People haven't always written checks to buy goods and services. But you know that right? So how did people transfer money from one place to another in times of old?

In ancient times most popular form of money exchange was trade. However, some point along long line of history people started realizing they had a surplus of goods that was best stored somewhere other than their home.

During sixteenth century Amsterdam became a key global trading and shipping outlet. Within this area, many people started amassing cash. Rather than stashing this cash at home, some people had brilliant idea of depositing their money with safe keepers or cashiers for a fee.

Keeping their money in a central location allowed tradespeople to start writing notes to pay off debts owed to other people. Thus emerged idea of writing checks.

Where Did The Word Check Come From?

The word "check" did not emerge until later in 1800s. At this point in time cashiers started placing numbers on each of notes depositors wrote so they could better track notes coming into and out of station. Eventually a system was born and idea of writing checks and storing money in a "bank" caught on en' masse.

Checking Today

Today checking is as commonplace as going out to eat. Most people have at least one checking account, and many have more than one. It is not uncommon for business owners to work with several bankers and checking accounts.

Check writing is no longer a primitive process that involves handwriting notes on random pieces of paper. Checking and check writing is almost a rite of passage. It suggests that you have money (in theory anyway) or a means to make your way in world.

Types of Checks Available Today

Now that you are familiar with origins of check writing, you probably came here in search of some quality information about checks and checking. Today you have more choices than ever for checking. You can pay bills on traditional and boring bank checks, or you can buy checks that match your personality.

What most people do when they earn a dollar is pay everyone else first. They pay landlord, credit card company, telephone company, government, and on and on. The reason they think they need a budget is to help them figure out how much to pay everyone else so at end of month-or year, or their working life-they will have something "left over" to pay themselves.

This, my friend, is absolutely, positively financially backwards. And because this system does not work, people wind up trying some pretty strange ways to get rich.

When you boil it down, there are basically six routes to wealth in this country. You can

• Win it
• Marry it
• Inherit it
• Sue for it
• Budget for it OR
• Pay Yourself First.

Let's quickly review each of these methods.

Win It: Can you guess No. 1 way average hard-working people try to get rich in this country? They play lottery. People in this country spend more than $8 billion a year on lottery tickets. That's more than $250 for every person, including those not old enough to buy a ticket. Can you imagine if these same dollars had been invested in retirement accounts? Now let me ask you something else. Have you ever won lottery? Do you know anyone who has? Did that person share any of their winnings with you? Exactly. So let this one go.

Marry It: How's this working for you so far? There's a saying that it's as easy to marry a rich person as a poor one. Really? The truth is that people who marry for money generally end up paying for it for rest of their lives. So let's skip this one too-unless, of course, you really do fall in love with someone who happens to have money.

Inherit it: This obviously isn't worth thinking about unless your parents are rich. And even if they are, isn't there something a little sick about visiting them during holidays, asking how they are, and then thinking "bummer" when they say, "I feel great"?