Just Checking?

Evidently the extra 50 lbs of luggage I had was not a sign that I'd remembered all the important stuff. My checks and spare contact lenses are just 2 items that seem to have gone m.i.a. in the packing hubbub (others soon to be discovered, I'm sure). Since my address has changed and I was running low this seemed like a good time to reorder checks. My last ones had a Breast Cancer Awareness theme and were all pretty and pink, but in an effort to demonstrate financial responsibility I decided to go with the standard (a.k.a. boring) cheap checks. After placing my order, however, I had a thought: I wonder if I can get them cheaper online?*

One quick google search and not only did I find the fun checks I wanted, I got them for less than the ugly ones! And while Bank of America doesn't allow you to cancel a check order once it's been placed, the fine people at customer service informed me that I can just bring the new, unused checks into my local branch and they'll refund the price! In these days of direct deposit/debit and online bill pay I don't write checks that often, but as the recorded hold message reminded me, checks do reflect your personality. I believe mine say: Smart, savvy and sophisticated shopper:

And a word to the people at Bradford Exchange Checks, unicorns are only "fun & cool" if you are under 8 years of age. Don't encourage people to think otherwise by putting those checks in said category. Same goes with anything animated. Disney and Peanuts I'll give a pass on because it's classic (although Walt was a bit of a fascist anti-Semite so we should really think about the extent to which we want to support the corporation bearing his name, but that's another post altogether), but if you are old enough to have a checking account you are too old for SpongeBob SquarePants. If you have weird fetishes, keep them private - don't advertise them in your financial transactions.

*Note: the answer is almost always 'Yes'.