I have time in Panama

Day 305 Friday (Viernes) - Panama City

Beginning of the month for us consists of bill paying, yes even here in Panama we have bills to pay. We have made a conscious decision to only use cash (or effectivo as it is called in Spanish) to pay all of our bills, o sure we could use credit cards, debit cards, or get a checking account (that by the way will charge you $5.35/month for the privilege of having that account interest free also) but we choose to fly under the radar screen and use good old cash. Paying bills is an easy and can be interesting process. For starters, our rent is paid at our landlords bank by just simply making a deposit into his account. Our monthly condo fee on a property we own is paid the same way, simply depositing the amount into the condo association account at their bank. Electric bill? no problem all grocery stores have pay stations for all your electric, water, cable, etc... bills so making payments is a breeze, plus many companies use Banco General and you can pay your bills at that bank also (plus they have free coffee ;)) So we make a day of going bank to bank, store to store, the old fashion way to pay our monthly bills (O and we walk, because that is what we do). Can we do this online? Sure can, but we choose not too. I used to pay all my bills online in the states, but heck I have all day down here to do things so why not make it something to do, whats the rush? When I was working those 12-14 hour days I certainly had NO time to do the in person paying of bills so online worked for us, BUT now I have all day and enjoy people watching while I pay (like the young lady that had the shortest dress possible with the highest heels possible in line next to me - you don't get that online (ummm maybe you do :0)