Writing Checks in the New Year

Posted on January 14, 2020 by mitchteemley

I still send physical checks to pay some of my bills (you too?). And sure enough, at the start of each year I end up writing the wrong date on them. For example, today I mailed a very large payment “accidentally” dated “2023.”

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P.S. When I’m not writing checks I’m writing stuff I actually like to write. I jumped into the 3rd draft of my novel Over-the-Rhine this week. Prayers appreciated! (And while you’re at it, pray that check doesn’t get cashed until massive royalties from my New York Times bestselling novel have poured in.)

About mitchteemley

Writer, Filmmaker, Humorist, Thinker-about-stuffer
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34 Responses to Writing Checks in the New Year

  1. ICT Genealogist says:
    January 14, 2020 at 12:02 pm

    I let my financial institution write my checks for rent, water, electricity, natural gas. Not only do they take the money out right away, they pay the postage to send the checks out. They are scheduled for a specific date. For the utilities, I usually go online and make a separate payment if my regular payment isn’t high enough.

    2023? Been time traveling again? 🙂 I may write last year’s date, but I have yet to write a date several years in the future. Back when I wrote checks, I forgot to sign my rent check back around 1993. It cleared my landlord’s bank and my financial institution. Too much automation as some human should have caught it. I only noticed when I got it back in the mail with my regular statement.

    Reply
  2. Heidi Viars says:
    January 14, 2020 at 12:03 pm

    praying, Mitch!

    Reply
  3. hannahtk says:
    January 14, 2020 at 1:59 pm

    Prayers for the rich blessing of Spirit-guided inspiration and impact for Over the Rhine, Mitch.

    Reply
  4. numrhood says:
    January 14, 2020 at 2:43 pm

    i’ll date as 4548

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  5. Erika Kind says:
    January 14, 2020 at 3:06 pm

    So, that is awesome. You are even ahead of time 😄

    Reply
  6. Lady Quixote/Linda Lee says:
    January 14, 2020 at 3:14 pm

    2023? Were you sleep writing? I took Ambien once, then got on my computer, logged onto eBay and did some sleep bidding. I bid on a horribly ugly antique chair that we couldn’t afford and wouldn’t have wanted even if we did have that kind of money. Thank goodness I was outbid! No more Ambien for me.

    I’m praying right now for your editing job to go well. Please say a prayer for me as I close in on the end of my first draft of my memoir. I will have a ton of editing to do. This first draft is almost as long as War and Peace!

    The last several comments that I’ve tried to post on your blog apparently disappeared into spam purgatory. I believe Askimet has fixed the problem. I’m holding my breath now as I get ready to tap on the Post Comment button…

    Reply
  7. smzang says:
    January 14, 2020 at 4:35 pm

    Prayer vigil in place. : )

    It won’t be very long before we see that title on NYT Best Seller List.
    Bravo!!

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  8. M.B. Henry says:
    January 14, 2020 at 5:40 pm

    I still pull out the old checkbook once in awhile! 🙂 Good luck on draft number three!

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  9. Nancy Ruegg says:
    January 14, 2020 at 5:50 pm

    God speed, Mitch. His power and wisdom ARE working through you to complete this important novel!

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  10. Liz Gauffreau says:
    January 14, 2020 at 6:45 pm

    Sending good thoughts your way for your third draft!!

    Reply
  11. Tina says:
    January 14, 2020 at 8:08 pm

    Why DON’T I have you on my prayer list? Hmmm… slight oversight. Lol. I’m adding ya to my prayers Mr.T. I’ll put it down in writing. *goes to get her journal pronto before it slips her mind*

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  12. cat9984 says:
    January 15, 2020 at 2:21 am

    I had to go to electronic pay on everything. I never have enough money to pay them all and had a bad habit of forgetting to pay some. The mortgage and utilities people are much happier now. 🙂

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  13. JOY journal says:
    January 15, 2020 at 10:22 am

    Happy writing, Mitch!!

    Reply
  14. Bill Sweeney says:
    January 15, 2020 at 12:29 pm

    I am praying for you, my friend.

    Reply
  15. Ann Coleman says:
    January 15, 2020 at 1:50 pm

    I still write checks, too! And yes, I’ll pray for you as you work on your third draft of your novel!

    Reply
  16. Mellow Curmudgeon says:
    January 16, 2020 at 7:19 pm

    Yes, I also write some paper checks.  One of the little things I do on 12-31 or 01-01 is to write “2020-” (or whatever is appropriate) in the date field of the next check in my book.

    The date format YYYY-MM-DD is an ISO standard that has been around for decades but is still not used much in the US, where we still measure distances in inches, miles, and other goofy units in between.  But the bank WILL accept it.

    BTW, you’re doing great if 3 drafts is enough.

    Reply
    • mitchteemley says:
      January 16, 2020 at 7:49 pm

      Well, three drafts and some polishes, anyway, before it’s ready (I hope) to submit to publishers.

      By the way, I’m wondering how many people got the gag about using dating confusion as an excuse to write a future date, thereby making a check un-cashable. It seems like a lot of folks took my words seriously.

      Reply
  17. pick1solution says:
    January 16, 2020 at 8:14 pm

    When the Computer became a unit that I could learn to use I have converted to doing almost everything on-line. I may have started in the 80s. I include all who exist in my prayers as I am so far gone to make requests on my own behalf. There are far more people praying for my well being than I could ever imagine. This I know is true as each day becomes a treasured gift. Your daily digests are an inspiration to many.

    Reply
  18. Mr. Ohh's Sideways View says:
    January 31, 2020 at 2:04 pm

    I am a sucker I will never trust on-line banking. I pay everything with check. However I have never postdated one 2023. But I just hope it will Clear when the time comes

    Reply

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