Wednesday 19 December 2007

I Hate Cheques!

I really do hate cheques, and don't understand why they take three days to clear in this modern age of technology. I banked a cheque on Tuesday (which appeared on my account that night) but don't actually have any access to it until Friday. The cheque is my pay for the last two weeks and I need it to clear on Thursday, as I have two large direct debts going out then. What to do, what to do!

In the pass I would have just used my Flexiloan and transferred monies across till the cheque clear and then transferred the monies back but I didn't think about the extra interest costs I was raking up by doing this. This time I will use my high interest account funds, which means I lose one months interest because of the withdrawal. The lesser of two evils I feel.

I've spent the best part of the last two days trolling through other peoples blogs on personal finance and they all seem to be doing really well. Not many of us single girls at this though I feel and most are American so we don't have the same financial reference points. This is also the problem with most books on dealing with debt, I generally skip the chapters on insurance or retirement, etc. as they are not relevant to someone in the UK. None the less, the slogg is the same and probably just as tedious, and I am sure many of them, like me, want to scream "Enough already!".

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why don't you use direct deposit??

We use Bank of American in the US and when you deposit any check, (I deposit on ATM) you have access to up to $500 that same day. When you deposit with a teller it clears and posts to your account that same night.

I would start shopping around for a new bank.

You are the customer, demand better service.

LisaClark said...

Ah anon (hope you don't mide me calling you that)
This is Britian and the banks in Britian are like nothing you have ever encountered before, believe me! When I first arrived xxyears ago it was archaic, since then the whole banking system is getting better but still langs behind too many other countries. I'm a Kiwi and we have/had (it's been a while since I have lived there) a fantastic banking system. All very high tech and no waiting on cheques or three days waits for a bank draft etc, everything was instant. You could open a bank account without having to have a credit check - banking at it's best. But not in the British Isles - a cheque may appear on your account the night you banked it but they have to then send the cheque to the bank it is from for them to check the funds are there before they can clear it.
Cheques I do believe are slowly dying out and many shops are now not accepting them on the High Street.
A would like to be paid by direct debt but until my employers sort this out I am stuck!
Oh my bank is the world's local bank but don't you believe that. When I am in NZ they only have two branches in the whole country.

SavingDiva said...

Hm...I never thought about the difference between American and British banks.

I would die without direct deposit!

LisaClark said...

We do have direct debt which is the same as direct deposit. I would like to be paid by direct as it is much better. Unless the payments bounce!