Sophia_S

..been over here nearly 17 years,rarely used a chequebook in the UK,but always pay all the utility bills with a check,just to keep my US husband happy!,use the debit card for all the shopping,just write a check for a certain amount of cash on payday,to keep in my purse for when hubby needs cash,I rarely use it either...much easier to use the online banking,although I do write everything down in my book-keeping book,luckily,because a few years ago the gas company overcharged us by $600,but I figured out where the money had run off to by going through all the duplicate checks and my book-keeping book!...very glad I had a record of it!....never even got an apology from the gas company!....Sophia

basementwaj

Dont US banks give an Abacus to all new customers to help them to balance checkbooks???? i think banking and connectivity are definately 2 of americas weakpoints... although the drivethrough banks are great! as are the drivethrough chemists... infact, if you want to live in your car the US is the place to be... it does strike me as odd the americans make such crappy cars seeing as they spend their lives in them or ther houses attached too them!
ha

Angry White Pyjamas

Actually BoA are getting their act together. Their online services are pretty up to the mark these days.

AmerLisa

I found the UK system much easier. I rarely wrote cheques there, with exception to credit card bills, I didn't want them DD. Coming back over here was a bit of an adjustment (in more ways than one.) While a lot of the companies are doing DD now, I'm still writing more checks here than I ever did in the UK. However, I don't write enough for me to sit and balance every month. We use our debit cards when we shop, i.e. groceries, etc. So, we don't have to worry about an unaccounted check dropping into the account and wreaking havoc.

dunroving

Yes, I always kept an accounts-type book when I lived in the UK.

Same thing since I moved here, except now I do it via Quicken on the computer.

Nia_Nia

Wow well you're the only one I've met so far! It never even occurred to me to keep any kind of accounts book back home. I know for a fact that neither of my parents did either.
Hubby says that just because I never heard of it doesn't mean nobody ever did which is quite true but I firmly believe that it is an american thing as has pretty much been proven in the majority of replies here.

fatbrit

It's still pretty pathetic though, isn't it? The new members of the EU to the east managed to bypass the cheque (check) system altogether and go straight to electronic transfer from their previous status, which was basically passbook banking. You can literally go on line to your bank @ 11:59pm on the last day of payment for a bill and make an electronic transfer straight into the utility company's account before the deadline expires. It's magic -- real time transfer from account to account, all the time, at minimal cost.

In the US, I also use less than a dozen checks a year. Nearly all the regular bills are paid on a single cash-back credit card (the HOA and mortgage won't take them, and the leci company and property tax charges a premium, so those are the only four), which is then paid by Internet bill pay from the checking account. All store purchases go on the same card to maximize the cashback.

Dimsie

Back in the UK I wrote several cheques each month and used to keep a tatty strip of paper in my chequebook to keep a running total of my balance - that and the cheque stubs were all I ever needed. I've kept both current and savings account there, and a UK credit card which I still use from time to time. All 3 accounts are on-line, so I don't need to keep my own record.

In the US our accounts are on-line too, we seldom write cheques, but when we do husband fills in the "cheque register" booklet - all details precisely, whereas I just fill in the amount. I suppose the register is in place of stubs, but I find it too pernickety and fiddly to fill in after the cheque has been written. Stubs were easy to fill in rapidly along with the cheque.

Nia_Nia

Well I used to write my remaining balance on the stub of the cheques too, (in the rare event that I made out a cheque rather than using dd) I just never had a separate book recording EVERY single last transaction down to the penny.

rincewind

I use Microsoft Money to work out what I don't have to spend.

I hate "checks" and only use them to pay bills. I use my debit card for everything else.

In the UK, I only used "cheques" for bills and used my Switch card for everything else.

Shahlax

I miss stubs. I use cheques a lot more here, Only used cheques in the UK to give money as gifts to friends. Never used them to pay bills. Everything was direct debit.

I find it strange that some people here choose to get a physical paper paycheck rather than direct deposit their salary.

BritGuyTN

I hate checks - they are the remmants of a different age

BoA's online banking is great for bill payments etc.

The idea of writing down transactions in a log book is horrific to me!

BigDavyG

Cheques are bad for the environment and anyone who uses them should be ashamed of themselves - FACT

Ray

OK you... outside the saloon at midday ... lock and load ...

Chorlton

They cash the check so they can hide money from their partners.