Pluggers by Rick McKee for September 13, 2021

When I was in my twenties, I only balanced my checkbook about once a year. I didn’t really spend a lot of money and had a pretty decent income so it really wasn’t an issue.

I only use cheque books to turn in my apartment rent; can’t figure it out online from the website the management recommends.

I generally pay for things using my credit card. It cuts down on bookkeeping at the end of the month.

I remember having a check book, once upon a time.

Even if one does not write many checks you still have to keep an eye on things .

“How much did ya say for those dog biscuits?”

For some weird reason my credit union insists on sending a check to the power company (for this house, but not three prior ones). They say the power company wants a check, the power company insists they want an EFT. I just authorize the payment online and don’t worry about it.

Conservative guess would be i’ve gained a year of free time letting the computer do it over the last 40 years. i think my check book is in the center console under all the junk.

I pay all manual bills with a check, use a gel pen. and mail at the post office. Too many hackers working over time to break into your on-line banking account.

“Balances” the part long forgotten by the pups.

Nothing holds up a grocery line like someone balancing their checkbook.

My rehab takes checks for payment in the department, but not a card.

Have to go to the cashier on another floor. I haven’t used a check since 2004.

Church! The only thing I pay by card is the mobile cell bill, because that’s the only way they accept it. I keep an “internet debit card” with no overdraft protection on it. I put the money on the card just before I use it, so if an unscrupulous person tries to rob my card, they will get little, if anything.

I just converted to Quicken from an old Apple 2 program. It was a big job to set it up, but now I have better records, and easier entry. Balancing is easier too. I should have converted long ago, but until recently, Quicken did not do everything the old program did. I tried a few other, cheaper programs, but they were worse than doing it on paper. I used to have a way to print checks, but Quicken requires using their overpriced checks, so now I just avoid having to write checks.

just get out of the line before you do all your entering into your checkbook – or at least get duplicates. Some of us pluggers don’t like to stand around while another lady plugger puts all the check numbers and amount – date and what for – into their checkbook, then put away their pen – into a certain pocket even, etc. Men don’t do that… we know people are in a hurry because we are also in a hurry to get out of there.

I am an accountant – I balance checkbooks for a living.

I do not pay bills online – I write checks. As someone who learned to program mainframe computers back in 1971 in high school – Fortran 2 – I know there is NO such thing as a secure connection. For the few times we have no choice but to pay for something online we have one credit card with a limit of US$1000 (set by us) that we use for online or by phone payments.

cknobolo – I started using Quicken when it came out, later switching to Quickbooks (as use for clients) and have never even thought of using same to print checks. I use to keep track of what has been received and spent – and it to make it easy to prepare our income taxes and other financial forms at the end of the year.

How hard is it to write a check? Takes maybe 2 minutes at most. More recently, even though my bank encloses “Check 21” copies of the checks I always scan the check after it written along with the bill it is paying into my computer so I have same for reference together.

Since the “stay at home” started I have been writing checks for a week’s bills and we go late night Sunday night to a local USPS collection and post all of the bill payments and any other outgoing mail (tax returns to clients, letters, cards, etc) then for the coming week. I pay each bill so it goes out between a week and 2 weeks before it is due based on how far after the Sunday it is mailed it would be due. Before that we went daily to PO to check our box there and posted whatever I had paid/written the day before.