# How often do you write a cheque? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 17, 2013, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-write-a-cheque/666484 "2013-08-17T11:40:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-write-a-cheque/666484/21 "2013-08-17T17:24:37Z")
Generally I write one check a month to my landlord. I wrote a second check this month because I was at a used book store and their credit card machine wasn’t working. ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-write-a-cheque/666484/22 "2013-08-17T18:30:53Z")
Not since I moved from England back to the USA in 1992. 😃 I still write a few checks a month. Most are for unexpected purchases, donations to charities, and some bills that don’t have set amounts such as my credit card. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-write-a-cheque/666484/23 "2013-08-17T19:04:00Z")
Once to three times a month, variously – some bills still are a bit hassly to set up e-Payment, including tax bills, local political campaigns, etc. My banks was taken over in almost 3 years ago and the merging and rebranding was complete over a year and a half ago and I have yet to exhaust the last book of the old cheques. Deposit slips have vanished, any transaction requiring a teller involves putting my debit card through the teller’s reader. BUT inconveniently enough now instead of a self-chosen username, the ID for logging into online banking at a computer other than your own is the debit card number itself. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-write-a-cheque/666484/24 "2013-08-17T19:24:58Z")
We still pay all our bills with checks and will until we’re forced to do otherwise. We also pay things like clinic co-pays with checks and use them for mail-order purchases. We use cards for in-store purchases and online stuff. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-write-a-cheque/666484/25 "2013-08-17T19:36:28Z")
I write one check a week. I get mobile meals and they’re not set up for debit. I do pay for everything else with my debit card or an online draft from my checking account. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-write-a-cheque/666484/26 "2013-08-17T20:37:37Z")
I’m in the UK, where cheques are generally reckoned to be on the way out. I’m in my sixties, and enjoy being a “dinosaur” – using cheques, and snail-mail, while it can still be done. I pay my rent by cheque every month (landlord is fine with that), and my credit card bill by cheque, and snail-mail, monthly. Likewise phone / Internet bill, quarterly. Various other payments for various things bought, likewise quite often by cheque and snail-mail. I like carrying on with a dying way of doing things, so long as it remains possible. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-write-a-cheque/666484/27 "2013-08-17T20:58:03Z")
I’ve never written a “cheque”. The last time I wrote a check, on the other hand, was probably in the mid 90’s, but I was never a big check writer. My mom on the other hand, I saw her writing a check just the other day at Walmart. As usual, she forgot that at Walmart you don’t have to actually write it out, they just run it through some machine that reads the bank codes or whatever then hand it back to you. ---
**Author:** ![Stendhal\_Syndrome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@Stendhal\_Syndrome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stendhal_Syndrome)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-write-a-cheque/666484/28 "2013-08-17T21:12:03Z")
Two a month. One for rent and one for my daughter’s health insurance payment. Sometimes I write checks to my friend who has an Amazon Prime account and she orders stuff for me (free and fast shipping) and I write her a check. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-write-a-cheque/666484/29 "2013-08-17T21:50:45Z")
I write 3 hand-written paper checks a month, most months: [ol] [li] Landlord: The rental office is on-site, I just walk there to hand them the check, and get a hand-written receipt on the spot. Good thing, too, because last month they LOST that check! They take on-line payments, but last time I looked into it, there was some “convenience fee”. Screw that.[/li][li] Local electric utility: Last I looked, there was a “convenience fee”, which is significantly more than the price of a postage stamp. Screw that.[/li][li] Monthly health insurance: Because I don’t quite trust the good folks at the HMO. If they ever think I owe them some money for a copayment or Rx or some service they decide isn’t covered, I don’t know if they just try to help themselves to my money.[/li][/ol] OTOH, I pay my gas, phone, and various credit card bills on-line. Now here’s what nobody seems to want to say: Almost every time I pay one of those bills on-line, I grumble to myself that it’s a bigger PITA than writing a paper check and mailing it. In the time I can log in to a web site, navigate all the screens to the payment screen, fill in the numbers, click through several more screens — not that it’s very time consuming (assuming all the pages actually load quickly, which they often don’t) — I almost always think it would have been faster and easier just to write out a damn paper check. And I often DO have to wait for some of those pages to load. So why fart around with on-line payments? There’s really just ONE reason that puts it on top of my preference list: Once I get it done, the payee can confirm knowing about it usually by the next day, and my bank can confirm paying it just a few days after that. If I pay by mailing a check, it would take at least a week before my bank finally pays the check, and if anything ever goes wrong anywhere, I might have to scramble to get it taken care of before the bill is overdue. With on-line payment, it all happens and gets done and final, much quicker, and a simple phone call to their automated account status line will confirm it after just a few days. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-write-a-cheque/666484/30 "2013-08-17T21:56:46Z")
I write 2 checks a month, one for my landscape service and one for my cleaning lady, only because they have no alternative means of receiving payment. Everything else is done online, which still amazes me. ---
**Author:** ![computergeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@computergeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/computergeek)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-write-a-cheque/666484/31 "2013-08-17T22:04:42Z")
All my regular bills and payments are done electronically at this point (either thru credit card, e-payments or regular e-billing), so I might write checks maybe 2-3 times a year for home maintenance work or something similar that doesn’t take a charge card or is easier to pay by check. Good thing my bills are paid electronically now because I always hated taking time to write checks on a regular basis. Doper living in the US ---
**Author:** ![computergeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@computergeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/computergeek)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-write-a-cheque/666484/32 "2013-08-17T22:07:06Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > I write 2 checks a month, one for my landscape service and one for my cleaning lady, only because they have no alternative means of receiving payment. Everything else is done online, which still amazes me. I use BillPay to pay my cleaning lady, which sends her an actual check for services. It saves me from having to worry about writing a check myself. Does your bank have something like BillPay? ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-write-a-cheque/666484/33 "2013-08-17T22:13:24Z")
Once a month for my rent, three times a year for taxes, occasionnally to give money to someone or other reasons. So, make that 20-25 checks/year. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-write-a-cheque/666484/34 "2013-08-17T22:21:33Z")
> [@JoseB](#): > > All transaction information is stored by the bank and is accessible online (or you can call the bank and they can print the list of transactions and send it to you, if you can’t/won’t do it yourself). Also, when you send money or pay a bill online you get a printable receipt with transaction numbers. I’ve had a cheque account for over 20 years, and a business account for about 10, and I’ve never written a single cheque. I’ve occasionally used cashier’s cheques for big purchases. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-write-a-cheque/666484/35 "2013-08-17T22:24:38Z")
Once a month for my son’s fiddle lessons. His instructor might take cash, but a check is easier. Other than that it’s for random things like school booster club membership once a year, Girl Scout cookies, etc. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-write-a-cheque/666484/36 "2013-08-17T22:29:36Z")
6 to 8 a month for utility bills, cc card payment, directv etc. Thats way down. I was writing 20 a month just ten years ago. ATM card has changed everything. I used to write ‘Cash’ checks to withdraw money. Or write a check for $20 extra at Kroger to get cash. Haven’t done that in ages. There’s no need to with ATM’s. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-write-a-cheque/666484/37 "2013-08-17T23:18:31Z")
First cheque in the current book was written 26 July; 11 others since then. Twice a week, when I go to the commissary. About every other week to the civilian supermarket. Monthly mortgage payment and another loan payment. Quarterly sewage tax, annual car taxes. Random shopping at Sears, WalMart, Target. Occasional payments to doctors. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-write-a-cheque/666484/38 "2013-08-17T23:58:55Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Now here’s what nobody seems to want to say: Almost every time I pay one of those bills on-line, I grumble to myself that it’s a bigger PITA than writing a paper check and mailing it. In the time I can log in to a web site, navigate all the screens to the payment screen, fill in the numbers, click through several more screens — not that it’s very time consuming (assuming all the pages actually load quickly, which they often don’t) — I almost always think it would have been faster and easier just to write out a damn paper check. And I often DO have to wait for some of those pages to load. …well, you happen to live in a place where your banks haven’t figured out how to talk to each other yet. In places where banks do talk to each other: paying bills online is trivially easy. I log into my bank account. I select the person I want to pay. (Companies can give their bank account details to the different banks and this can be pre-loaded, or I can save their bank account details, along with any reference numbers, onto my bank account interface.) I type in how much I want to pay them. I’m asked for confirmation, I click yes and they get paid. The only website I have to go to is my banks. I normally pay all my bills for the month on a single day in a couple of minutes. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-write-a-cheque/666484/39 "2013-08-18T00:02:05Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > In the time I can log in to a web site, navigate all the screens to the payment screen, fill in the numbers, click through several more screens — not that it’s very time consuming (assuming all the pages actually load quickly, which they often don’t) — I almost always think it would have been faster and easier just to write out a damn paper check. Are you talking about your bank’s web site, or do you do that by logging into each utility’s site separately? To pay my monthly bills I log into my online banking account. It remembers my recent bills. It takes a few seconds to choose the right one and enter the amount. That’s for the ones where I haven’t set up an automatic direct debit. Even if I go to the trouble of saving receipts and double-checking account numbers, it takes a few minutes tops to do all of my bills. How long does it take you to address an envelope and walk to a post box? ---
**Author:** ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-write-a-cheque/666484/40 "2013-08-18T00:13:53Z")
I write cheques for insurance (car, house), for car registration, renewing drivers licence, for municipal taxes, school taxes, income tax, snow removal, for donations to charities and to support my hospital. Everything else I do through online banking, credit card, or automatic withdrawal. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-write-a-cheque/666484.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-write-a-cheque/666484.md?page=3)