Some people don’t have a credit union or bank account and cash their paychecks at a check-cashing store. There are two really good reasons for NOT using these stores:
The safest option is to open an account with a bank or credit union and deposit your checks into that account, or use that financial institution to cash the check for free. However, if you don’t have an account and you need to cash a check, it is worth looking into alternatives to check-cashing stores. The bank that issued the check may be your best bet (be sure to ask what their fees are to cash the check), and national retailers and grocery stores like Walmart and Safeway may provide cash checking services for a small fee, or even for free. Prepaid cards sometimes offer the ability to deposit a check to load the card, and if you’re not in a rush you can withdraw the funds at an ATM once the check has cleared.