Feeling grown-up

This morning, cattitude and I went to a local bank to open a joint checking account to use for some of the household bills. We then had to go back with more paperwork, because his photo ID isn't proof of address, and the bank wanted both. In the interim, a line had formed, so we spent longer waiting than we'd hoped, but the task is done. (This bank branch's weekend hours are 9-1 Saturday, and weekdays they open at 9 a.m. and never stay open past six, so a lot of people are stuck with that four-hour window if they want to talk to a teller, let alone open an account.)

We can't use it quite yet: we opened the account with a check, and they're taking their own sweet time for it to clear. This isn't something urgent: the joint account is a useful thing we'd talked about for a while, not a necessity of our lives or household management. Once it's fully functional, we'll make arrangements to put money in it regularly (probably involving direct deposit), and write a few checks on it every month (rent and utilities). We deliberately opened the account at a bank other than the ones our existing accounts are at, to increase flexibility in case one or more banks is unreachable for a day or three (the entire ATM network is relatively robust but, like the Internet, one of the ways it achieves that is by continuing to function if a particular bank goes offline).

Most of our money will be staying where it is now, in various places where it's in my name or his, but not both.

Feeling grown-up

This morning, cattitude and I went to a local bank to open a joint checking account to use for some of the household bills. We then had to go back with more paperwork, because his photo ID isn't proof of address, and the bank wanted both. In the interim, a line had formed, so we spent longer waiting than we'd hoped, but the task is done. (This bank branch's weekend hours are 9-1 Saturday, and weekdays they open at 9 a.m. and never stay open past six, so a lot of people are stuck with that four-hour window if they want to talk to a teller, let alone open an account.)

We can't use it quite yet: we opened the account with a check, and they're taking their own sweet time for it to clear. This isn't something urgent: the joint account is a useful thing we'd talked about for a while, not a necessity of our lives or household management. Once it's fully functional, we'll make arrangements to put money in it regularly (probably involving direct deposit), and write a few checks on it every month (rent and utilities). We deliberately opened the account at a bank other than the ones our existing accounts are at, to increase flexibility in case one or more banks is unreachable for a day or three (the entire ATM network is relatively robust but, like the Internet, one of the ways it achieves that is by continuing to function if a particular bank goes offline).

Most of our money will be staying where it is now, in various places where it's in my name or his, but not both.

Organ donation (in memory of Mike)

I have signed up with the New York State Organ and Tissue Donor Registry, which can be done online (assuming you have a state driver's license or non-driver ID and identify with one of the two standard genders). I'll sign the back of the state ID as soon as I have two people handy to act as witnesses, rather than ask someone to "witness" a pre-existing signature.

Given that they require the state ID number on the form, I wonder if they take people out of the registry if their licenses or IDs expire without being renewed, or if their driver's licenses are suspended.

Organ donation (in memory of Mike)

I have signed up with the New York State Organ and Tissue Donor Registry, which can be done online (assuming you have a state driver's license or non-driver ID and identify with one of the two standard genders). I'll sign the back of the state ID as soon as I have two people handy to act as witnesses, rather than ask someone to "witness" a pre-existing signature.

Given that they require the state ID number on the form, I wonder if they take people out of the registry if their licenses or IDs expire without being renewed, or if their driver's licenses are suspended.