i went to the Doc yesterday. and then to the seperate place to pay ..
the lady in front of me..paying by check..acutally she wanted to write 2 checks her son saw the doc too.
i am listening to her talk to the cashier..and she knew what her co-pay was, yet she had to write out both checks from scratch.
the guy waiting behind me was coughing up a storm..who knows what was wrong with the people behind him!
i felt trapped! lol!
i do not use checks to much anymore. but when i do. it is always filled out..except for the amount. i usually sit in the car and fill it out before i go in...

do you still use checks?

For a few things, not so much anymore.

No only for bills not for co pays or groceries things like that.

There are a couple of things I have to write checks for, but I don't carry my check book so I have to remember ahead of time to write out the check, especially my hair dresser. One time I forgot the check so I got one of her deposit slips so I could still pay her that day.

About the only thing I write a check for is the school cafeteria. They don't take debit, credit or cash.

I don't even have a book of paper checks anymore.

Only for my rent and water bill.
All my other bills I pay online either with a credit or debit card (with low limits and not connected to my bank account).
But my rent and water bill don't have online payments (why??? it's 2010!!) so I either write a check or get a money order for them.
I dread writing a check anymore. I don't like handing my account numbers (on the bottom of the checks) over to anyone.

This is funny, 10 years ago we wouldn't be talking about someone writing a check, see how things change. I don't mind having to wait for someone to write a check. I don't want to hear half a conversation.

At least she was paying her co-pays. We have patients at our office that say: I didn't bring any money or checkbook. Do they go to the grocery store without money, checkbook, or credit card?
I always get behind the person writing a check at the grocery store, too. I agree with you--fill out part of it ahead of time!

i don't mind anyone writing a check,or waiting. I am never is a hurry. (retired) But in a Dr. office, there are sick people,old,and handicapped people waiting in one line for one person to take thier check,cash or debit card..just wish she had filled them out ahead of time.
i just had a guy coughing all over the place..even my 2.5 year old grandson covers his cough with his sleeve.

And most of the time you have to wait.. either for the doc to come in , so why not start writing ahead of time , in a grocery store, you wait for the person in front of you . I very seldom write checks anymore , it is just so much easier to pull out the card :wink:

I'm so used to paying with my debit/credit card that I am actually shocked when I have to pay with a check. I enjoy going on-line, paying my bills, and be finished in 5 minutes instead of waiting on the post office to mail it & it might get there in a couple of days.

(had a couple of mishaps with mailing payments in so that's why I pay on-line now)

I don't use checks hardly at all any more. Paying bill online or using a debit card is so much easier. I have been behind people in line in some stores (Costco, WalMart) where they right a check, the cashier runs it through there cash register and then hand the check back to the customer. Has anyone else seen this? Seems like a lot of work for nothin'. :lol:

yes, i have seen it..i thought it was way straange too!

I use checks mainly for paying for bills, guess it's a holdover from when I was a bookkeeper many years ago. Funny I never liked having my checkbook in my purse for fear someone would steal it but have no fear carrying my credit card in my purse.

I always drop any mail that has a check in it at the post office. Years ago a gang of thiefs went through our area breaking into post office boxes in strip malls and on street corners, they accessed our joint account and my personal checking account. Come to think of it the only place I've seen a post office box recently is in front of the post office. May in Jersey

We have BofA...I do ALL my banking with them. I tell it to pay the utilities so much a month and they're paid and sent. I don't buy stamps very often and I hardly ever write a check. In fact, I've been down to my last 25 checks for 2 yrs now. I, too, have gotten caught behind someone who waits till the last minute. Just last week I was in line at the grocery store and the little lady yakked away at the cashier. When it was totaled she opened her purse and started rummaging to LOOK for her checkbook!!! ARRRRGH!!! I grabbed a magazine and started reading....it calmed me down.

And church too ~ the only other check I write is for the property taxes ~ they charge a processing fee if you use debit/credit cards.

Yea, church too, I don't want am ATM machine in our church.

I write checks still, for lots of things; and it has made me very nervous before to hear people behind me sighing or complaining to the person they are with. I have a debit card; but still want that written proof for some things, and it is my right. The world has become very fast and people get so used to it, they lose their ability to be patient.
I am not trying to make anyone feel uncomfortable; just expressing the feelings on the other side of the story.

I still write checks for most everything. I have had people at stores get irritated because I pay with CASH MONEY. I always buy more than they do and figure I have every right to pay with however method I choose. Large stores have express lanes and those are the ones they should go to, I won't let them ahead of me either, I figure they are no better than me, if I can wait they can too. At my Doctor's office there is only one person at a time paying, never a line. No problem how long I want to take.

mainly pays by debit card

I never write checks. But I do keep one in my purse just inc case I would need it. Same with stamps - we have some, but everytime I use them I am worried the price went up and I didn't notice :)

The bad part is with a debit card, I normally don't even keep cash on hand anymore. I am more likley to spend it that way also, but when I want to buy girl scout cookies I can't! :)

I use checks for all my bills and for some co-pays. If I use it for co-pays, I always write it ahead of time except my signature.

I always paid with cash before, however for one of my doctors who switched practices I was double billed. Since I had shredded my statement and the receipt, I felt it was easier to just pay again. I don't drive so I couldn't go to my bank. This has happened twice.

Now I keep my receipt and also have a copy of the check for at least a year.

I do feel that people should fill them out ahead of time. Even when they go grocery shopping. It really bugs me when I get in the shortest line and the person in front of me decides they need to write a check and digs for the checkbook.

I love my ATM card!

I never write checks either, unless I have to. Its so much easier to use that debit card!
~Bj~

I write some checks, but not as many as I used to

I like to take as much money as I need out of the ATM each week, and use that for groceries and stuff

why are so many cashiers surprised when I give them $$ ??

getting to the point in Australia that giving change is a fading skill

I very seldom write a check anymore. I use my debit card but had a bad experience a couple of weeks ago. My bank called and asked me if I had used my debit card in Florida. I said of course not, I'm in OKC! It seems someone had gotten my debit card number and was using it in Florida, but the bank caught it very quickly, it was only used 4 times. But I had to get a new debit card that 2 weeks to get to me. I hated using cash or checks.

The bank said there are many ways people get our numbers. I almost always use my debit card as a charge because my banker told me last year it was much safer because you don't have to put in your PIN number.

Everything was refunded to me and I am still nervous, but I guess I won't go back to checks.

I only write checks to the gardener every month and once a year for IRS and state taxes. I don't mind when someone at the grocery does, but it would be really nice if they at least put in the name and date while their purchases are being rung up. It's the waiting until the end that gets my goat.

Yes, mostly for utility bills and rent payments, and for anything I pay through the mail, such as taxes or magazine subscriptions. It is exceedingly rare that I would write one out in a store or a doctor's office. I would more likely use a debit card or cash. (I use credit cards only if they're corporate cards, for work.)

Checks have become a thing of the past. I carry one in my billfold, just in case. Chances are the vendor wouldn't accept it! LOL! I love that we've moved on to online paying or other methods. Now you know why the postal service is hurting!

I use checks, bad experiance with the debit card. I keep a better record with checks, I don't care if anyone gets upset while I write it out.
At walmart all you have to do is sign the check give it to the cashier it processes just like a debit card,it doesn't take any longer than someone who has to hunt for thier card, slides it a few times because it might not go thru and then punch in a pin # that they don't always get right the first time.
At the Doc's office, you shouldn't be that close behide. give them privacy they need. when I go to the doctors I sign in,have a seat, recpt. calls me to the window and give her the info. I don't spend as much shopping if I pay cash.
Not that long ago I used my debit card a store. someone stole my information! they wait in a car and use some kind of device that hacks your information as you are swiping that card. the next day I had charges against my account.
so if you are worried about the account # on the check I think it is easier to steal from a charge card.

I write checks for everything, bills, gas, groceries, copays, drugs (drugstore) - everything. We only use a credit card for a major purchase or repairs on our car (30 day guarantee thing). The only problem I have had is the dorks that pay with a check and don't have the money to cover it. For 50 years my husband and I have had a checking account and have never had an overdraft and now we are being penalized because different fast food restaurants (Wendy's, McDonald's, Burger King, Arby's, Olive Garden, Red Lobster) don't accept checks. I don't keep much cash in my wallet. Works for us~! Edie

the reason they do that is it checks to see if there are returned checks(bad) from that account,,so retailers are trying to save themselves some grief and money ,and check ahead of time

I was treasurer for two years for my guild and I wrote and signed every check. When it was time for the new treasurer to take over Bank of America said my name was never added to the checking account. I was not approved to write checks from that account. That's when the bank admitted they don't check the signatures on the checks anymore. I could have signed it any name I wanted. Most stores have auto check filling now. Just hand them a check and they hand it back.

The new process of paying by check around here is, you sign the check, hand it to the cashier. The register scans the check, fills in the amount and pay to part, then cashier gives you back the check. It's quite fast, and your account # isn't out there for anyone to see.

Use a debit card for just about everything. I do keep one check and two tens in my wallet just in case. I seem to keep better track of my money that way. DH insists on cash for everything and spends a lot of time trying to figure out where the money went. We do pay the majority of the bills online.

I rarely write a check, I do most of my bill paying online and I use PayPal for a lot of purchases, and my ATM card for most everything else. I have checks though, just in case.

My mother steadfastly refused to get with the technology. She wrote checks, hung up on automated messages, never pumped her own gas, you get the picture. Whenever I see someone writing a check, it reminds me of my mom, and how much I miss her, so I just sigh and wait patiently until they're done.

I do, believe it or not, I live in a very rural town in SW VA and my bank does not have debit cards yet. We are so far backward, they will never catch up. We just got 911 about 15 years ago.
Dee

I haven't carried my checkbook in years but I do keep one in my wallet just in case. We only write a handful of checks (house payment, some utilities) and pay most utilities (including real property taxes) online or by auto-pay. Some utilities charge a percentage of the payment as a fee to pay with a debit/credit card - those we write checks for.

yep, i use checks. i like paying by mail too. hubby likes to pay online but there are so many hackers out there that i am scared they will get into our Bank accounts that way.
so when i get to see a statement- i take it and mail off a check!