How many of you still have a check book and us it regularly ?

[jb]

Received an e-mail from an old friend talking about things different from our generation and today.
One of the items was checkbooks vs. CC and DC.
Wife and I each still have our own check books, but I just looked at my ledger for Nov. and found I wrote a total of 5 checks, (church, gun club dues, and raffle tickets)
while my CC showed 32 transactions that back in my day would have been checks. Wife writes fewer checks than I do.
I have a DC but never us it as I get points for use of my CC, bills are paid via computer and I keep just enough cash to pay for coffee or lunch if I'm out an about.
My kids live on DC, I don't think any of them have $5 on them at one time, cup of coffee at Starbucks gets a DC swipe.
For bookkeeping I start a new check book ledger every Jan, my current ledger has about 6 of it's pages used.
If I didn't get free checking through my CU I think I'd just drop it.

[Chicken Dinner]

I have one and, like you, don't write many checks. Definitely less than 10 a month. A lot of bills I pay online and I use a debit card or Amex (for points) for most purchases over a couple of bucks.

[BarryBobPosthole]

We probably write 2 checks per month if that. And I just checked and I have the same six bucks in my wallet that I've had for the past month. Everything get a DC swipe, although I don't buy much on a daily basis. I remember reading sci fi books when I was a kid that talked about people having 'credits' in their accounts instead of money. It seemed like a pretty far fetched concept in those days.

BKB

[DeputyDog]

I'm the same way. Have a check book but write only about half a dozen checks a month or less. Most of the bills are done by automatic withdrawal. I'm one of the ones that very rarely has much cash on me. It is a rare thing to have more than $15 dollars in cash, and I just use a debit card for most things.

[Thumper]

Most EVERYTHING goes on the American Express card for flyer points. A couple of stores don't take AmEx and I use my Visa (which also gives points). One store we frequent only takes checks or debit cards, so they get the debit card. I looked at the checkbook just now (joint account) and have written one check this month, one last month (all to the bank that holds my second mortgage/line of credit and they do not accept on-line payments). In October, I wrote two, one to that same bank and one I mailed to my buddy in California for my half of the rental car charges for our reunion (he charged the total on his credit card). September was two checks, same monthly bank payment and one for my property taxes (paid quarterly) as they have a service charge if a credit card is used. (I'll have another of those quarterly checks this month, so December will also be two checks). It's a pretty safe bet to say checks are a thing of the past. Even my Social Security comes in as a direct deposit and the only other option is a debit card as they no longer issue Soc. Sec. "checks".

Funny story, my mom still writes checks for EVERYTHING. A year or so ago, she was sitting at her desk paying bills (writing checks) and took a break for lunch. After lunch, she decided to go to the grocery store to do her grocery shopping. She had her cart filled, went through check-out, reached in her purse for her checkbook and realized she'd left her checkbook on her desk from when she was paying her bills. They had to roll her cart back into the cooler and store her groceries while she drove home to pick up her checkbook. When she told me about her ordeal, I said, "Mom! Why didn't you just put it on your credit card?"

She said, "Grocery stores don't take credit cards silly!!" I tried arguing, but got nowhere as she's hard-headed as all get-out (yeah, it's hereditary). ;)

A couple weeks later she had gone shopping again and told me she asked the clerk if they accept credit cards for groceries. This is a major grocery chain btw ... Winn Dixie. When she returned home, she then called and told me ... (this is where the story turns to total b/s) ... They told her, "Yes, it's a new thing and they JUST recently started accepting credit cards!!" (she would NEVER admit she was wrong!) :slaphead

[yellowk9]

Thumper, I'm pretty sure I've heard that story from you at least two previous times. I guess when one hangs out with old timers you have to be willing to listen to the same stories over and over ;-) I write on average one check a month (to my dad for a loan repayment). Everything else goes on the credit card or is paid via electronic draft from my checking account. I suspect by the time my kids are grown checks will be extinct along with pay phones, TV antennas, etc.

[Thumper]

Yep, I prolly have told it before. But most of the dufes around here are so old they don't remember anything anyway ... so I take it upon myself to remind them. :D

Reminds me of the time I had my son riding in the car with me. He was about 12 at the time. An "oldie-goldie" came on the radio and as I turned the volume up a bit, I told him I used to have that album. He looked at me with a blank look and asked what an album was. :(

[LJ3]

Hey Jimmy! Have you ever worked at a GM Dealership?

[Thumper]

Hey Jimmy! Have you ever worked at a GM Dealership?

Ummm, let me think on that one a bit. I'll get back with you.

Smart-ass! ;)

[LJ3]

I have a Thump story :)

My Mom has been declining pretty rapidly over the last year. She has dementia that is slowly eroding her brain and everything other delightful thing that come with dementia. I have always been my Mom's favorite. Anything that comes out of my mouth is hilarious, anything I achieve is worthy of a Nobel Prize, the sun rises and sets from my ass in her world.

My sister, who is a saint in all this, has always resented the fact that I'm Moms favorite and I, as the younger brother have taken every opportunity to rub her nose in it :) Well, dementia now has gotten to the point where Mom has forgotten I'm her favorite and she gives these polite little laughs when I crack a joke. My sister, from the other side of Moms hospital bed will say "Hah! In your FACE!" or flip me the bird, or anything else when it happens. It's pretty funny. My sister and I crack up about it and Mom kinda joins in when we start laughing just because we're laughing so hard.

According to Readers Digest laughter is the best medicine. I think they may be on to something there.

[Buckrub]

Y'all send me all your unused checks.