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Fast Five - Errands | Pad Patter 6.17

HavaDrPepper said:
If for some reason I do get a physical check, I use mobile deposit as well.... unless it exceeds the limit.
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I do all of my mom's banking (she has Alzheimer's) and I've run into those big check things a few times; if I call first, they will put in a special permission for me to go ahead and deposit the check. Since I'm in Texas and she and her bank are in Illinois, I would have to jump through a lot of hoops to get the money into her account otherwise, so I'm glad they will do that for me. When I sold her house, the title person actually drove the check over to the bank and deposited it for me instead of mailing it. Gotta love small town service. I don't know if that would happen where I am.

BevG said:
Automating as many of the bill pays as possible means less checks to write and less trips to a mail box. And less things to remember to do.
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Yes! We are paperless on everything, and about a year ago I finally switched the last of our bills over to autopay. It's so much easier. I still balance our accounts to watch our spending, make sure our checking account has enough to cover any big bills, keep an eye out for credit card fraud, etc.. I use Quicken so I can do all the accounts at once (including my mom's), and if I do it a couple of times a week, it only takes a few minutes and there's less brain-scratching trying to remember what a particular purchase was. :lol
 
BevG said:
Bonus Question:
Are there errands that you have found a way to eliminate? Automating as many of the bill pays as possible means less checks to write and less trips to a mail box. And less things to remember to do.
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Auto payment of real estate taxes helps with the budget as well. Instead of having to fork it all out in one lump sum, it is taken out monthly and they adjust in January. As soon as I found out I could do that, I signed up. All my major bills are either auto-pay or paid online. Just today I paid my auto and house insurance for the next year.

I still write checks and only one of them has to be mailed. My refuse company is small and doesn't have online or auto-pay but the rates are cheaper and I pay quarterly. But I don't have to go to the post office. We've got drop boxes at several locations in town, and I drive right by them when doing other things. Last time I needed stamps, I got them at the grocery store. Perks of small town living!
 
1. Are you the major errand runner or is someone else?
It's just the kiddos & me so yup.

2. What's your favorite errand?
I don't have strong feelings about errands aside from they're always easier to do without my kids. :giggle

3. What's your least favorite errand?
See above... although it does bother me when I have to run them "out of order" or circle back as I plan ahead of time to do them in a clockwise or counterclockwise order so I end up back at home in the fastest/most efficient way possible.

4. Do you do them as they come up or save them for 1 day?
I generally save them for the weekends or evenings unless they are time-sensitive.

5. Do you get yourself a treat when you run errands?
Nope. The treat is getting home and having accomplished them all.
 
1. Are you the major errand runner or is someone else? Mostly me... but occasionally DH. It also depends on what it is.... We get our own gas, do grocery shopping together (that is a family effort - we're too picky, group effort for dinner choices and we all hate it, lol), and I do post office on my day off. He helps by scheduling appts or stuff. I do online banking.

2. What's your favorite errand? I don't think I have a favorite.... but I guess returns - usually easy. lol, liquor store? :giggle

3. What's your least favorite errand? Hmmmm.... grocery. I dislike online... but I love that we all team effor the shopping and we are done fast.

4. Do you do them as they come up, or save them for 1 day? Save them all up.... then I'm done in a couple hours and it gives me a reason to get out and about on my days off if I don't have plans.

5. Do you get yourself a treat when you run errands? Not usually.

Bonus Question:
Are there errands that you have found a way to eliminate? Amazon. I hate shopping in general.
 
1. Are you the major errand runner or is someone else? Me, myself and I ... my daughter no longer drives and my older GK no longer live with me ... oh, how I miss being able to ask them to run to the grocery store to pick-up something.

2. What's your favorite errand? Target, I guess.

3. What's your least favorite errand? The bank ... SunTrust and BB&T merged, my SunTrust branch closed so I have to use another branch ... there's no drive-up teller window, so I now have to go inside ... the teller at the new branch is soooooo slow ... although I think a lot of that has to do with the computer system(s) as the bank is still running both systems ... cray, cray!!! And I miss the tellers from my original branch. :(

I also dislike going to Costco, but I love their toilet paper and paper towels ... this past year I've simply ordered them for delivery. And I don't like grocery shopping. Ummmm, really don't like running errands, lol!

4. Do you do them as they come up, or save them for 1 day? Pre-pandemic, I friend and I would run errands together on Saturdays and grab a late lunch/early dinner together. Now I tend to run errands after work.

5. Do you get yourself a treat when you run errands? Not usually, anymore.

Bonus Question:
Are there errands that you have found a way to eliminate? Order tp and paper towels online for delivery from Costco. I also pay bills online, although that's not really an errand.
 
Memaw2Wm said:
3. What's your least favorite errand? The bank ... SunTrust and BB&T merged, my SunTrust branch closed so I have to use another branch ... there's no drive-up teller window, so I now have to go inside ... the teller at the new branch is soooooo slow ... although I think a lot of that has to do with the computer system(s) as the bank is still running both systems ... cray, cray!!! And I miss the tellers from my original branch. :(
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I feel your pain!!! Suntrust sold most of their branches here and there are now only 4 Suntrust locations in the city. They also sold off some of the accounts. So now I "get" to visit another bank as my husband's business account was sold to First Horizons.

Banking during Covid was a royal pain - took 30 to 60 minutes to get through a drive-through because absolutely no one could go inside.
 
BevG said:
Banking during Covid was a royal pain - took 30 to 60 minutes to get through a drive-through because absolutely no one could go inside.
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I went into my former branch once during COVID to add a POD designation to an account I'd opened online ... so stupid that I couldn't do the POD designation online too, but I digress. I had to have an appointment, I had to sign in, I had to lather up with their hand sanitizer, of course, I had to be masked, and there was a new clear divider on the guy's desk. I was so annoyed by the time I was done.

The bank branch we use for our office's business accounts finally unlocked their doors. Masks are still required, but at least I don't have to drive 20 minutes to the nearest United Bank with a drive-through to make deposits, now I can just drive up the street two blocks.
 
1. Are you the major errand runner or is someone else? me....when dh goes he usually gets the ONE thing he has in mind and even if I try to give him a list, he says he'll remember and he doesn't
2. What's your favorite errand? small grocery runs but even the Costco (inside and gas) AND Walmart days are ok with me cause it becomes a whole day out on my own
3. What's your least favorite errand? anything involving banking - Covid gave me 18 months of avoiding that til I got two checks -who uses checks these days???
4. Do you do them as they come up, or save them for 1 day? mostly I do a batch at once and I really dislike being told someone (male!) needs 1 thing after I've been out on errands
5. Do you get yourself a treat when you run errands? not so much now but any medical test always deserves a chocolate bar and the big shopping one (see #2) often involves a decaf coffee to get me home with a feeling of well done girl!

Bonus Question:
Are there errands that you have found a way to eliminate? Inquiring minds and all that! Amazon, Amazon, Amazon and on occasion Walmart on line - if I don't have to leave the house to get it w/o shipping I will use on line rather than go to a store - a plus for free returns too
 
1. Are you the major errand runner or is someone else? Depends on what's needed - we all have our roles in the house, so things are pretty well split. The college-age daughter has really stepped up to do a lot of the grocery shopping (and cooking!!!). I am going to miss that when she heads off to school in late summer.
2. What's your favorite errand? Shopping for gifts .... or beauty products for myself. I love stores like Ulta and Sephora and could spend hours there.
3. What's your least favorite errand? Drug store prescription pickups. Ours in town is insanely crowded. Hate the wait.
4. Do you do them as they come up, or save them for 1 day? Try to save to do all at once.
5. Do you get yourself a treat when you run errands? Sometimes. I usually end up buying something I didn't need or get a coffee.

Bonus Question:
Are there errands that you have found a way to eliminate? Inquiring minds and all that!
1) A lot of shopping for household needs are done via online shopping.
2) The only time I step into a bank is to get cash for my hair salon appointments - she charges you the credit card fee if you pay by card. So I always get cash to cover the fee and tip.
3) And we don't do dry cleaning much either - I buy clothes for work that can be washed. Hubby has been working from home for years so he rarely has a need for dry cleaning either.
 
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