Why You Should Bother With Checks

Checks have their weak points -- and we'll get to those below -- but in many ways, they're much better than currency and coin. First of all, checks are simple to use. All you have to do is fill in a few pre-printed spaces and remember to do it in ink, and your promissory note is complete. They're also convenient. It's a rare business that doesn't accept checks, and it's much easier (on both sides of the counter) to deal with a check than with a wad of cash or a pile of coins.

Then too, checks are safer to carry and use than cash, especially when you need to pay a bill. Would you dare put a stack of $100 bills into the mail to pay your mortgage? Heck no! If your Benjamins get ripped off, they're gone for good; they can be spent anywhere, and no one is going to give you any replacements. A wayward check can be canceled for a minimal fee; and if your creditor claims they never got it, you can check your bank records and send them a strongly-worded letter if you have the canceled check, or fire off a replacement if you don't.

Best of all, checks are cheap. In fact, in a way, cheap checks are the basis of our current system of finance. If checks cost you a dollar each, either for processing or for printing, you probably wouldn't use many. Fortunately our current system of cheap personal checks means those printed slips will cost you no more than a few cents each, at worst.

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