How to Write Checks
Study how to write checks, if you've never written a check before. The process of check-writing is quick and simple, once you do it a few times. But if you've never had a checking account until now, or you have used cash or credit almost exclusively for the last several years, you might need a refresher course.
Writing checks lets you write promissory notes to individuals, local businesses or other organizations, which they can cash at your bank. Most people check your check to make sure everything is official, so you'll need to know how to fill out every part of your check, to be able to write checks in town.
Writing Check Tips
Once you do, you won't have to carry around a fat wallet all the time, with a bunch of money. You won't have to make a trip to the ATM Machine every other day. You won't have to carry a credit card, that's a constant temptation to borrow money that you might not be able to pay back easily. So learn how to write checks to make spending money more convenient, without being too convenient. Below are some writing check tips to help you out.
Printing Out Your Checks
When you sign your checks, everything but your signature should be printed out. Most people write in a much more legible fashion when printing, unless they have good penmanship. Writing out your signature is important for verification, because it can be compared against prior signatures of yours, to prove you signed the check.
Write the Date
In the top right hand corner of the check, you'll find a line for that day's date. Simply write in the numerical date, including day, month and year. So if it's January 1st, 2011, write "1/1/11" or "1/1/2011" on this line.
Make Out the Check To:
The next line down is the "Pay to the Order of" line. This is who you make the check out to, or who you are paying with the check. If you are writing a check at Wal-Mart, sign on this line "Walmart". If you are writing a check at the P.F. Chang's for dinner, print out "P.F. Chang". If you're paying the league commissioner the fee for joining your local fantasy football league, write out your commissioner's full name.
Dollar Amount
On the right hand corner of the check, you'll find a box with a dollar sign in front of it. Place your dollar and cents amount in this box, in the form of a number. If you own $111.70, write "111.70" in the box, since a "$" has already been added.
Print on the Number Line
You'll also want to write out the dollar amount on the next line, which is the biggest line on the check. Print out the dollar amount. In the example above, you'll want to print out "One-hundred and eleven dollars & 70/100".
When printing this number out, you'll want to be especially careful. Starting printing on the far left margin of the line. This way, fraud artists can write in extra digits to your number, turning your check for "$111.70" into "$1111.70".
If you print on the far left side, it's going to look funny, if someone writes in extra numbers just to the left of the line. Also, when you finish writing your number take the line between "70/100" and run it the length of the underline. This way, if a fraud artist adds anything to the end of the line, there will be a line through it.
Memo Line
In the bottom left corner of the check, you'll see an underline with the word "Memo", or a similar term, on it. Write what it is you're writing the check for on the memo line, or otherwise make your notes here. This allows you to keep track of which checks you wrote and why you wrote the check in the first place.
For instance, if you are writing a check for "groceries", print out "groceries" on the memo line. If you're getting gas at the convenience store, write out "gas fill-up" on the memo line. If you are writing your landlord a check for the monthly rent, print out "rent".
Signature Line
The signature line is the final thing you'll write on your check. Signatures require cursive writing, so signing your name personalizes the check. If there's something odd about the person who is cashing the check, the bank teller can check the signature, to see if it looks like signature of the person in question.
Every bit of writing on the check but the signature should be printed out, for the sake of legibility.
Note Check Amount
In the back of your checkbook, write the check amount, so you can later balance your check book. Make other notes, to help you remember the reason you wrote this check.
Balancing your checkbook is a matter of noting how much money you have in your checking account, then writing down the amount of money you have withdrawn from the account in the form of written checks, ATM charges and other withdrawals. Finally, if you have had deposits, to increase the amount of money in your checking account, these should be noted.
If you have money in your checking account, that's how much money you can safely write in checks. If you have withdrawn more money than you have in the checking account, in the form of writing "bounced checks", then the bank has to cover the expense themselves. You'll have to pay back the money, of course, but you'll be charged an overdraft fee, because the bank considers you overdrawn.
"Overdrawn" is simply when you've spent more money than you have in the bank. Because banks are in the business of using the money in a bank to make interest, they don't like when your bank account is a drain on their assets, instead of an asset itself. So that's why you'll be charged an overdraft fee, when you're bouncing checks.
Writing Checks
Writing checks is easy, once you do it a few times. You might find the biggest source of confusion is remembering what date it is. When you can't remember, ask the business you paying if they can tell you what the date is. Also, if you don't know whom to make the check out to, then ask the person taking your check who or what you should make the check out to. If the name matches their name tag, ask someone else.
That's pretty all you need to know when learning how to write checks. Proper check writing is a convenient way to spend money when shopping or buying dinner, and using your checkbook is often a better way to keep track of expenses than taking money out of your ATM Machine, then simply having an informal count in your head. So keep a checkbook handy and see if writing checks is a better way to spend money than cash or credit cards.
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