I love my checks and I always order checks online. My checks are an extension of me. Cash is cold and hard. It is decorated with pictures of dead politicians from centuries ago, and it carries the signature of some current bureaucrat that makes policies I don’t understand or support. But my checks are my own. They carry my name. They are decorated with any picture I want, whether that means sweeping landscape photos, cartoon characters, patriotic symbols, or cuddly pets. They are mine to design and they are certified by my signature. Electronic transactions are even more impersonal. They are nothing more than sequences of ones and zeroes flying across electronic connections and taking money invisibly from my bank account. But my checks are intimately personal. They are written by hand in my handwriting. They carry my personal notes and my scratches. Somewhere between the personal choices of design, the personal notes, and the use of my own handwriting, my personal finance at last becomes truly personal.