So, the last time I did this, my crappy blog closed all the polls on its own. Now they are all miraculously open, somehow, also on their own. Sigh. (Yes, I am looking in to updating my blog.)
Anyway. So if the polls stop working, feel free to leave a comment. BECAUSE THIS STUFF IS OBVS WAY IMPORTANT.
not
In (my work) class this week, we were talking about how NO ONE still uses checks. But guess what?! I do! That’s how I give Steven extra money for our joint account when I get paid (because we use two separate banks so I don’t think I can transfer it easily electronically?), and that is how I pay for my massages. And usually how I give someone money if I owe them.
[poll id=”46″]
We also talked about who still has a land line. Yeah, not me. Ha. Ha ha ha.
This one is from a conversation with Mom and Alyssa about walk-in bathtubs which I had NO idea were a thing. They were saying how it must be odd to have the water fill up around you, when using one. Um, is that not part of the fun of taking a bath?!
[poll id=”47″]
I get in when there is a bit of water in it. If I don’t, I tend to make it the wrong temperature. (Although Steven pointed out, if you fill it up with yourself in it, you can make it too hot and not realize it, too.)
And finally…
[poll id=”48″]
My swim pass expires on October 31st. Last year it cost $225 for the year, and I assume it will cost that or slightly more, for the next year.
A drop-in fee to use the pool is $6. Therefore, to make the pass “worth it,” I need to use it at least 38 times ($225/$6 = 37.5 visits). So far this year, I’ve gone 40 times, which means I’ve paid $5.63 for each visit.
So I use it enough, but man, the drop-in (“open swim”) hours are not very convenient! Friday morning open swim is 5:00 am – 7:30 am. I used to teach at 5:00, drive there, and be swimming by 6:20 am. Now I’m training someone at 6:00 am though (after I teach). So I’m rushing to get there and swim before open swim closes (who knows what they’d even do if I swam past then, ha).
And note – I swim for relaxation and exercise, not because I’m going to do a triathlon. I do feel it helps my body, but is it crucial… no? Would I miss it…? I don’t know. Ha.
Such deep thoughts for a Friday!!!
You should be able to transfer electronically easily enough even between banks (with BoA you can even use emails or phone numbers) you should check it out (ha ha)! In Ireland we spell it cheque. (your useless trivia for the day).
I couldn’t believe we had to pay our rent with checks when we moved to SC, it’d been so long since I seen one in Ireland I had to look up how to fill one out 🙂 Now I can pay my rent electronically I never use them.
Thats a pretty good deal I get my swim lessons for $2,50 because I’m a student and a SaMo resident but I think Martina pays around the same price per swim as yours.
Ha! Nice pun! I should check it out. I will – I need to get with the times, right? Aww, cheque, I like.
Seems it would be more secure for a landlord to not use a check, right?
And that’s your cost to swim AND for a lesson? Nice!
I definitely still use checks. Out of the three apartments I’ve had in Chicago, only one even had the option of paying electronically, so I’ve needed them for rent, but I also prefer them for other things, too – charitable donations, paying someone back, that kind of thing. Call me old fashioned, but doing too much stuff with my money electronically makes me nervous. I prefer to keep those account numbers on paper and off devices as much as possible.
It took me a long time to answer the bath question, and I’m still not sure I answered it correctly, because I genuinely don’t know! Most of the baths I take are ice baths, which I think are in a VERY different category from warm baths, haha. Those I let the water fill in around me. I can’t remember what I do for warm baths, though! I take them every now and again, when I have a lot of time and nothing else to do (maybe I’ll take one tomorrow!), but not often enough to know what my usual method is. I *think* I let it fill up a decent bit, then get in, then let it fill up the rest of the way, but that’s just a guess.
I don’t think it would be worth it to renew your swim pass UNLESS you think doing so will motivate you to make sure you get your swims in. It sounds like they’re not as important to you as other forms of exercise, and I would think doing it as a drop-in would put less pressure on you to go enough times to get your money’s worth with your pass. Like if your training client had to cancel a session, you’d have free time and you could go! But you wouldn’t feel like you HAD to go after training just to make sure you weren’t wasting money.
Aww, that is old fashioned! But there is nothing wrong with that. I’d love it a check somehow meant that the charitable donation wouldn’t waste money and time sending me mailings for the rest of my life. Sigh.
Oh yes! I should have specified warm/hot baths. Ice bath you have to let in fill in around you!!!! You should take one tomorrow. NO BATH BOMBS THOUGH! 😉
I like your logic about the swim pass, and that is kind of where my head is at now. It made sense to get it for the year when I had time, but it is making me feel bad about not going now. Maybe I will let it lapse and see if I still go as frequently, then get it. 🙂
I use checks to pay our yard guy. And maybe a couple other times each year…even when I have a bill that needs to be paid by check instead of electronic debit, I can get my bank to write and mail the check for me (plus it saves me the stamp). That’s pretty much it, though.
Baths, once it’s nearly full. But I rarely take baths.
I think you might want to renew the swim pass because if you swim for relaxation, you’re going to be stressed out trying to make the inconvenient drop in times. My thoughts regarding exercise are to make it easy and pleasant. Plus, you’re worth it!
P.S. polls are closed.
Oh yeah, I forgot banks do that! I am sure ours does (Steven handles that, ha).
I totally believe I am worth it re: the swim pass. I just wish I they had more open hours. GAHHHH.
Thanks for letting me know! I better stop using them! My blog can’t handle more than one in a post, apparently! (That person finally got back to last night about redoing my blog, I wonder if that will help? Some new fresh code?)
I only use checks to pay my landlord and my therapist, as both only accept checks. Everything else I use my debit card or Paypal.
I get in the bath because I have no patience for how long it takes the bath tub to fill up. LOL. But if I go into it empty, I get too cold!
I didn’t do all the math on the swim pass, but I say if you will use it, give yourself the little something extra. 🙂
(the polls worked fine, I just felt like commenting!)
Ha! Amen to no patience for how long it takes to fill up! Ha ha ha.
And thanks for the swim input 😉
Huh, I am glad they worked for you (and that you wanted to comment!) – someone who commented before said they did not! And they look to be closed now to me. So silly. I don’t know how to fix that!
Polls are working fine for me, but I didn’t know how to answer the bath one. I don’t think baths are gross, but our bathtubs sure are! In our last two apartments the only bathtub was in the “spare” bathroom that I used to drip dry my wetsuit or laundry or even store things in it! So, basically, I’d have to clean the bathtub before I could use it and that did not sound fun at all 🙂
Can you renew your swim pass at anytime? If so, I think you should wait and see if you miss going or if your schedule opens back up and then reassess.
I am glad they worked for you! Ha, that totally does NOT sound fun. Cleaning the bathtub always sounds awful. Yuck.
I can! I was thinking that too. If I stop the one-on-one training after teaching, I bet I would be more likely to keep going each week.
I still use checks because I’m old…
The swim pass a tough one. I have such a hate/love/hate relationship with swimming – I like to swim but I hate feeling frantic or rushed, and that is usually the swim experience, and it sounds like you also have that rush-rush-rush experience, which then defeats the purpose of swimming for relaxation… I’m currently taking a HUGE break from swimming, and I find that I don’t miss it at all. :).
Someone young commented and said they use them too!
YOU GET IT. I always feel rushed to swim. Always! I am fitting it in on their open hours, then always feel like I have somewhere to be after. Gah, wouldn’t it be nice to go whenever and have all the time we needed! I am glad you’re not missing it on your break!
Polls still open here in Belgium – LOL!
I think the banks got rid of personal checks here about 20 years ago – everyone uses bank transfers to make payments. If need be a bank can draw up a cashier’s check for you. At a cost, of course!
I rarely take a bath, but when I do, I fill it about halfway before getting in. Like you, I need to gauge the temperature!
For the swim pass – I think I’d pay as I go if the hours aren’t that convenient and if the end cost is probably going to be about the same based on how often you used it this year. Of course, having a pass is an extra motivation to go regularly, but since you use for relaxation I don’t think that is as much of a factor?
Ha! Good!
Oh wow! So can you order them online, or the bank does not support them?!
Yeah, it doesn’t matter as much since I use it for relaxation and the cost was so close! I think that is what I am going to do!
I do use checks but not very often. We had work done on the house before we moved this summer and we paid with checks because they charged more to pay with a credit card. My dad writes me a check monthly for the cell phone bill and I deposit it electronically with my phone.
I only started taking baths since we moved because I have a giant comfy bath tub now.
I thought I knew the answer to your swim question but then I saw all your math… Would it be annoying to pay as you go? Is it faster to have a pass?
It costing less to use checks is a good reason to use them!
That is awesome you have a big comfy bath now!
It’s faster to have a pass – if I pay as I go I have to wait for the transaction and sign a form each time. Not too big of a deal though.
I only use checks to pay my rent because apparently, my apartment complex is stuck in the 90s and doesn’t have an online system. (It also means I have to call their landline to make a service request, wah.) I had to order checks when I moved in because I didn’t have any! My mom and I can transfer money through our bank accounts electronically (we use the same bank), and I use PayPal or Venmo for friends.
It’s funny for you to talk about walk-in bathtubs because I write about them a LOT for my job, since I work with home improvement companies. I had never heard of them until I started writing about them! They’re a really neat invention for older folks, and I kinda want to get my grandpa one! But I, too, often wonder about what it’s like to just sit there while the water fills up around you and then sit there when it drains, too! But, as for taking a bath myself, I wait until the tub is full! At this point in my bath-taking life (ha), I am fairly good at gauging how hot the water will be, especially when I’m at home. But if I’m taking a bath at a hotel or something, I never get it right! It’s always scalding hot, so I should probably use your method when I’m away from home.
I voted “no” on the swim pass. Maybe don’t get it right now and see how you feel. If you find that you really miss the convenience of it, you can always get it later! Then again, I’m the girl who canceled her gym membership and is beating myself up about it because I have found I really do miss belonging to a gym, argh!
That does seem stuck in time, compared to what some other bloggers are saying about their apartments! Calling a number?! Ew, no thanks!
How funny! We were discussing it with an older person in mind, too. It sounds like a great, safe way to still be able to bathe yourself. I didn’t think about sitting in the water while it drains too though. LOL, bath-taking life, ha!!!! You also have to be good at gauging how full to make it too, right?! I feel like our faucet is different depending on what other water activities are going on in the house. I should try getting in with more water to see if I like it 🙂
I think that is what I am going to do with the swim pass! I am sorry you are feeling that way about the gym! Is it not easy to re-join?!
I don’t have physical checks, but we use them sometimes by ordering them through our bank. We move too often to have up-to-date checks, and we’d probably never go all the way through a checkbook. I also learned recently that you can just request checks at our bank branch, so I did that when I needed one. (I think I’ve used checks twice this year.) I wonder when they’ll finally be phased out.
What did you decide about the swim pass?
Oh yeah, good point with the address changes! Does your bank charge a ton when you need one? I hope not!
I am not going to renew, and am going to pay drop in and see how frequently I go!