This reminds me of paying the mortgage online. My wife liked it because of the "convenience" (I have come to detest this word). That is, until we received a huge package from the bank. Inside it was a 'foreclosure notice'. WTH? My wife called the bank to find out what this was all about. After hours of waiting on the phone and be transferred numerous times, we found out she entered the wrong amount for paying the mortgage. It was a typo error that shorted the bank 50 dollars. It took her two full days to find a sympathetic ear to correct this problem. There's no doubt in my mind they intended to foreclose on us.

This leads me to when I use to pay the mortgage. I used the snail mail system, better known as the USPS system. The bank would send out a billing in the mail. I would go out to the mailbox and fetch the mail. I then would return to the house and open it, read it, and use a high-lighter to mark the date due. The billing would then go on the refrigerator door held there by a powerful neodymium-iron-boron (NIB) magnet. Every time I got something to eat from the frig, I was reminded of that important billing there. I would always mail payment with a personal check 3-5 days before the due date. There is a 2-week grace period, so my payment always was paid on time.

I actually liked this method of paying. The physical activity and involvement gave me a sense of accomplishment. Contrary to this, my wife fell into the honey trap of 'convenience'. That 'convenience' ended up being all too often 'last minute'. That 'last minute' became paying it on the last day of the grace period. As a result, one simple typo nearly cost us the house. She shed many tears in those two days trying to straighten out the mess she made for herself. Fortunately, she was able to succeed. I would have failed in this regard.

Yes, I detest the word 'convenience'. Too often it is a lure that also requires those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety (convenience), deserve neither liberty nor safety.