Getting a money order cheaply and quickly best practices?

October 2, 2024 5:13 PM

I have to pay my rent by the 7th of the month by money order. I've been going to the grocery store customer service because it's cheaper than my bank, but sometimes I have to stand in line for up to 30 minutes and this makes my whole day worse. Is there a time of day that customer service is slow and I can get in and out more quickly? What do you guys find easiest to do to get your money orders cheap and quickly?
posted by Gosha_Dog to Work & Money (6 answers total)

Have you tried using postal money orders? Maybe the line up at the post office is shorter.
posted by Jane the Brown at 5:15 PM on October 2 [2 favorites]

- Does it absolutely have to be money orders? Maybe you could check with the landlord about alternate ways to pay? Postdated cheques, Balance transfers, Venmo, etc? Or even cash?

- As for time of day, I would assume weekday mornings would be the quickest time, probably Mondays and Tuesdays around 6-9 am? That's when parents are busy doing the school dropoff run - and then the shop probably gets a bit more busy from 9-10am, as stay at home parents will often go grocery shopping on the way home from school dropoff.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 5:37 PM on October 2 [1 favorite]

CVS. $1.25 fee.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 6:09 PM on October 2 [1 favorite]

Most landlords will take a bank check from your bank account's online bill pay system as equivalent to a money order, as the bank takes the funds from your account when the bank check is sent and the checks thus can't bounce. The bank mails them to your landlord for free!
posted by MattD at 11:56 AM on October 3

Have you tried asking at the grocery store? They will probably know their local patterns better than anyone here trying to guess.

But I did have to guess, I would think
- mid-morning would be good - say 10:30 or
- after lunch but before school gets out, say 1:30.
- If the counter is still manned late at night then you try an hour before closing.

I would pick one of those times. Then, based on that experience, decide if the line is short enough that this your new time or if you want to try a different one. Of course, if you are like most people don't have the flexibility to go at the times that likely to be the quickest, then maybe some of the other ideas above would help.

But whenever you do go, I would still ask, you might find out that there are internal details that make a difference - for example if the staffing goes from 1 person to 2 people at 11:00 in anticipation of the lunch rush then getting there at 11:05 could be optimal.
posted by metahawk at 11:17 PM on October 3

Post office? Western Union? Local Pharmacies that sells them? Your local bank's cashier's check? (may cost $$$ or free depending on how much service your bank offers)
posted by kschang at 1:40 AM on October 4