The day my mailbox got smashed by a snowplow and I switched to paper bills

I was standing at my driveway last January in Buffalo after a big storm, and the plow had taken out my mailbox completely. I used to pay everything online, but with no mail coming and my internet down for two days, I couldn't check any statements. Had to drive to the post office to reroute stuff and the clerk just handed me a stack of paper bills right there. Now I have all my utilities and credit card bills mailed to me. It's actually easier to track spending when I can see the due dates on my fridge. Has anyone else had a breakdown force them into doing things the old way?

2 comments

2 Comments

terryj4515h agoMost Upvoted

Buffalo plows are no joke, I lived near there for two years and saw a guy's entire fence get flattened. Three mailboxes on my street got taken out in one night back in 2018. I switched entirely to autopay after that, but now I'm wondering if having a paper reminder on the fridge is smarter than just hoping the money comes out right.

faith_schmidt12h ago

Oh man, the great Buffalo mailbox massacre of 2018. I remember hearing about that on the news actually, people were taping plow damage photos to their storm doors like war trophies. I tried autopay once and my bank decided to take out $400 on a day I swore I had nothing scheduled, so now I keep a sticky note on the door that just says "DID THE BILLS COME OUT YOU IDIOT" in giant letters. It's not pretty but it works better than trusting the machines, honestly. Maybe we need a hybrid system where the note reminds you to check the autopay actually ran.