@grrlscientist

If I bounced a check today, my bank would cover it without a problem - they've sent me letters telling me so, but I never need them to.
When I was desperately poor and the bank didn't credit my deposit for two days - without telling me they were going to delay it - and they bounced the check I wrote for groceries, I had to cough up a couple hundred dollars in an escalating series of NSF fees and check returns.
Being poor is VERY expensive.