Barbara Hause MBA

Synopsis: Writing checks can help you save money.

The other day at the grocery store I was writing a check to pay for groceries. Apparently, a woman who stood a few peoplebehind me in line was in a hurry. I overheard her say to her friend “Who writes checks these days?” Well she may be right. I may be one of few people who still write checks for groceries and other purchases.

In today’s world of personal finance money transactions could not be more convenient.With a swipe of a debit or credit card in an instant you can buy goods and services and be on your way. With online bill pay you can pay your bills with the click of the mouse. You can also pay your bills, your club memberships and your regular donations by setting up automatic withdrawals from bank and credit card accounts. With overdraft protection you never have to worry about being late for payments or checks being returned for non sufficient funds. Basically when dealing with all your day to day money transactions there is little or no effort required from you.

In one way or another we are all paying a high price for this convenience. The more detached we become from our money, the more likely we will overspend and pay for service charges and interest associated with debit and credit card use. Even when you regularly check your online bank account balance, how can you be sure it is accurate until you determine what transactions are outstanding and what automatic payments or debits are soon to be withdrawn?

It may take a minute or so longer to write a check; however, I find it not only helps me stay more connected to my money, it helps me keep track of where my money goes. As far as I am concerned, carbon copy checks are a great invention. If you want to know your bank account balance, it is a lot easier to refer back to your carbon copy checks or your up-to-date checkbook register then try to track down receipts, automatic payments or try to remember if you made credit card, debit card or cash purchase.