# Order any checks lately? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 22, 2024, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-any-checks-lately/996498 "2024-01-22T15:03:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-any-checks-lately/996498/1 "2024-01-22T15:03:44Z")
We don’t use very many checks, but do still write the occasional one. 40 over the last year. Used to write them for music lessons, and still do to include in birthday/holiday cards. And the occasional doctor/tradesperson. We recently got down to our last couple, so went to order more. We’ve always just used the free safety checks provided from or bank. Long gone are the days when you’d get a box full of a couple of hundred checks that would last a long time. Now, the best our bank will give is 40 free checks. The website really wanted to charge $16 for secure shipping, but we opted out of that. You guys order personal checks lately? How many checks do you write a year? _Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-any-checks-lately/996498/1))_ ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-any-checks-lately/996498/2 "2024-01-22T15:08:16Z")
I ordered checks 3 years ago as I had moved. I write very few checks these days. Last year was a little high as I wrote 6 checks for my kitchen work. So more like 15 in 2023. Back when the kids were in the elementary school, there were a lot more checks written. But even then my regular payments were by Auto-Debit to the checking account or Credit Card. I’ve never carried a checkbook on a regular basis. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-any-checks-lately/996498/3 "2024-01-22T15:12:41Z")
I’m down to one check every 90 days, for water & sewer. We live in a small New England town, founded in 1761, and not much has changed since then. No online payments, they still send out snail mail bills, which you can pay by mail (with a check) or bring it in to the town hall. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-any-checks-lately/996498/4 "2024-01-22T15:17:46Z")
At home, I ordered two boxes of checks, probably 10+ years ago and I think I just recently opened the second box. At work, on the other hand, I go through maybe 2000-3000 a year. (PS, at least for the checks I use at work, samsclubchecks dot com has been the cheapest place to get them). ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-any-checks-lately/996498/5 "2024-01-22T15:19:50Z")
I do have checks (actually, no, what I have are “cheques”, but we’ll let that pass). An indication of how old they are and how unimportant they are is that they still have my old address where I haven’t lived for ?? 11 years or more. I’ve never bothered to order new ones, and I can’t remember the last time I actually wrote one. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-any-checks-lately/996498/6 "2024-01-22T15:24:47Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > (actually, no, what I have are “cheques”, but we’ll let that pass) Just yesterday, I updated my copy of Quicken and one of the fixes was “corrected the display of the Canadian spelling “Cheque” in some cases.” ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-any-checks-lately/996498/7 "2024-01-22T15:25:52Z")
I haven’t written a paper check in years. I own checks, which I ordered when I switched banks about 15 years ago, but I stopped needing to write checks about 7-8 years ago, and now they just sit in a drawer in the box they came in. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-any-checks-lately/996498/8 "2024-01-22T15:26:24Z")
I’ve written one in the last five years. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-any-checks-lately/996498/9 "2024-01-22T15:30:41Z")
We write them for contractors, they don’t generally like to take CC due to the cut they take. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-any-checks-lately/996498/10 "2024-01-22T15:32:16Z")
I write the occasional check, mostly to the company that does our mowing and general lawn care. I used to write a check every month for the mortgage, which was through a small regional bank that did not have online pay unless you also had a checking account with them (we did not). But recently our mortgage was sold to PNC, and now I can pay it online with no trouble. And, as mentioned above, contractors. The most recent check I wrote was to a guy who repaired the roof of our back porch. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-any-checks-lately/996498/11 "2024-01-22T15:33:47Z")
Sometimes, when dealing with banks or other institutions where you’re arranging for direct withdrawal or direct deposit, they want to see a voided cheque (or possibly “check”, if one subscribes to Noah Webster’s anti-British impertinence) to verify the correct transit and account information, because various nitwits may not know how to read the MICR code off the cheque (or check) correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-any-checks-lately/996498/12 "2024-01-22T15:35:57Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > because various nitwits may not know how to read the MICR code off the cheque (or check) correctly. You don’t have to be a nitwit to fat finger some of the digits and end up depositing or withdrawing money from an incorrect (not your) account. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-any-checks-lately/996498/13 "2024-01-22T15:46:21Z")
@Fear_Itself: What you should be able to do is to use your bank’s online bill pay which will mail a physical check in a situation like you have. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-any-checks-lately/996498/14 "2024-01-22T16:21:57Z")
I opened my checking account 28 years ago and still have the 200 checks I received then but have used less than fifty since then. As said, electronic bill pay works for most bills and for the few others, I can have the bank generate and mail a paper check. Plus first-class postage is 68 cents, so it’s nice having the bank pay that. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-any-checks-lately/996498/15 "2024-01-22T16:31:02Z")
I only write checks to the I.R.S. Not paying that with a credit card - that’s way too expensive. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-any-checks-lately/996498/16 "2024-01-22T16:33:28Z")
For the IRS you can use the free Electronic Federal Tax Payment System tax payment service, which uses ACH: [https://www.eftps.com/eftps/](https://www.eftps.com/eftps/) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-any-checks-lately/996498/17 "2024-01-22T16:33:37Z")
That reminds me; I had to pay extra quarterly taxes a few years ago, so I had to write out four paper checks. ---
**Author:** ![colinfred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colinfred/32/21338_2.png) [@colinfred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colinfred)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-any-checks-lately/996498/18 "2024-01-22T16:33:53Z")
I haven’t written a cheque in 30 years. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-any-checks-lately/996498/19 "2024-01-22T16:34:39Z")
I clicked “what’s a check” but then realized I wrote one last year, when ordering a document from the US government. Otherwise, my situation is the same as **Wolfpup** ’s. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-any-checks-lately/996498/20 "2024-01-22T16:39:10Z")
25-50 annually was my vote. I write 3 per month for my utilities ( electric, gas, water ) and write others on a limited basis for bills that come only annually and/or biannually. ( property and income tax, insurance ). Others here and there. ( organization dues, reimbursements ). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-any-checks-lately/996498.md?page=2)