(no subject)

[winterbadger]

So, I'm curious about people's banking habits. Some people set up automatic payments from their bank account (like having a utility automatically deduct its bill from their checking/current account, or having their bank automatically pay a set amount monthly to their credit card balance). I heard of this from friends in the UK long before I ever heard of it here, so I've always thought of it as a UK thing. But I discovered in asking around at work that quite a few of my colleagues here do it too. So, a poll!
[Poll #1461690]

I realise that many of my friends are *from* one country but living in the other (in some cases, that's how we became friends!), but I'm mostly interested in what people's preferences are by nationality and upbringing, not by where you happen to be at the moment.

Comments

[dativesingular.livejournal.com]

I had this done before I ever moved to the UK. Partly because I would have it set up so the money would come out all on the same day right after I got paid (haven't managed to consolidate dates here yet unfortunately) so it wouldn't be as if there was "fake" money in my bank account, if that makes sense? It was just easier for me to look at if my bank balance was my actual leftover disposableish income.

Additionally, if my student loan payments are directly deducted from my bank account, they cut off .25% from my interest rate. Not super-huge, but when you're talking about several thousand dollars, it's worth doing. I believe I may have gotten something similar through Honda back when I had my Fit, but I can't remember the details there.