About five weeks ago I revived a cheque in the mail. It was for $53 and while $53 isn’t much to some to me it’s a sushi date with the kids, a date to the movies with my husband or breakfast out with the family..so I may or may not have did a little happy dance as I opened the envelope. I let the cheque sit on my desk for about a week, always intending to take it the shops but never getting around to it.
Eventually I put it in my bag so I had it with me when I went to the shops and I could just pop into the bank and cash my cheque. Well..three weeks past and the cheque was still sitting in my bag, I checked from time to time to make sure it was still in there but the thing was I don’t actually spend allot of the time at the shops and if I do I usually go to the shops that doesn’t have a bank. So yes, three weeks later the cheque was still in my bag.
By now it had been four weeks since I received the cheque and it really was becoming a huge pain in my backside BUT I was determined to cash this cheque and get the stupid thing out of my way so I could move onto something else..like spending the money I get from depositing the cheque.
It was school holidays and we were all having a good morning so I packed the kids in the car and headed for the shops. The roads were nuts but it was ok..because today I was going to cash the cheque and that would be the end of this happy little fairy tale. Now the shops are about 8km from my house so it’s not a long stint and on a good day only takes about ten minutes to get there and find a park but today it wasn’t going to be that easy because half way to the shops I heard a little voice from the back of the car..I turned around just in time to see Josceline say Mum, I’m not wearing any shoes.
It took all my will power to find my inner peace. I was stuck in traffic in the middle lane with no way of escaping or anyway to turn around and head home. I wanted to cry, I wanted to run home and hide in my bedroom and wait there for Luigi to come home and tell me he had deposited the damn cheque. I mean seriously who goes to this much trouble for 53 measly bucks!
I took a deep breath, told myself $53 is allot of money to some people and I should be grateful for what lie in front of me. I took a swift u-turn at the lights and made my way home. I parked the car at the end of the driveway, told the kids NOT to take their seat belts off. Found Josceline’s shoes and jumped in the car again.
Should I have given in, perhaps? But I think if I had held onto that cheque for just one more day I may very well have ripped it to shreds and then it wouldn’t have been any good to anybody. So off I went. Twenty minutes later I arrived at the shops, found a park right near the door and went straight to the bank. I cashed my cheque and it was all over in 10 minutes. I breathed a sigh of relief at the thought it was DONE and pondered what to do next. We didn’t have anything else to do at the shops as our sole reason for coming was to go to the bank. I didn’t need to buy anything and wasn’t interested in spending money so I walked back to the car, strapped the kids in and went home.
If you owe me money and have any other way of paying me. Bank deposit, cash on delivery, messenger boy, paypal..please do because I really, really..hate cheques.
Danimezza
on Apr 28th, 2011
@ 1:06 pm:
ditto
love your story. Glad my trips aren't that dramatic
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Danielle
on Apr 28th, 2011
@ 1:29 pm:
Are you calling me dramatic.
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Kelly
on Apr 28th, 2011
@ 1:44 pm:
hahaha, i have a cheque in my bag too, months old, and I have been to the bank, and I forgot about it!!
hate cheques!
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Amy
on Apr 28th, 2011
@ 1:47 pm:
Ugh, that reminds me about the $250 cheque I have in my planner at the moment. I'm so cheesed off, the company insisted that they would only be paid via credit card, after 12 months of monthly credit card payments we overpaid our last one, they did the refund by cheque 'No, we can't refund you on your credit card!'. Inconsiderate!
Just enjoy that light feeling that comes with crossing something like this off your to-do list!
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Penny-lee-R
on Apr 28th, 2011
@ 2:01 pm:
what is it with banks? I hate them too.when I do go in i'm there all of 5 minutes or less…so beats me what the hell it is that I dread about the task.
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Ash
on Apr 28th, 2011
@ 2:37 pm:
Who uses cheques any more?! I feel your pain – Bren had a refund cheque that took us about 3months to cash – it was for $29! Hope you enjoy spending it – you sure deserve it!
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Zoe
on Apr 28th, 2011
@ 3:22 pm:
I do hate going to the bank.. Not as much as I hate the post office though!
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Emily @ nochemistrydesign.com
on Apr 28th, 2011
@ 4:12 pm:
Cheques ARE a PITA. Such an old fashioned way of dealing with money.
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katef
on Apr 28th, 2011
@ 5:23 pm:
I am so with you! Cheques are the worst…. I have money sitting in my nuffnang account waiting for them to catch up with the rest of the world and pay via paypal or direct deposit. But I fear that my need to pay ballet fees is going to happen before nuffnang gets their act together
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ClaireyH
on Apr 28th, 2011
@ 5:27 pm:
Tis reminds me, I have a cheque waiting in my bag too, must be looking rather scrunched up by now though!
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Danielle
on Apr 28th, 2011
@ 5:40 pm:
OH my. SO glad I'm not alone in my struggle to deposit a cheque!!
Hello Friends.
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Marthese
on Apr 28th, 2011
@ 6:23 pm:
Hi Guys…I hear I find it a big deal as well….when it is so each to do everything on line…but do not forget that there is an easy way out by just depositing in the wall machine and it will go straight into your account….
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Lizeylou
on Apr 28th, 2011
@ 8:57 pm:
What an adventure!
I must say though that this post made me smile – not at how hard it can be to cash a cheque but because I have a few lying around and I just cant seem to get to the bank to do anything about them.
I have had plenty of opportunity but the last time I took the 3 kids to the bank was a disaster. Maybe I should just get it over and done with.
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NZFooey
on Apr 28th, 2011
@ 8:59 pm:
I have had a $5 cheque in my wallet for 6 months. Not sure it will ever be cashed
Loved the story
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melissa
on Apr 28th, 2011
@ 9:16 pm:
I hate banking cheques as well. My last one was a big one (cashout from car insurance) and I still couldn't be bothered banking it!
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Kirsty
on May 1st, 2011
@ 9:57 pm:
I know exactly how you feel! I think I have had a chq in my wallet for months now, and everytime I go to the shops I always forget it! One day I strapped all 5 kids in the car, to go bank the cheque… get to the shops…only to have forgotten the cheque!
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