Once I was able to handle my own finances, I was a much happier person. I hated having people, even family know my financial business. I wanted to pay my bills and take care of business myself. It took some lessons and a check writing guide along with some other equipment but I learned how to do it and now no one has to know how much my Visa bill is unless I want them too. I hope some of these little tips will help and as always feel free to write with any questions you might have.
*Fold your money into different sizes to differentiate the denominations. Some individuals use the method suggested as follows.
Keep the one-dollar bills flat and keep in the front of your wallet.
Fold the five-dollar bills in half and put behind the ones.
Fold the ten-dollar bills into thirds and place behind the fives.
Fold the twenty-dollar bills into fourths and place behind the tens.
Fold the fifty-dollar bills in half lengthwise and put behind the twenties. On the rare occasions when I take a one hundred dollar bill, I put them in a totally different place in the wallet.
Some people use the method of placing each denomination in a different place in their wallet.
One suggestion for coins is to purchase one of the little coin purses that hold each coin. Another is to put dimes and quarters together and to put the nickels and pennies together. I just toss them in a jar and do not worry about them.
There are two different ways to write a check depending on if you are low-vision or are totally impaired visually.*Low vision persons may opt to choose the large checks that have raised lines. This enables you to feel the line on which to write. Your bank can order these for you; they are more expensive than traditional size checks.
*If you have no vision or choose, there are templates that can be purchased. They fit directly over the check and have cutouts for the different areas in which you need to write. There are different styles to choose from.
No matter which method you choose, it is a good idea to turn down the upper left corner of the check. By doing this you always know which side of the check to write on and it will always be in the correct position when you put the template over it. Do the same with your deposit slips. It is another suggestion that deposit slips be removed from the back of all pads of checks. If you do this, you cannot make the mistake of writing a deposit slip for a check. I did this to the poor pizza delivery guy twice before I figured this one out.
Low vision writers may choose to use a larger very dark pen sold in adaptive equipment catalogues.
Some choose to use an Ultra Fine Sharpie or other felt tip marker with a fine point. In this way, you can tell there is ink in the pen from the smell. It is dangerous to send out a check that is blank.
The use of debit cards has made check writing minimal if you feel comfortable using one. They are accepted almost everywhere.
Use a bank that has a toll free number that you can call with no charge to keep track of your check register. I use the computer to keep track of the account.
If your budget allows you may have almost all bills automatically debited from your account. That is entirely up to your own discretion. When absolutely necessary, even credit card bills can be paid over the phone. There is usually a charge for this service.Some people feel more comfortable printing everything except the signature and that is fine too. Your handwriting skills may diminish as time goes by.
Another tip for low vision people is to mark your credit and bank cards with those small stencil letters, like you put on the mail boxes only smaller.
Braille users can use braille to mark one corner of their credit card or other cards.