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With online bill pay, automatic payments and online transfers, it seems like the days of check writing are nearly over.
But are they?
Even the biggest proponents of using the Internet to pay bills — myself included — find themselves in situations where they have to write a check, even though they may not want to.
Here's what I'm still writing checks for:
- Rent
- Credit Card Payments
… and that's it.
I had also been writing checks for my dental bill and mattress payments, but we finished paying them off earlier this year.
Is it silly to still be writing checks? Maybe. But when you're dealing with getting money to another person — especially one who isn't all that tech-savvy — writing checks is often the safest (and most comforting) way to go.
What are you still writing checks for?
Nothing! In fact I'm now switching over to the Electric Orange checking account at ING because I realized that the last time I wrote a check was months ago and I might as well let the money sitting in my checking account earn a descent interest rate.
Credit card and rent payments are perfect for online bill pay, BTW. My cards make it easy to log into their website and initiate payment. Alternatively you could send them a payment through most bill pay systems, which is also how rent can usually get paid too.
I pay my credit cards online using automatic withdrawal. Rent is the only thing I still write a check for.
A couple of months ago, I thought I ran out of checks, so I ordered the minimum from Bank of America — something like 100 or 200 — then I found all the checks I had.
Now I have too many, and barely ever use them.