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Post by AussieMeg on Aug 8, 2014 12:31:11 GMT
I have seen a few threads recently that refer to paying for things using a cheque / check. I haven't had a cheque book for probably 20 years. The only person I know with a cheque book is my 72yo dad. I have only had to use a cheque once in the last 20 years. That was last year when I had to put down a deposit for an exchange student program for DD. I got my dad to write out a cheque for me then I gave him the money.
Then this morning I heard something on the radio that said cheques would be non existant here in another 2 years. I wasn't sure whether they are definitely going to be phased out or whether the person on the radio assumed they would be in that timeframe. I couldn't find anything recent about it on Google.
I believe that in the UK they are going to be phased out within the next 3 or 4 years. Correct me if I'm wrong UK Peas.
So if you still use cheques, what do you use them for? And why do you use that form of payment over cash, EFT or credit card?
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SweetieBsMom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,926 
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Post by SweetieBsMom on Aug 8, 2014 12:32:56 GMT
I don't use them often and never out at a store. I pay all my bills on-line but have been using physical checks to pay medical bills.
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Post by Rachel on Aug 8, 2014 12:36:09 GMT
I just wrote four this week. Two for local bills that are easier to pay in person, a magazine subscription and an insurance payment that I don't have set up on my bill pay for some reason..not sure why on that one. I also write checks to pay my car registrations when they are due.
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Post by melanell on Aug 8, 2014 12:36:50 GMT
I still use them for various things. I still have bills that cannot be paid online. (In fact I'll be stopping by with one to pay off my car today.  ) I send them in birthday, graduation, wedding cards. Lots of people who do household work such as plumbing, tree removal, paving, etc., etc. take checks still. I don't ever use them at a store anymore, but I did just see a woman paying by check at the grocery store last week. Oops, I missed the "why" part of the question. For the bills, some people just aren't set up for online bill pay. I could drive to my dentist and pay by cash or debit or call them with my card number, but I'd rather just mail the check. And it's generally not considered safe to send cash in the mail, so I never do. |
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Post by cakediva on Aug 8, 2014 12:37:04 GMT
I use them all the time!
Not for bills, that is all done with my online banking.
But anything for the kids' school (pizza days, class trips) i write a cheque for. Things like the eye doctor or dentist, I pay by cheque. Especially the dentist, as the benefit reimbursement is direct deposit to our account, so I post-date for the dentist and they cash it when the funds come in.
And I use them all the time for business as well. One of my main suppliers doesn't do accounts, so when the delivery comes, I write a cheque. If I have to pay for a wedding show booth, I send cheques to the organizer.
I even take cheques from my customers if they don't have cash at pick up!
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Post by deshacrafts on Aug 8, 2014 12:37:11 GMT
I pay bills with checks, but that's about all I use them for. I use my debit card if I am shopping.
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sheepea
Junior Member
Posts: 85
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Post by sheepea on Aug 8, 2014 12:37:38 GMT
I just got a new account and had to get a whole box of checks so I would have a few for just in case... I expect that box to last my lifetime...
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bklyngal62
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,227
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Post by bklyngal62 on Aug 8, 2014 12:38:12 GMT
We pay most of our bills online, but we do have a couple of bills that we send out a check to.
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Post by melanell on Aug 8, 2014 12:40:48 GMT
Oh yeah, I forgot about school. Once school starts I write a bunch.
And I pay rent for DS's instrument by check, too. I forgot about that.
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gsquaredmom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,107
Jun 26, 2014 17:43:22 GMT
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Post by gsquaredmom on Aug 8, 2014 12:41:58 GMT
I use checks all the time. No debit cards. No onljne bank payments.
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Post by Lexica on Aug 8, 2014 12:43:43 GMT
We pay most of our bills online, but we do have a couple of bills that we send out a check to.  |
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lindas
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,488
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Post by lindas on Aug 8, 2014 12:44:53 GMT
Still use them. I don't have a debit card and don't want one. I do all my bills on line but I still have to pay the lawn guy, club dues, weekly bowling, things like that and I always use a check at the grocery store.
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Post by theboydbunch on Aug 8, 2014 12:46:02 GMT
Only when we absolutely have to. I never have a checkbook with me anymore, so it's really a pita if I need it.
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BarbaraUK
Drama Llama
Surrounded by my yarn stash on the NE coast of England...............!! Refupea 1702
Posts: 5,961
Location: England UK
Jun 27, 2014 12:47:11 GMT
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Post by BarbaraUK on Aug 8, 2014 12:46:18 GMT
Yea, there has been a lot of talk about cheques being discontinued here Meg because so few are being used now - and stores now do not accept cheques in payment. My bank, one of the 'big' banks, was going to discontinue them a while ago but because of some objections have decided to delay that decision for a while at the moment as far as I am aware. Debit cards cannot be used now as cheque guarantee cards though. It's now just a matter of time before they are discontinued though I think. I had to write a cheque a couple of weeks ago and realised then that it had been nine years since I last used my chequebook!! Trying to find my chequebook to use it caused a hunt of epic proportions!!  |
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Post by anxiousmom on Aug 8, 2014 12:46:46 GMT
Funny you should ask this. I wrote two checks last week, probably the first I have written in years. I had a couple of blank checks tucked away in my wallet for a "just in case" situation, and when I say they have been there a while, I mean they are so old they still have the previous banks name on them (my bank was bought by another bank years ago, same account number and they still work.) I had completely forgotten about them, but was at the DMV the other day and they were going to charge a surcharge of something like $7 for using a debit/credit card and in a fit of cheapness I pulled out one of the checks.
The other was when I realized at Publix when I realized that I forgot my debit/credit card at home. I would have either had to go home and get the card and come back-all my groceries were already bagged in the cart, or I could use one of the checks that I just remembered I had. I used the check.
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Post by Miss Ang on Aug 8, 2014 12:47:20 GMT
I write a check for things I want to track/have a receipt for that I can't pay online. I use them for: car payment (can not pay online through this bank which I hate.  ) guitar lessons for my son (instructor doesn't take credit cards) water bill (can not use a debit/credit card at the city hall) b'day/graduation gifts hair appt (friend cuts my hair and doesn't take credit cards) Anytime I pay the school (registration, shirt orders, sports, etc.) There may be a few more things but that's the usual things I write out a check for. |
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Post by LAM88 on Aug 8, 2014 12:47:45 GMT
We rarely pay anything by check, and definitely not in a store. The most likely scenario where I'm paying by check is when I have a workman come to the house who needs to be paid on the spot, or the cleaning lady or piano teacher. I'm still always shocked (and mildly annoyed  ) when I'm at a store and someone whips out there checkbook. Usually it's an elderly person. |
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Post by Barbie on Aug 8, 2014 12:49:01 GMT
There are still a number of reasons to use checks--medical bills that come in the mail, school stuff for your kids, my insurance doesn't accept electronic payments, my car registration every year…I probably right 15-20 checks a year. It used to be less, but my current medical insurance only accepts monthly payments, not quarterly or annual. And only checks by mail. So prior to this year I wrote less than 6 checks a year.
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grinningcat
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,663
Jun 26, 2014 13:06:35 GMT
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Post by grinningcat on Aug 8, 2014 12:49:40 GMT
I used cheques to pay rent up until this month. After this, no more cheque writing. I carry one in my wallet just in case but I so rarely use them. They are so annoying. I would prefer to do an electronic money transfer.
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Post by leannec on Aug 8, 2014 12:50:03 GMT
I use them to pay for various things at dd's schools but that's about it ... bills are all paid online ... I use my bank card at the grocery store ...
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Post by angieh1996 on Aug 8, 2014 12:50:31 GMT
I still use them, not often but still pay things like hair appts since my gal isn't set up with credit/debit machines. I also pay for my DS marching band stuff with checks so I have a record of it.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 20:54:09 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2014 12:51:07 GMT
I pay bills with checks and some local businesses only accept cash or checks. Yes, I live in a small town. I could not do without my checkbook. |
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Post by LAM88 on Aug 8, 2014 12:52:05 GMT
I write a check for things I want to track/have a receipt for that I can't pay online. I use them for: car payment (can not pay online through this bank which I hate. ) guitar lessons for my son (instructor doesn't take credit cards) water bill (can not use a debit/credit card at the city hall) b'day/graduation gifts hair appt (friend cuts my hair and doesn't take credit cards) Anytime I pay the school (registration, shirt orders, sports, etc.) There may be a few more things but that's the usual things I write out a check for. Do the bday/graduation gifts get cashed? My kids would't know what to do with a check if they received it as a gift. All of us rarely go to the bank for anything, especially them, so I would probably end up having to give them the cash and then deposit the check it into my account. |
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Post by disneypal on Aug 8, 2014 13:02:05 GMT
I still have some but rarely use them. I just used one this month to pay my homeowner's insurance because you can pay it online (not sure when they are going to get with the times - haha).
I write a check to the guy that cuts my grass.
I think that is about all I use checks for.
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akathy
What's For Dinner?
Still peaing from Podunk!
Posts: 4,546
Location: North Dakota
Jun 25, 2014 22:56:55 GMT
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Post by akathy on Aug 8, 2014 13:02:16 GMT
I pay all my bills online but use checks for my hair stylist, church offering and the rare one time payments. I probably write 20-25 checks a year.
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Post by refupea on Aug 8, 2014 13:03:27 GMT
I pay quite a few bills online, but like others have said, there are some where that is not an option. My mortgage payment can't be paid online, nor at the branch, so I mail a check every month. I could pay it through my bank, but I pay extra towards the principal each month and that can't be designated if I pay online via my bank.
There is a discount grocery store in our area that does not accept debit/credit cards, except for Discover, which I do not have. I don't usually keep that much cash on hand, so I write a check there.
I participated in a fundraiser last week and sent my enrollment form with a check because I didn't want to mail cash. I prefer the check as my receipt.
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Post by jeremysgirl on Aug 8, 2014 13:04:36 GMT
I still use checks. I have a couple of bills I can't pay online and I use them to send in the kids' lunch money. There is some way to set up an electronic account for them, but I haven't figured it out.
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Post by jmurray on Aug 8, 2014 13:06:53 GMT
Actually I wrote one just today, for the first time in over 3 years. It was for a tradesman who didn't take credit cards and I wouldn't pay cash because I wanted an audit trail for the work that was done. He was fine taking a cheque and as I didn't have a cool couple thousand on me that was my only option. I guess I could have done direct deposit to his bank but cheque meant I didn't have to log on and muck about with online payment. I dunno... just seemed quicker.
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Post by Merge on Aug 8, 2014 13:07:40 GMT
As someone mentioned above, individuals who do household work often aren't set up to take credit cards. Cleaning ladies, landscapers, etc. So we write checks for them.
My kids' school doesn't take checks, though. It was cash only for a long time, but just recently they got iPads hooked up to cards swipers that are used for PTO shirt sales, activity fees, etc.
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Post by JBeans on Aug 8, 2014 13:13:26 GMT
I use them to pay for various things at dd's schools but that's about it ... bills are all paid online ... I use my bank card at the grocery store ... And They seem to be about the only place that wants them! Mind you, it's gotten better and we can go online to pay. If people or places asks for cheques, I say, I don't do cheques. What other payment method is available?" All I can say is email transfers all the way!!! I loathe cheques. I loathe getting them. I loathe receiving them. |
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) when I'm at a store and someone whips out there checkbook. Usually it's an elderly person.
