4 ms·

>If you are reading this, you probably are relatively wealthy, are almost certainly of high socioeconomic status, and quite plausibly have never paid one red ce

>If you are reading this, you probably are relatively wealthy, are almost certainly of high socioeconomic status, and quite plausibly have never paid one red cent for check cashing in your entire life. I was speaking from personal experience within a cultural context, so your perspective doesn't apply. Whether or not you've relied on paper paychecks in the US has far more to do with socioeconomic status than age.

nradov 3y ago
Age matters here. 30 years ago, paper paychecks were still commonly used to pay US workers at all socioeconomic levels, especially at smaller employers.
- chefandy 3y ago
  30 years ago? They were common enough 15 years ago in white collar jobs. But low-wage workers that often have less stable employment often still get paper checks. And like payday loans and monthly rates at cheap motels, check cashing is an expensive product used primarily by people without much income: real personal loans and leases require credit, and you can't deposit a $300 paycheck at a bank where you're $120 in the hole for overdraft fees and you're $400 short on your share of the rent. People in the middle-class and up generally use banks, even if they need to cash a check. Unless the check originated at the bank you're in, they only give you a certain amount upfront and make you take the rest from your checking account until it clears. That's only an option if you have enough in your account to cover the difference.
eru 3y ago
Well, my socioeconomic status is that I am not from the US. If you want to check my 'poor people credentials': I grew up on welfare in (mostly former) East Germany. Nowadays I live comfortably as a programmer. Poor people don't use checks in Germany. Some rich people might (still) use them for idiosyncratic reasons.

4 ms·

>If you are reading this, you probably are relatively wealthy, are almost certainly of high socioeconomic status, and quite plausibly have never paid one red ce

by chefandy 3y ago

nradov 3y ago
Age matters here. 30 years ago, paper paychecks were still commonly used to pay US workers at all socioeconomic levels, especially at smaller employers.
- chefandy 3y ago
  30 years ago? They were common enough 15 years ago in white collar jobs. But low-wage workers that often have less stable employment often still get paper checks. And like payday loans and monthly rates at cheap motels, check cashing is an expensive product used primarily by people without much income: real personal loans and leases require credit, and you can't deposit a $300 paycheck at a bank where you're $120 in the hole for overdraft fees and you're $400 short on your share of the rent. People in the middle-class and up generally use banks, even if they need to cash a check. Unless the check originated at the bank you're in, they only give you a certain amount upfront and make you take the rest from your checking account until it clears. That's only an option if you have enough in your account to cover the difference.
eru 3y ago
Well, my socioeconomic status is that I am not from the US. If you want to check my 'poor people credentials': I grew up on welfare in (mostly former) East Germany. Nowadays I live comfortably as a programmer. Poor people don't use checks in Germany. Some rich people might (still) use them for idiosyncratic reasons.