statements in the mail. I can view them all on line. Hopefully saving a few trees.

[angeleyes64]

@ wj8996 I don't get a statement either, but I check it Every Day due to hacking several times.

[wj8996]

Yes, I do the same checking my bank account daily on-line. Thanks for sharing.

[KenH185470]

Yes started using checks again because since reopening from Coronavirus merchants are charging fees for credit or debit card use.  Not just 2 or 3 percent but also a flat fee.  

Statements are much easier to work with in hard copy.  Besides why use my ink and psper?  Give me a discount

and I will consider

[lh2785]

Mostly I pay bills online but write checks to pay the rent and the housekeeper.

[bette52]

I use personal checks to pay two companies;  gas and water.  Both charge an excessive fee to pay online.  I recently purchased enough checks at a discount, from Costco, to last a decade or more.  I pay all other creditors electronically.  

[WilliamB152686]

Only when I am paying for lawn care, plumbers, or other home repair services that do not take credit cards or other electronic forms of payment. 

I know I ordered too many checks forms last time but it is difficult to get rid of old habits.

[KenH185470]

The last few personal checks we used were written to charities for one time contributions or for tax, either to IRS or local property tax.  These then are my receipt for next year income tax.

Most other bills, credit card, utilities are paid through bank transfer.

[kp5754]

My mother is totally non-electronic (no cell phone, no computer, zip).  I give her money every two weeks and it’s easier yo just give her a paper check.

[jthorses]

I pay all my bills by check in the mail. My vehicle mechanic charges less if you don't use a card. I do use a card for gas and groceries or on line purchases.. I like to see things written out and keep good records and keep my checkbook balanced.

[boatmama]

Yes - sometimes. But I also pay some bills directly from my bank account and I charge some bills. It all depends which way is best for me. I get 2% back when I use my charge card and sometimes the fee charged by utilities is quite a bit more than a stamp. Also, when I make a donation, I don't want a fee for my donation going to a GoFundMe account or PayPal - I want the whole donation going to the non-profit.

[dstiles89]

Absolutely yes, for any payment for which I need permanent proof of payment. I photocopy the check before dispatching it, and the image of the check in the paper bank statement proves that it was cashed. And yes, I pay to get paper bank statements. Paper records can't be lost by a system crashing or becoming obsolete, or hacked. Obsolete? 30 years ago I could write programs in 7 different languages. COBOL may still be used in an ancient system but I doubt that the other 6 are even remembered. Finally, the only reason we have our history before the computer age is that people wrote the record of events on PAPER.

[mw18653889]

Yes,  I do. I use mine mostly at church. I like putting something in the plate besides money. Otherwise, I usually use a card. 

[mw18653889]

I do use them for places that I trust. 

[hwirth]

I use checks only when there is no other way to make payment.  I'm a retired banker.  I use cash only when there is no other way of making payment.

[dghiya51]

Your first sentence contradict with second sentence and they both can not have same meaning. For example lots places take checks and cash.

[dghiya51]

City hall does not take online payment or credit card. so have to pay property taxes and many other things still with the checks.  Motor Vehicle also same way in local offices.