Failed attempt at automating my finances SAVED...‏

All of my bills are paid online for 2 reasons:

1. I'm forgetful as hell and I don't like to go get the mail... which means the mail could sit in the box for a week...
2. Then I have to remember to keep Stamps in the house... 

and then I have to remember to write the check and put it back in the mail box.

So all of my bills are paid online except for one. My home owners association bill. In the past, I went to an actual board meeting and requested to have the option to pay automatically... and they actually took the bait and set up the process because one of the board members herself was tired of buying stamps for only one bill.

So I tried to have it set up with BOFA... but my form came back stating that my routing number wasn't an ACH routing number... so I called BOFA and no one could give me an ACH routing number to use... So I gave up in frustration and continued to pay for stamps and write a check the old fashion way... Until I did my taxes this year.

Uncle Sam couldn't deposit my rebate into my BOFA account because it didn't have an ACH routing number and I started to freak out because I didn't want to call the uneducated people at the bank and go through that whole process again... So I tried my electric orange checking account from ING Direct and Bingo... they had no issues with the routing numbers so we were back in business and my tax return would come to my ING account...

Taking this valuable information, I requested the form again from the association, and filled it out with ING Directs information. I called the Property management company in charge of our billing and explained how ING was an online bank so I wouldn't be including a voided check... she okay'd this... and I sent the form and waited for the money to be deducted from ING Direct...

No luck... When South County Boy got the mail the other day, the bill was sitting there...  So I thought I was out of options unless I wanted to cry a river and call Bofa again... But then the light bulb resignated and illuminated.

ING has an electric check writting feature that I have never used before... Correction, they have a FREE electronic check writing feature... Correction, they have a FREE electronic check writting feature that includes the cost of postage.

They will write out a paper check and mail it at their cost... no stamp needed from me... So this month i'm trying it out. Sure I might have to log on and request the check to go out each month, but if this works then i'm another step closer and a booklet of stamps richer.