Disclosure: This is a sponsored post and giveaway on behalf of Savings.com and Checks in the Mail. However all opinions written below are 100% my own. I ate a bug once in the 1st grade. I also had a huge crush on Christine Taylor when she was in Hey, Dude. How much more do I have to share here?
Actually, let me share one more thing. I used to hate checks. Like, really, I hated them. It wasn't for the typical reasons though. Sure, I thought they were antiquated and I couldn't understand why anybody in their right mind would use, let alone prefer them.
It probably didn't help that my typical interactions with them always involved giving away money too. Making a car payment, insurance, probably a few repairs in there as well. Bills, which apparently come every month. Students loans! HAHA! I paid how much for what exactly again?! I still don't know.
No, the reason I grew to hate checks was because they were forced on me. Some bills could only be paid by check, because that makes sense. Others weren't as macabre, but they charged a few dollars to pay by card.
As a broke 20 year old, I didn't just pinch pennies, I named them and there was no way I could justify giving away Frank, Yolanda, George, Stephanie, Little P, Maryanne, Sir Elton of Dover, Little P Jr., and Winkin' Lincoln as punishment for rejecting what I considered dinosaur technology. “Fine,” I meekly mumbled to myself as I paid $30 I didn't have for a box of checks I didn't want, “I'll buy these, but I'm drawing the line at faxing in my payment!”
Flash forward a decade.
I don't know how it happened, but I developed a habit of saving. I squirreled money away, got a steady job (or whatever the heck this is!), and even *gulp* drank cheap liquor. When my lease ended in August, I kicked around the idea of getting my first apartment alone. I'd always had some sort of roommate situation, be it friends, family, or strangers. (There've been some characters. Remind me to tell you about Phil one day.) It was never a huge deal, but hey, I like walking around naked after a shower or drinking milk from the carton as much as the next guy. Unfortunately I learned the hard way both are activities others frown upon.
The lease I signed last month only had one signature when I submitted it for approval. My new apartment isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination. Drop a ball in my living room and I know the exact spot it'll end up. The guy next door loves blaring the television at volumes most high orbit spy satellites pick up. Oh and windows are apparently optional!
But it's all mine 🙂 It's my first “home” that I get to make completely my own, something that excites me, and that is something I never saw coming in a million years.
Landlords are probably one of the biggest holdouts in the “Vive la Checks!” camp. However when I pulled my checkbook out last month while signing the lease, I wasn't filled with hate or annoyance or even apathy. There was happiness and pride and excitement and holy crap it felt stupendous!!!
I'd never had that experience while holding a check. I'm thrilled to say those emotions carried over to the first of this month as well. I guess you can say I don't hate checks anymore.
Discount Code
I've never personally used Checks in the Mail and I'm not in the market for more at the moment, but I've bookmarked them and will use them next year when I run out. They've got good reviews online and an A+ rating with the BBB to boot. If you happen to need checks now, you can't go wrong with their current offer. New customers get 60% off plus free shipping via code GET60. Sounds pretty rad to me.
Awesome Giveaway Details
Most of us get monthly Valpaks stuffed with coupons, which is already great enough. However Checks in the Mail got in touch with them recently and offered to place $100 checks in Valpaks across the country. So make sure to open your Valpak ASAP the next time it arrives
As if that wasn't enough, Checks in the Mail has teamed up with a few bloggers to give away $100 to 10 of our lucky readers. You can enter via the widget below and the fine print can be found beneath it.
I hope all 10 winners are Hiffers. Okay, I'll settle for 9. So go enter, good luck, and just for fun leave a comment saying what you'd spend your winnings on! Just a warning: if you say Macallan, we might become best friends.
