Writing checks or using ACH transactions? 'The Float' no longer exists

[sharksfan]

This is the second month in a row that my rent check has been returned for NSF.

Rent checks this month were due by the 6th (office is closed on Mondays). The property manager had the check in her hand at noon on the 6th.
My wife got paid on the 7th... we figured we would be fine.
The rent check attempted to clear during nightly processing on the 6th and was returned for NSF.
Landload uses M&T Bank (who doesn't resubmit returned items a second time).
We use Bank of America.

At 1 PM the 7th I sent a electronic payment to my company issued charge card (AMEX). That payment showed up as a pending transaction (seen via BoA online banking) 4 hours later. It cleared that night during processing.

I remember the days of being able to write a check and it taking 2-4 days to clear. The quicker processing (mainly due to Check 21) is making life difficult for us who are used to having an overdraft LOC to draw from during this point of the month... it seems that all of our bills are due at the same time!

[lrprn]

Sometimes you can request a payment date be moved to a different time of the month - but the creditor/lender can also say no.

Do you think this cash shortage will continue even though you filed 2 months ago and should now have extra cash available from not paying your unsecured bills?

[magyar123]

Yes the Check21 system - dircet result of 9/11 when planes just sat around for days and not delivering checks to far away processing centers, is milking more and more bank customers/check writers. The "float" is more or less gone.
The thing that p....s me off is that some banks still put a 2-3 day hold on deposits that you make, and make those funds unavailable to you, even though through the Check21 system THEY get the funds within hours.

[sharksfan]

Sometimes you can request a payment date be moved to a different time of the month - but the creditor/lender can also say no.

We are looking into this with Ford Credit and Chase Auto Finance. They come out the same day.

Do you think this cash shortage will continue even though you filed 2 months ago and should now have extra cash available from not paying your unsecured bills?

It isn't a 'cash shortage' per say. 'It's more of a learning to live within your means with NO overdraft protection to speak of' type of thing. This has been a painful learning experience. The first check was returned because we were short $0.74 to cover it (that pissed me off). The second check we missed by a couple hundred dollars.

[BigJohn]

To the original poster:
Have you though of making your own checks? I buy blank check paper at the local office supply store. Then when I need some checks, I print them up. I do not use the magnetic ink and in many cases, this seems to delay the processing of the check.

[Cali]

That does suck.

All our bills tend to be around the end of the month. Hubby gets paid 1st and 15th. So I pay the bills that aren't as big on the 1st(early) and take 1/2 of the amount from the 1st for the bigger items to be paid on the 15th.

And you can always get due dates changed.

Good luck!

[Flamingo]

Almost all checks anymore upon receipt are run through electronically for immediate payment to the receiver and deduction from your checking account at the same time. Either the person you paid your rent to had the electronic machine that does that in their office or they deposited the check prior to the bank's closing that afternoon and the bank ran it right through. The days of expecting a delay are gone and you just can't write a check anymore because upon receipt by the receiver, it can be processed and through your account the same day of receipt.

I remember prior to filing trying to juggle things like that and robbing Peter to pay Paul. We totally redid our budget after filing to accomodate all that and with just a little paperwork and holding money from one paycheck to put toward another period will work for you. YOu just have to be diligent and either save it on the side in your checking account or put it in a savings account where you can transfer it to your checking the day before your payment. Those insufficient funds can really wreck your account and cause other things to bounce so you need to institute a budget tool so funds will be available to cover written checks.

As suggested by others, request to have the date moved if possible to accomodate your pay cycles.

[sharksfan]

To the original poster:
Have you though of making your own checks? I buy blank check paper at the local office supply store. Then when I need some checks, I print them up. I do not use the magnetic ink and in many cases, this seems to delay the processing of the check.

I've starting using my new credit union's bill pay service. I have all of my bills set up to be paid on the due date. The nice thing about this is that if your payment is received by the payee after the date you select, the bill pay company will cover any late fees/interest and actively lobby in your favor if needed.

This has helped us quite a bit. There isn't any more guessing as to when the check will clear. DCU doesn't seem to clear things as quickly as BofA did... which is nice

[JollyGG]

I used to get paid once a month. So I had called all of my creditors and arranged most of my bills at the beginning of the month. I now get paid every two weeks. We sat down with our payroll dates and all of our bills and figured out when we needed to pay bills and how much needed to be paid then started calling and rearanging due dates. Most of it was easy as can be. Our mortgage agreed to take out there payment every two weeks (as long as both payments would be to your landlord by the due date each month your landlord may agree to this type of payment as well). With our mortgage that means we will make an extra payment each year (2 1/2 payments extra), but we actually consider that a good thing

[magyar123]

Just postdate the check by one or two days. The office manager of the rental units can not legally run the checks through the sytem before the date that you put on there. You complied - legally - with the due date, by giving them A check for the rent ON the due date. If that office manager alters the date without your knowledge you have a major league check fraud issue.