As you write out the check to pay yet another bill, you feel as blue as those blah free checks the bank issued when you signed up for your checking account. It is no wonder you hate paying bills or even buying fun things, like new clothes, with these boring checks. However, you can’t justify spending a ton of money on decorative checks just so you can pay bills. Still, you can’t stop yourself from heading to the print shop to look at all the colorful options. As you look at all those fun design options, you discover that there are plenty of cheap checks to choose from and you decide to go ahead and place an order. After all, there should be something to look forward to when you are still making car payments on a vehicle that’s sitting broken in the shop!

To make the whole check buying process a breeze, you should:

• Have one of your original, boring bank issued checks in front of you. This is not just to encourage you to go ahead with your order. You’ll need the bank’s official name and routing number, as well as your account number, to buy new checks. That information is located on your checks.
• Take a look at the checks you have to see what the last number is. If you’re planning to shred the unused books so you can start using the new checks right away, find the last number on your current book. This way, you can start the new checks without gaps in the numbering system.
• Instead of ordering a large number of one check design, consider ordering several small sets so that you can have plenty of variety.