Just wondering

[Bobberineyes]

I was asked by my deer old pops recently when he passes if I would help ma with balancing there check book. They both are in their 80's but still are mixed in with the current technology,  he does good with a computer,  moving stocks and money around. At first I'm like sure, but we havnt used a check book register in yrs  told him, it's all apps a finger tip away of scrolling back as far as you want looking up what you want or transfering money from one account to the other .He's pretty old school,  no banking or any accounts on his phone,  just computer, I get that. Us, pretty much all phone with apps, so far so good. Anywho,  since most of you guys on here are retired or close to it, who here still balances a check book the old fashion way???

[mike89]

nothing on line for me.. so I guess I'm doing it the old fashioned way.. 

[roony]

I do

[glenn57]

Here we are about half and half. Get statements online  direct deposit that kinda thing. But i insist on paying bills by check. Some my  wife pays via the phone but I friggin hate it.

Kinda old school,  mail me the bill I'll mail ya the payment  I need proof and documentation.

Really not that hard to balance the checkbook with the ledger.

[LPS]

We each have a checking acct.  We do a lot online too.  I try to write checks so it is a done deal after the transaction.  BUT I do have my accounts around town so it is like the stuff is free.  LOLOL  The wife keeps reminding me we still have to pay for it. Cards are easier. 

[Bobberineyes]

I'm totally wihcya Glenn as far as writing a check for several things,  if your card is on file say for Xm radio they jack it without you knowing.  Paper bill is way better. But with the banking apps, setting withdrawal alarm and deposit alarm work real nice, and email is sent as soon as the transaction is done. Trying to tell pops to take the leap has been a tough one...

[Gunner55]

No smart phone here, so I pay all my bills, which isn't many, online except for my life insurance. That my bank pays automatically for me every month. No autopay on my credit card either, when I get an email that my statement is available that email stays in my inbox until I schedule the payment. I don't write many checks though, maybe 2 or 3 a month, usually for cash. Brother is the same way, no smart phone but we both have Tracfones. I usually look at my checking account online at least once a week so it's easy to keep balanced. I get email notifications when certain things happen on both my credit card & checking account though too. One I really like is unsuccessful attempts to login.

[mike89]

I'm totally wihcya Glenn as far as writing a check for several things,  if your card is on file say for Xm radio they jack it without you knowing.  Paper bill is way better. But with the banking apps, setting withdrawal amounts and deposit amounts work real nice, and email is sent as soon as the transaction is done. Trying to tell pops to take the leap has been a tough one...

yup me too... 

[Bobberineyes]

Atta boy gunner,  I'll like it!

[LPS]

Whenever I go to the grocery store I write out a check and write it for extra to keep me in cash.  They know I am going to do it too so no big deal.  It's like I pay myself to go grocery shopping. 

[Gunner55]

I'll do that over at the Bstore too, I'll get gas for the mowers or the boat & write out a check for $10-20 extra quite often. Many of the small businesses up here would rather have a check because they can't afford to pay the 4% fee on plastic. So, if you use plastic, they'll add that fee on to your tab & they all have a sign up in plain view that tells you that too. A lot of 'em will have ATM's too, but I refuse to pay a fee to use my own money.

[Bobberineyes]

I guess I was curious who sat at the kitchen table going thru statements and filling out the checkbook register vs just watching it thru an app or your bank online.

[mike89]

I'll do that over at the Bstore too, I'll get gas for the mowers or the boat & write out a check for $10-20 extra quite often. Many of the small businesses up here would rather have a check because they can't afford to pay the 4% fee on plastic. So, if you use plastic, they'll add that fee on to your tab & they all have a sign up in plain view that tells you that too. A lot of 'em will have ATM's too but I refuse to pay a fee to use my own money.

2nd that!! and I carry cash too!!

[fishwidow]

I write about 5-6 checks per year.  All bills, electric, internet provider, heat, doctors, dentists, car and DNR licenses, are paid on line. Some are paid by ACH transfer from my checking account, but most are paid by credit card. Same credit card is used for restaurants, gas, groceries and any miscellaneous stuff. At the end of the month, the credit card company goes into my checking account and pays the whole thing off. I do make it a point to carry cash because there are a few places that won’t accept a card—-Sportsman’s giant omelets.
I do look at my bank app every couple days and record all the charges against the card in a regular check register to make sure I don’t have any bogus or erroneous charges. I don’t need to balance the account, because the charges usually happen right away, so there’s no outstanding checks.
That’s the only automatic payment I make. I like to be in control of the timing of other payments.

[Gunner55]

I guess I was curious who sat at the kitchen table going thru statements and filling out the checkbook register vs just watching it thru an app or your bank online.

I used to do mom's that way until I couldn't get it straightened out most of the time. So, I'd just go online & see which check had cleared last, then write the amount the bank said she had in the account in the right spot in her ledger. 

[Jerkbiat]

I do pretty much everything online or automatic they the bank. I have not balanced a checkbook register for at least 15 years. Much easier and more accurate for me to whip open the app and see everything in real time.

[Dotch]

Have done pretty much the same jb. My accountant was of the opinion that it was a duplication of effort with all the online banking we do. Haven't received a paper statement for several years now and really don't miss dicking around with them. And, I've caught some things far in advance of when I otherwise would have like when someone keyed in a $ amount wrong on a check I'd written to a neighbor.

A few things though kinda irk me about how some businesses want to push you towards auto pay, especially where they've got direct access to your bank accounts. I really don't like doing that as it's just one more place those acct. numbers can be accessed if the outfit gets hacked, not to mention trying to remember so that the account will have enough funds available when needed. Some, including my FF personal CC, have started charging a fee for paper statements. It's like $1.75/mo. so I pay it but under protest. My business CC hasn't done that, yet. They still keep needling me to go direct pay so won't surprise me if they do.

The deal too with charging extra for someone using a CC or debit card is a double-edged sword. I get why a business wants to do that. However, many businesses build that into the cost of their merchandise, meals, or whatever. May be unfair to those not using plastic but by the same token, if a business won't take plastic or charges additional, some folks are less apt to do business there.     

[Gunner55]

That's 1 thing about up here in the sticks it's often 10-15, maybe even 20, miles down the road to a similar type of business & that business will more than likely has that same surcharge. 

[glenn57]

yea that surcharge pisses me off........they best take a check then. i got rid of CC 's years ago, and only use a debit card, check or cash. i've actually had retailers tell me they'd take a check if i didnt want to pay the surcharge!!!!!

[fishwidow]

If I were a business, I think I’d avoid passing the credit card fees directly to customers. It’s a cost of operating a business, and just like every other cost, you have to price your product to cover it. In Europe, the fees that business pay are much lower and merchants are not allowed to pass the fees on to customers. 

A bigger issue for me is the expectation of tips for employees doing a job that they are expected to to do. Not for exceptional service, but for handing you a cup of coffee or a fast food order. I had a propane cylinder filled and the guy had a sign and container for tips next to the fill area.

Didn’t mean to go off topic, but the request for bigger and more widespread tips has become a problem.

[Gunner55]

yea that surcharge pisses me off........they best take a check then. i got rid of CC 's years ago, and only use a debit card, check or cash. i've actually had retailers tell me they'd take a check if i didnt want to pay the surcharge!!!!!

I told a checkout lady at L&M one time, quite a while ago now, that it was easier for me to cash an out-of-town check up here than it was at home, as nobody even asked for ID up here. She didn't even hesitate when she told me that if they didn't take out-of-town checks, they might as well close their doors. When I was 1st offered a debit card my bank said I had to use it 20 times a month or there was a fee for that too, I said eff that & have never looked into it again. My CC is no annual fee & I have paid it off every month for more than 25 years.

[roony]

I do use a debit card. I get interest on my checking account if I use it 15 times a month. I use it mainly for small purchases instead of using cash.

[Dotch]

I do the same gunner. CC co. doesn't make diddly off me & I get "free" stuff/points on both cards. Won't get that from the local bank on a debit card. Plus, all the expenses on the business card are categorized for the accountant annually so I don't have to mess with it.

Not really off topic FW. All kinda relative as it does show up on a lot of the CC slips these days. Whether it's cash or CC, I'm more than happy to give a decent tip to a waitress or waiter who was attentive, got the order right, kept an eye on my beverage level, kept the table clean and gave otherwise exceptional service. That streamlines the process & we need to get on with our day. 20% is the going rate here. I gave my sheep shearer an extra $.50/hd. this last time because he had to come back to finish the group in the other barn. Was additional hassle for him, was his idea and he was glad to do it. Worked out better for us too as the ewes were lambing while we were shearing. I always give my haircutting gal a nice tip. She's easy to deal with, works quickly & we schedule the next appt. so I can put it in my phone before I leave. Took all of 15 minutes yesterday so I could keep moving. Might help that I don't have as much hair as I used to...  

[Gunner55]

I get interest on my checking account too. I do wish my rewards on my CC were a little better though, my brother has 1 where he gets 5% on just about everything, mine is nowhere near that good. But for the way I use mine, I'm just fine with the way it is.

[mike89]

I get interest on my checking account too..  and I get money back in the form of merchandise from Cabela's

[fishwidow]

I’ve got two credit cards, both from the same bank. One I use only for travel and restaurants. It gets better rewards points, and covers the cost of TSA pre check and baggage charges up to a certain point. The other is for all of the regular day to day stuff. It gets regular points. Both get automatic payments from checking account at the end of the month. No interest on the checking account, but there’s never much of a balance in it anyway.