Homegrown Tales

Homegrown Tales

Share this post

Homegrown Tales
Homegrown Tales
Never hesitate to ask ‘Is your payment method secure?’ with contractors

Never hesitate to ask ‘Is your payment method secure?’ with contractors

Contractors change payment methods at a snail’s pace

Shamontiel L. Vaughn's avatar
Shamontiel L. Vaughn
Jan 19, 2021
∙ Paid

Share this post

Homegrown Tales
Homegrown Tales
Never hesitate to ask ‘Is your payment method secure?’ with contractors
Share
Photo credit: Karolina Grabowska/Unsplash

Ina tech-savvy world filled with smartphones — in the U.S. alone, 81% of people own a smartphone and 13 percent own a mobile phone that’s not a smartphone — you would think that companies would catch up to the technology times. But a conversation with contractors will slowly but surely show consumers that they just have not let up off of traditional payment methods — checks and cash. The idea of making payments through Zelle, which connects approximately 924 financial institutions; PayPal, which has more than 360 million active users worldwide; and other secure mobile apps like CashApp are not in their lineup.


ADVERTISEMENT ~ Wave

Are you interested in starting a Wave account for easy invoices, billing, receipts and other accounting purposes? Use my referral link! Purchase a subscription HERE. (I do earn a profit from subscriptions via my referral link.)

Meanwhile CNBC reports that, in an average week, roughly three in 10 adults said they make no purchases using cash. As much as some people still want to see Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, people simply do not carry cash on them. While Millennials write checks more than they would be likely to own video game consoles (42% versus 34%), they’re also 16 times more likely to use Apple Pay and Android Pay than Baby Boomers.

Photo: Karolina Grabowska/Pexels

So when homeowners get repair or maintenance work done, it may seem peculiar to hear a company insist on checks or cash. Or, even worse, “read your credit card number to me over the phone.”


ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon

As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage from purchases with my referral links. I know some consumers are choosing to boycott Amazon for its DEI removal. However, after thinking about this thoroughly, I want to continue promoting cool products from small businesses, women-owned businesses and (specifically) Black-owned businesses who still feature their items on Amazon. As of the first date of Black History Month 2025, each new post will ALWAYS include a MINIMUM of one product sold by a Black-owned business. (I have visited the seller’s official site to verify that Amazon Black-owned logo.) I am (slowly) doing this with older, popular posts too. If you still choose to boycott, I 100% respect that decision.
Financial Rewire 100 Financial Literacy Words and Terms That Every Child Should Know - Activity and Coloring Book

This happened to me recently while trying to discard a leftover mattress that someone left near our dumpster. Due to COVID-19 restrictions and general waste management restrictions, waste companies will never pick up mattresses without being sealed. The primary reason (before coronavirus showed its fatal head in December 2019) is due to the risk of bedbugs. There’s also the matter of contract negotiations. If your building contract is only set up to empty a dumpster and a couple of recycle bins, sneaking in massive-sized pieces of furniture just won’t make the cut.

This post is for paid subscribers

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Shamontiel L. Vaughn
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share