Learning new spellings.... Checks, not cheques OK?

[Kirsten UK 2]

My daughter is in middle school and English is her best subject, she is simply fantastic at it, so its heartbreaking to see her little face when she is losing marks for spelling and grammar that is English English as opposed to American English She will just have to learn to mis-spell things and write as an American speaks, tricky, especially as we're in NC!

[Gemmie 142]

A new one: "surname" is rarely used, they usually say "last name".

Time telling has become fun (no "half past" or "ten to").

I also hate the "how are you" question because my husband always responds with "hi" which feels rude to me.

[jjbandero 39]

My pet peeve has to be the banking system here... I had no idea I had to open a 'checking account', when I asked why, the bank clerk looked at me like I've sprouted another head. With a condescending tone, she said, 'what country are you from?' Well, where I'm from, we don't use personal cheques much, we use debit cards, credit cards, phone and online banking!

Which brings me to another thing, online banking here is not what you think. I once owed a friend $50 (chipped in for a gift), anyway, I figured I'd just get his account number and do an online transfer to his account - but I was asked for his mailing address I called customer service to figure out what the problem was and it turns out online banking means you fill in the details online and the bank will send the recipient a cheque on your behalf! What the??? I asked about the direct account transfer, apparently that would be considered a wire transfer and I would have to go in to the bank to do it and it would cost $20!!!!

[hudons 0]

Hopefully, by the time I have a child I will have this whole American English deal down so I can teach them. It must be difficult not to correct.

The time thing I have adjusted to, just never say "half 2" because evidently that means nothing. I also now understand "10 of" to mean "10 to". One of the guys I work with has started telling me the time in "thirds past". Apparently that makes as much sense as I did when I first arrived.

And banking.....

don't get me started. Why do I have to pay for my cheques, I mean checks. Maybe cheques are free but checks cost money? I have to pay for using an ATM if it's not at my bank, (no Tesco style free ones) I have to pay to pay my bills by phone, and I have to pay to have an account in the first place. And the banking system is collapsing!?

WOW. I am an angry person.

Deep breath. I think it's all the stress of awaiting AOS...........

But again, I love America and my husband very much or I wouldn't be going through this. It's worth it.

[TBoneTX 45,284]

To relieve the tension, begin administering and submitting to "wedgies," si man.

[Gemmie 142]

I hear ya on the banking.

My husband always writes checks when he goes into the bank. At first, I was like "what is that for? " and he told me it's to get money out of his account. This confused the hell out of me. Why do you need to write yourself a check to get money out of your own account? It's yours anyway! In the UK, we just go up to the bank teller and ask for the money after giving the card or go to most ATM's to get the cash for free (in the US, we've now taken to driving around looking for ATM's from the same bank company to avoid charges). It drives me nuts.

Also, is this normal? We have a joint checking account with debit/credit cards. The debit/credit function comes from one card, and you have to specify "debit" or "credit" when you pay for things. The thing is, when you choose "credit", it comes out of the same account within 2-3 days... doesn't that defeat the purpose? I'm used to having a separate credit card which you pay back on your own in installments or whatnot.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

but a "checking" account is really just the same thing as a "current account" in the UK. I mean, I got a check book there too.

[Malrothien 6]

Also, is this normal? We have a joint checking account with debit/credit cards. The debit/credit function comes from one card, and you have to specify "debit" or "credit" when you pay for things. The thing is, when you choose "credit", it comes out of the same account within 2-3 days... doesn't that defeat the purpose? I'm used to having a separate credit card which you pay back on your own in installments or whatnot.

Using your debit card as a credit card is solely for the purposes of having Visa behind the purchase in case of a return or card number theft. No matter what, a debit card with a credit company attached is nothing like a regular credit card.

[Gemmie 142]

I see.

Well I had a current account in the UK as well as a student one. I got checkbooks and debit/credit cards for each, but I don't understand the obsession with checks here in the US. I barely used my checkbook in the UK as everything was done via debit/credit and online/phone transfers.

[jjbandero 39]

I'm not sure how the debit+credit card situation works, but I've noticed a lot of banks have different rules about their accounts, so you might end up not paying off your balance on time and they charge you interest and late fees, lots of nuances designed to earn additional fees I'm sure. I had the good fortune of being told my a friend that I should get myself a credit card ASAP so I could start building my credit history.

My account with WAMU (now Chase) allows me to get free cash withdrawls at supermarket checkouts, the downside is some of them only lets you withdraw a maximum of $40

On the flip side, I was able to earn a lot of points with my credit cards and we were able to stay for free at one of the top tier hotels for our honeymoon

On another topic, I really missed having baked beans (not the stuff that is made with molasses here ); finally found 'em at two places in California, Bristol Farms and Cost Plus World Market (super expensive, but cravings must be satisfied!). I managed to get hubby hooked on it too, so we sometimes have 'breakfast for dinner' nights

[Malrothien 6]

On a debit card, even if paying through the credit option, there is no "balance" as it comes directly out of your bank account no matter what.

Credit cards are credit cards are credit cards no matter where in the world you are.

[Spoom 8]

While I'll write checks and not cheques, I shall never drop my Us. NEVER!

I can't help it if the US is incorrect in their spelling.

[Darnell 8,478]

You want my empathy??? H3ll No !!!

I'll throw some sympathy, though...

I"ve lived all over, have to reform my writing almost every day.

I'll still use 'whilst' though - as everyone NOT in the USA understands it

For the nonce, use a spellchecker on da work 'puter, don't worry about the rest of it.

[Marilyn. 340]

I see.

Well I had a current account in the UK as well as a student one. I got checkbooks and debit/credit cards for each, but I don't understand the obsession with checks here in the US. I barely used my checkbook in the UK as everything was done via debit/credit and online/phone transfers.

I rarely use checks either.. just for certain things like rent and car insurance.. the rest of the bills etc.. I pay online... and when I buy stuff I use cash or my debit card..

I hardly see anybody use checks... it is mostly debit/credit or cash..

[Gemmie 142]

On a debit card, even if paying through the credit option, there is no "balance" as it comes directly out of your bank account no matter what.

Credit cards are credit cards are credit cards no matter where in the world you are.

Since there's no "balance", does it still count towards building a credit rating (where it just comes out of your account automatically)?