How Do I Write a Check? by JaShae'

How Do I Write a Check? by JaShae' - November 2021 Scholarship Essay

I went out of town to visit my family and left my husband to tend to our new home. As first-time home buyers, we decided to fix up our 40-year-old home. The first thing we needed to be done was to add a fresh coat of paint to the interior of our home.

However, once the job was complete, we knew the cost for paint would be expensive. So, I told my husband to write a check to the painters. As he went to pay the painter he asked the painter, “How do I write a check?” The painter told my husband, “I don’t know. My wife writes all of our checks.”

Once I found out that he did not know how to write a check from the painter because the painter came back on a different day when I was home and told me that the amount was not written correctly on the line for the sale. Frustratingly, I apologized and politely wrote the check for the correct amount and voided the other check and I honestly felt that this was a serious problem and I realized how common it is to not know how to write checks. Who would know how to write checks anymore now that we have access to direct deposit or direct withdrawal and the use of credit and debit cards? I’d like to believe more emphasis should be implied on finance and investing classes with tools on how to balance a checkbook, save money, and invest.

If we had these tools, I believe the economy would not have so much debt and people will know how to balance a checkbook and apply for their money in ways to make the economy stronger.