the last person paying bills by check?

[ultrarunner]

My grandmother saved stamp blocks for decades and one day I noticed she was using them...

Postage can be significant... just yesterday I posted 19 envelopes and many had disbursement checks.

My brother did everything on his computer... even a program to write checks going back to the mid 1980's... he said it was a real time saver... all was good until he tried to import to a new computer and there was a compatibility problem...

The short of it he lost 12 years of business records... well, not 100%... because he did tape back ups... just doesn't have anything with an i-omega tape drive anymore... so might as well be lost.

I do find having different credit card an alternative to checks...

I carry one for the rentals, one for work, one for my parents and keep two more at the home office for people I have power of attorney for.

Really cuts down on check writing.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Anyone have a good experience with using a VPN when on a public network? We are snowbirds in Florida staying in hotels and do not want to pay the monthly bills while on a public hotel network. If I use my iPhone using cell vs wifi is that better/less risk? What VPN do you use and how expensive and difficult to use?

Thanks

I carry my own mifi, dont use public internet.

 

[TomSeller]

My 94 year old Mother died last month. Still paid everything by check. Never had a debit/credit card. She was very sharp minded so we didn't have error issues with her. Just had to keep buying her stamps and envelopes.

That is pretty dang good for 94. My MIL got goofey before we moved her into a retirement place. She was 300 miles away and she had given in to a landscaper slime who took her for more than I care to admit. She handed him the checkbook and asked him to write the amount in. Fortunately I had the checking account limited, but I still had to go after the guy to get what I could back ($1000). Okay I'll admit, she lost about $4000 net for a small tree cut down and about 5 pines heeled into the ground.

 

[sodamo]

The last time I tried using a debit/ATM card was back in mid 90's when I wanted about $20 cash and machine refused to give it to me even though it said I had more than sufficient balance. Was about this time, we switched over to going nearly cashless, putting everything on credit cards with rewards. Always payoff completely and avoid finance charges, although may violate that here shortly, but that might be cause for another thread. I rarely carry cash, except an emergency tuckie and never loose change anymore. Embarrassingly, at HD a few months ago, I popped into a good friend and he asked to borrow $20 cash to avoid doing a CC purchase, I opened my wallet and it was empty, not even a tuckie.
Our check writing is limited to those that it is only way to pay without additional fees, like property taxes and other government fees and 1 insurance payment that we mail. While I do have some automated minimal payments, usually I pay online before the due date. Most of our checks are Christmas and birthday checks to relatives.
I check all our online accounts most mornings over coffee and developed my own sheet sheet that not only tracks individual account activity but gives me a near real time view of our finances.

.theatlantic.com

 

[ultrarunner]

^^^I write all the birthday, Christmas and graduation checks for Mom...

Using a check there is never a question of who got what and what was sent to the others...

I don't mean anyone questioning what they received... only that Mom may have forgot or forgot to send it...

It does provide a nice record and being that I handle money for others... doing it all in and out of a checking account is the most transparent...

Mom never wrote checks... I mean like never... Dad always did the checks and when he passed... it was real hard on her in many ways... and is getting harder when memory isn't as good as it once was.

The other day there was another birthday... she had slipped $20 in the card she wrote... I reminded her the other grandchild got $50 and she said she had forgotten... so we did a $50 check for my niece...

 

[ultrarunner]

Over the weekend my brother reminded me a two occasions where not using a check got us into trouble.

I used online payment for the garbage company about 12 years back thinking what could go wrong?

A payment didn't get credited and the city stepped in and paid the delinquent bill and added administrative fees totaling about $150...

It was a nightmare and took months to settle because my city has a mandatory garbage service ordinance...

My brother set up his home mortgage on automatic bill pay... his mortgage was originated at the same bank where he has his account... he asked what date should he set the auto... they told him it would be credited on the day paid and they set it up for the 15th...

A few months ago, he went to refinance to take advantage of the lower rates... thought it would be a slam dunk... his loan person called and said we have a problem... 31 late payments in a row and $4,000 in unpaid late fees...

Never once was he charged or billed a late fee and he had all the online documentation to prove it...

The problem was traced back to the bank immediately selling his loan while keeping the servicing... they would take the money on the 15th and pay the next business day... so every single payment was late...

He lost the opportunity to get the great loan, had to write letters to be posted with his credit report and is still feeling the effects...

Online or auto bill pay is far from error free....

 

[turnkey4099]

Well, as so many of us get double posts, its probably just the same reason, only since its a new thread, it makes two. I know the management is looking into the whole double post problem. Nothing the mods can do about it.

One help wouild be to fix the edit so a post can be cancelled the way other forums do.

Harry K

 

[TomSeller]

A payment didn't get credited and the city stepped in and paid the delinquent bill and added administrative fees totaling about $150...

My brother set up his home mortgage on automatic bill pay... his mortgage was originated at the same bank where he has his account... he asked what date should he set the auto... they told him it would be credited on the day paid and they set it up for the 15th...A few months ago, he went to refinance to take advantage of the lower rates... thought it would be a slam dunk... his loan person called and said we have a problem... 31 late payments in a row and $4,000 in unpaid late fees...

Something went wrong along the way when cities gouge taxpayers $150 to process a bill. Governments have lost touch and see it as "revenue". Makes it sound so "nice". Gripes me when government calls fees "revenue". I call it "tax". To me, businesses "generate revenue" and governments "collect tax".

Your brother sure got a raw deal, I am not seeing how they could expect him to pay since they never sent out a notice.

 

[WM75Guy]

Not too long ago stores would fill out your check for you by running thru the register printer. Now at many stores such as Walmart and TSC the clerk converts your paper check to an electronic debit transaction. You don't even have to fill it out before you hand it over, just hand it to the clerk and they scan it in. It captures the routing and account number and they hand you back the check. It saves them time and money, no trips to the bank and money is guaranteed. You don't have an option to have them run it through the old fashion way as their system is not set up to do it anymore.

 

[ultrarunner]

Something went wrong along the way when cities gouge taxpayers $150 to process a bill. Governments have lost touch and see it as "revenue". Makes it sound so "nice". Gripes me when government calls fees "revenue". I call it "tax". To me, businesses "generate revenue" and governments "collect tax".

Your brother sure got a raw deal, I am not seeing how they could expect him to pay since they never sent out a notice.

We both got it straightened out... just tool a lot of wrangling.

Years ago the city passed a mandatory garbage service ordinance with Waste Management... vacant, vacation, foreclosure... doesn't matter... Owner is required by law to maintain garbage service.

So if the payment is not received the city pays it and tacks on admin fees... if not paid it becomes a property lien...

Title Companies will call the day of closing to make sure there are no garbage liens...

Sweet deal to have guaranteed revenue by the city.... guess only Waste Management has been smart enough to figure it out.

One of my neighbors owns a business and has dumpster service... never had an account at his home as he has business service... doesn't matter, he had to start paying no matter if he uses it or not.

The fees and penalties will be going up as they just passed fines for not recycling...