Making the case for personal checks

Maybe I'm a little old-fashioned, but I still carry a checkbook. My young adult daughter, Elizabeth, holds a different view when it comes to checks. She doesn't believe she needs them. Even though I handle many of my banking transactions electronically, I still keep personal checks on hand. Elizabeth has never ordered checks. From time to time, she has come to regret this.


Occasionally, my daughter will need to pay a bill and the company doesn't have an electronic pay feature. Usually, she'll come to me with cash and ask me to write out a check. Recently, my daughter started a new job. She wanted direct deposit for her paychecks, but she didn't have a personal check that she could void. The employer also wouldn't accept starter checks. So my daughter is stuck with picking up her checks on payday and running to the bank.

Without a doubt, Americans are using paper less and less in their financial transactions. Many predict that someday we'll be a paperless society, but I'm not sure if will ever be the case.

Some of us still have a bit of "old school" in us. We like to whip out a check now and then. We're not ready to be totally dependent on plastic.

If I'm going to have checks, I want a little personalization -- something that expresses "me". I like anything that has to do with water, so checks with tropical fish are perfect.