Adulting

[elrhiarhodan]

So, sent my taxes off to my accountant, and as is my custom, included a check for payment for services to be rendered.

It happened to be the last check in the checkbook and this afternoon, I went hunting for a fresh book of checks. It took me a few minutes to remember where I put them, but I found them and discovered that I had two full boxes of checks. Each box contained a fresh ledger which had a handy-dandy three-year calendar on the back.

The years on the calendar? 2002 - 2003 - 2004. At the bottom of the second box of checks was the packing slip from the order, dated October, 2002. I haven't ordered checks in (counts on her fingers) thirteen years and (more finger counting) eight months. At this rate, I'll be eligible for Social Security by the time I need to place another order!

Comments

[kanarek13]

Heee... I remember there was only one checkbook at home many years ago. For some reason we just don't do checks :P We do wire transfer, cash and plastic :D

But yay for wrapping up taxes. I'm still missing one form and I should probably email them to check if they even remember me, lol :D

[elrhiarhodan]

Yeah - all of my regular bills are on autopay now. Checks are for the doctor, the accountant, the lawn guy. Nothing much other than that.

[sherylyn]

I'm with you: we write checks for a few personal services like the lawn guy, etc., too, but just nothing like we used checks even 10-15 years ago. My girls both got checks for their accounts for two main reasons: to pay rent (for one of them) and to be able to get a Target Debit Card there at the store. LOL!

[elrhiarhodan]

You need a checking account for the debit card, but the checks? Not so much anymore.

What a different world these days.

[sherylyn]

Absolutely! And for your pay "checks" (even if they're electronic, too) to go into, but yeah... checks are pretty much not required these days, which is yet another sign of how recently things were so different! LOL!! It's seriously amazing when I stop to think about it :-D

[dieastra.livejournal.com]

The only time I remember using a check was when I got furniture delivered. But now you pay upfront in the shop.

They are not used over here anymore for many many years. My mother sometimes wins in competitions from magazines and then they send a check, as you would not want to give out your bank details to them.

[elrhiarhodan]

I wish everyone would just take e-payments, but for small businesses, it's not always feasible. The processing fees can be way too high, more than the occasional bad check fee.

[dizzydrea.livejournal.com]

I had a panic attack when I got the bill from my dentist appointment last year and realized I didn't have any checks left. Why I hadn't noticed that the last time I wrote a check is beyond me. Thankfully, when I called, the office manager told me they accept credit cards. Her tone of voice suggested that I'm not the first person this has happened to.

I hadn't noticed until that day that I pay cash or use my debit card for everything these days, and all my bills are paid online. I can't remember the last time I wrote a check.

Still haven't ordered new checks. And I'm expecting a bill for my last dentist appointment any day now. :p

[elrhiarhodan]

I think I write about 10 checks a year. I'm pretty sure that the current check ledger is at least 6 or 7 years old. I didn't even have the checks reprinted when I moved.

[ladygray99]

My checkbook is at least ten years old. The only people I write checks to anymore is the IRS.

[elrhiarhodan]

*nods*

[ladyrose42.livejournal.com]

Checks are mostly for donations to local charities now and Girl Scout cookies. LOL

[elrhiarhodan]

Girl Scout Cookies - the reason why checks still exist!

[dieastra.livejournal.com]

Why can you not pay them in cash?

[tjs-whatnot.livejournal.com]

My Scouts take credit cards now. Basically, I'm screwed. 

[dieastra.livejournal.com]

I don’t know if German scouts do the cookie selling thing, I was not involved in that as I grew up in Eastern Germany.

I always imagined you give the girl like three dollars in cash and receive a package of cookies. Credit cards? How many packages are people buying? Does it not cost money for the scouts to have a credit card thingie? Wherever I pay with credit card, they add a fee for doing so.

You see me still puzzled.

[tjs-whatnot.livejournal.com]

I think the no cash thing differs from group to group. The girls who come to our house want checks. The ones that sell outside stores and whatnot will take cash (and credit cards apparently). I really think it's up to the troop. When my mom was a leader, she only wanted checks because she didn't want to be tempted by all that cash. She already had enough temptation with all those damn cookies being in the house.

These days is really easy to get a credit card reader for your phone that has very minimal charges and maybe none for a charitable organization.

And as to how many boxes are people buying: they're only available once a year, so some people (i.e. me) stock up. ;)

[riverotter1951.livejournal.com]

Fascinating about how the world has changed. My daughter uses money orders instead of checks.

[elrhiarhodan]

The world has definitely changed. I don't even get a monthly statement anymore. It's all on-line.

[riverotter1951.livejournal.com]

And my bank charges a fee if you want paper statements.

[nywcgirl]

Checks...that is something that went out of service 20 years ago, I havent used checks sinds I was a student.
I remember that I had some traveler checks left from atrip I made to the states in 1992 and when I was last in NYC I took them with me to have them cashed... thinking it wouldnever be accepted... but they did... so I bought myself some goodies at Victoria Secret... :-)
Here, everything is paid cash, but preferably with your bank card, so not a credit card, but just the card of the checking account...

[elrhiarhodan]

No checks - that's what I've heard from all of my European friends.

And it's the same here - debit cards, auto-payments, and less and less these days, cash.

[tjs-whatnot.livejournal.com]

I write 3 checks a month. Cleaning ladies and my car payment. I think maybe checks should stop coming in packages of hundreds. :)

[elrhiarhodan]

I agree. If I have to reorder checks, it'll be the absolute minimum quantity.

[reve-silencieux.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to remember the last time I wrote a check. It's been so long! Heck, five years later, when I do write one, I still have to cross out my old address because I know it's not worth ordering new ones.

I just showed my mom how to pay online and she loves it. But she's still the type to write everything down in her check book and balance, etc... I'm sure she won't give them up completely.

[elrhiarhodan]

My dad was like that - even to the point where he demanded getting his checks back in the mail with his bank statement.

[elainasaunt.livejournal.com]

Yes, they seem like quaint artifacts now, relics of another age. I long since stopped carrying my checkbook with me, and sometime have a moment when I can't quite remember how to write a check. On my US account, I didn't even bother getting a checkbook - just a debit card.