Paying bills
 

I prefer to pay my bills by personal check in the mail but I won't put my account number on the check or fill in the "amount enclosed" on the bill.
I have a feeling Cellerites might be more technically savy than the norm. Do you use electronic options?

I use online bill pay with Wachovia/First Union. It works like a champ, and I've never had a problem with security/theft in the 3 years I've used it. It costs $6 a month (there are services that offer it cheaper), which I'd probably spend on stamps anyway.

I use my Credit card or Check card for all my bills. Then i can pay it off by going to my bank's website and transfering money arround. All of this at no fee. I use Pentagon Federal; Yup, i'm a military brat.

As cutting edge as I am on a lot of things, for bill paying I spend much of every other Saturday morning with a pile of bills, a checkbook, a calculator, and a lot of cursing.

Excellent topic Bruce.

I use online payment options when ever possible. Paying this way saves me time and hassles.

The *most* valuable financial instrument I have is the Visa check card. I love it. The fees for using it are low and you can never hurt yourself with it. Do you have the cash in your acct? Yes? Then use the card, online or in person. It pays monthy bills as well as internet orders. No fuss, no muss.

I've never had any troubles with using it. It has all but replaced my cold hard cash policy.

Wait a minute...YOU have a check card?

Hold up...YOU have a bank account?

Only because he doesn't have a mattress. ;)

I've been surprised at the way that those VISA/MC Check Cards have caught on.

I don't have one.

The thought of something that works like a credit card (and therefore does not require ID verification) that is tied directly to my checking account makes me uncomfortable to say the least.

The thing that worries me about the check card is someone cleaning out my bank account. As I understand it, unlike a credit where you can only get burnt for $50, the only restriction on the check card is my balance. Am I mistaken on this?

In quite a few places I've been to, if it's a debit purchase, a merchant will let you run it through the machine. If you use it as a credit card, they'll ask for ID and the card.

Depends on the bank. I believe with my VCC, if I do not report it within 24 hours, I'm out $50 max.

Why keep all your money in checking? X-fer it over from savings as it's needed. If you plan to go shopping, move your spending limit, thereby limiting your spending.

As I understand it ... keeping the money in the savings account does not really limit things ...

I don't know how your bank handles things, but the overdraft protection setup I'm familiar with is ...

Overdraw your checking, there is an automatic transfer from your savings to cover.

Overdraw THAT and you hit into your overdraft line of credit ... so, theoretically, if someone got your checkcard, they could clean you out for the amount of your checking, the amount of your savings AND the amount of your overdraft.

Thank you, no.

Sorry, I couldn't resist this.;)

That's an something you can take up with the bank. I'm sure they'd be more than willing to let you know that you have the option to cancel overdraft coverage.