I have a financial literacy confession to make: I’m not good at writing checks.
In Finland, where I was born, paying with credit and debit cards became common in the early 1980s. When I was growing up, in the 1990s and 2000s, people there were no longer paying by check. Before I moved to the U.S., I’d only seen a check three times in my life.
In my experience, checks were rare, precious and used only on special occasions. For example, every spring, Finnish students win monetary awards for demonstrating good behavior or achieving academic success. They receive their money onstage at the school’s spring celebration — in the form of an ornately written check enclosed in an envelope.
When I moved to Boston from Helsinki at 28 and had to pay rent for the first time, I discovered that checks were not rare or anything special — they were a necessity.
My American friends had written checks regularly for years. I remember the amused disbelief on their faces when they realized that I really needed help with writing my first one. I eventually figured it out.
But 10 years later, as more and more payments in the U.S. are made online, with credit cards or through services such as Venmo, I rarely write checks anymore, and I doubt myself every time I try. I usually end up searching for directions online. Given how many results I get for “how to write a check” and “numbers to words converter,” I suspect I’m not the only one feeling this uncertainty.
If you, too, struggle with this task, here’s an example check, below, that illustrates how it’s done; I made up a seasonal Vermont transaction — buying maple syrup. You can cut out this check and tape it on your closet door or fold it inside your wallet. Whether you’re an adult from outside the U.S., a busy parent who hasn’t had to do this in a while or a child who’s just been given their first checkbook, I hope it helps you and reminds you that you’re not alone.