Are Checks Still Used?
Let’s have a little Friday fun and talk about an ancient, outdated financial tool that many people don’t even use anymore. I’m referring to that manual paper-based currency called a check. Are checks still used, and how many checks do people use in an average month? I actually still use checks, although very infrequently.
There are a handful of bills I pay each month with a check:
- Mortgage: There’s just something about going into the bank on the 1st of each month and handing my mortgage payment coupon along with payment to the bank teller. My home is my most expensive possession, and I like to make a big deal out of making that payment each month. Call it nostalgia, call it silly, and I don’t have to do it, but it’s something I find enjoyment in.
- Car Payment: The bank that financed my vehicle gives me the ability to access my account online, but I’m not able to make a payment online. I won’t mention their name, but it’s one of the most recognizable financial companies in the country. I don’t understand it, and they won’t give me a straight answer as to why they don’t enable it. Every month I have to write out a check, lick a stamp, and drop it in the mail.
- Personal Loan: I have a personal loan from a bank other than the one I do the majority of my banking. I could set up automatic bill pay, but I’ve simply been too lazy to take the time to figure out how to do it. This one I could automate, I just simply haven’t.
There you have it, I write a grand total of 3 checks each month. Some months I may write out a few more for situations where I’m not able to use my debit card such as door to door fundraisers, or to our son’s high school before he graduated. One I do because I choose to, one because I have to, and one because I just haven’t taken the time to set it up.
Checks aren’t used much anymore, but they aren’t completely obsolete. I only write 3 checks each month, and I don’t plan on changing that anytime soon.
How about you, Clever Friends, do you still write checks? How many do you write, and for what reason?
Brock is a software engineer by day and personal finance blogger at night. He is a fitness junkie and enjoys grilling and smoking meat. Married with two children, Brock strives to improve his skills as a husband and father, and is always on the lookout to stretch his family’s budget as far as he can.
I wrote a post about this a few months back. In any case, the recurring payments all come out automatically. For us, check writing is more the one-off stuff. Kids activities. PTO stuff for their school. My barber (they don’t take credit card and I don’t usually load up the wallet with more than 10 bucks in cash at a time). The sprinkler shut-off company. Stuff like that is where we do our check writing.
Checks are annoying. I do my best to always avoid using them. The last one I sent was in July as a gift for graduation. Usually even then I would send cash but don’t want to send cash in the mail. Mortgage online, auto online. Only time is maybe for home services if they don’t take card.
I write checks on Sundays to give money at church. I also had to write a check once to a friend who was collecting money for a gift for our secretary (and needed it THAT day) but did not have Paypal/Venmo/Any other money transfer app.