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Checks

August 1st, 2012 at 08:00 pm

Supposedly the kids' school will let us make all payments through Paypal this year.

Woohoo!

My initial reaction is to avoid any and all fees when it comes to banking and payments (because the little things add up and there are always free/convenient options).

BUT, I think I might make this an exception. School activites are the primary reasons I write checks, and doing away with checks altogether would be *awesome.* Even if I have to pay a small charge to do so.

I was surprised that I pulled out my last book of checks this past week. I have like 29 checks left, and that should easily last me two years. Maybe longer. I think I am just going to wait a year or two before I re-order. I think it is possible checks will become obsolete in that time. The only hold out at this point is the county (property taxes). I also refuse to give the IRS my bank information, but this is probably just silly at this point (if I send them a check they have all the same info - must keep it stored somewhere). I am so careful that I Was pretty certain my identity theft a few years back originated from the IRS. So I have been extra cautious. {Honestly, the most likely scenario was mail fraud, which would make my checks to the IRS even more susceptible? Since I can just e-file my bank account info - so probably time for me to move on with the IRS}. I still don't think the county accepts anything beyond paper checks (without huge surcharges like on credit payments). But if that's the only real hold out that is two checks per year. They will have to come around at some point.

I needed a check for dh's cousin. Dh owed him money and told me at the last minute. More notice and I would have paid him through bill pay - how I pay *everyone.* Of course, he hasn't cashed the check yet and so I wish I had just bill-payed it. I just enter an amount online and my CU mails out a check - when it comes to individuals. Once you set someone up it takes about 5 seconds to pay them.

7 Responses to “Checks”

  1. North Georgia Gal Says:
    1343849266

    I love online bill pay with my bank! I don't know how I got by without it before!

  2. Thrifty Ray Says:
    1343850585

    I would love to see checks go away. We have seen SO MUCH fraud happen via checks. granted, those who commit fraud will always find a way...it just seems so easy anymore. I vary rarely use a check anymore and could make it without them if I needed to.

  3. creditcardfree Says:
    1343865490

    I agree...I'd love to do without checks!

  4. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1343876366

    MM - why would you pay a fee to use Paypal? As far as I know there are only fees when you receive a payment (such as from ebay, etc.) I've never been charged extra to pay someone through PP.

  5. MonkeyMama Says:
    1343922160

    @FT - non-profits usually request that you pay the fees (the fees that *they* get charged to receive money). I pay the kids' lunches through paypal and the district has it arranged so we pay an extra fee to cover the paypal costs. I assume the school will have a similar arrangement.

  6. MonkeyMama Says:
    1343923454

    @FT - non-profits usually request that you pay the fees (the fees that *they* get charged to receive money). I pay the kids' lunches through paypal and the district has it arranged so we pay an extra fee to cover the paypal costs. I assume the school will have a similar arrangement.

    Will see - there are several reasons why they may skip the fees. *Fingers Crossed*

  7. Jerry Says:
    1344087901

    We are living overseas right now and use our bank's online bill pay all the time, and it leads to no problems on our end at all. We even have the added insurance of being able to track payments, which is great if there are ever any questions about when or how something was paid. This happened just a couple of weeks ago, and we were able to tell the company EXACTLY when the bill was paid, when it was sent, and when it cleared. It's a great resource.
    Jerry

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