HoundsGood: Chronicles of a Virtual Volunteer

I got a message a few hours ago with another volunteer I work closely with.  She had the latest information I needed, and with the info that she wouldn’t be home for awhile as she was going shopping.  I missed the call, and a few hours had elapsed since the message was left, so I thought she would have been out and back by now.

“Glad I caught you, how was the store? Did you get anything?”
“I didn’t even leave yet!”

That is a pretty typical exchange.

When things get critical, we talk a lot about errands we are going to run, things we are going to wash, and walks we are going to take, but they just never come to fruition.   I am trying to think all the time about ways to cut corners.  Online billpay and similar services really help the household run without wasting hours in the car, but not everything can be done that way.  I wish checks I get could just fly to the bank themselves somehow.   That “in before 2 P.M. or it doesn’t show up for two days” rule sometimes gets to me.

I just found out about DepositNow. Apparently, someone has invented a service that is an answer to that very wish. Basically, you scan a check at home and it is automatically deposited into your bank account. Some of the large international companies are doing that, but it is now available for home use. You have to purchase a special scanner ($225.00) to get yourself set up.

It is not cheap, but if you live in the middle of nowhere, or your bank is in Alaska and you are in Mississippi, then it definitely saves gas. I think that with the amount of people needing to cut corners because of gas prices, or for people that just can’t get around, it might be the ideal thing. Surely, you would have to have some volume to justify it, but the independence you would obtain if you can’t get out of the house, whether because of physical difficulty, weather, or lack of time, may override it.

Have you tried DepositNow?  What else do you do to save you a trip?  Comment and tell me about it.

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