My lawn care guy wants to be paid by check. He leaves a bill and I leave a check for him the next time he shows up. That's pretty much my only check each month.

I have an irrational fear of having an ATM problem while abroad: losing a card, using a fake ATM or having my PIN stolen. In my mind, someone will access and drain my account. We left my mom's bank account open after she passed away. Prior to leaving the country, I put money into that account and use that ATM card. We still have a card in her name, which gives me a second card to have with me. If something happens, I'll only temporarily lose my spending money, not the money I use to pay bills or my cushion. Plus: She banked with BOA, which saves me the fee.

Yes, I know something could just as easily happen in the US, but my fear is only for when I'm out of the country.

One more thing I learned the hard way... check your daily withdrawal limit before traveling. My limit was $750/day. When in Thailand, I tried to take out 20k baht and was denied. I tried 15k. Same thing. 10k. Same. At this point, I was in a complete panic, thinking something happened. I ran back to the hotel and checked my balance online. There was more than enough money. Still in a panic, I Skyped the bank. Turns out, I had not taken more than $200/day out of an ATM in a long time, so the bank had lowered my daily limit without notice. They put the limit back to $750 immediately, but now I check before traveling. While I do not take out much cash when in the US, I tend to take out larger amounts while traveling.