Every city and town has its share of residents who live paycheck-to-paycheck.

Texarkana is no exception.

People who frequently find themselves with more month than money quickly learn little fiscal survival tricks to stretch their resources until payday comes around.

One of the most popular is writing a check to pay a bill or buy groceries, hoping to have money in the account by the time it reaches the bank.

This works because of the time it takes for a check to go from merchant to bank. The merchant has to deposit the check and then the merchants bank must clear the check. That takes time, especially if the check writer uses a different bank than the merchant.

Its called ‘playing the float.

Playing the float has been used since checks first became common currency, and many folks whose money situation isnt as stable as they would like look upon the few days breathing room the float provides as a financial life preserver.

First, in 2004, a new federal banking law cut the time it took for checks to clear from bank to bank. That reduced the float to some extent, but there was still some wiggle room left since the merchant still had to deposit the check in his or her own bank.

Then some stores embraced new technology that allowed them to clear checks instantly at the checkout counter, much like using a debit card. But not all merchants had the new technology, so there was still some float available.

Well, things have changed and the news isnt good for those who use the float to keep afloat until their next paycheck.

As of Friday, all retailers are allowed to use what is called ‘back office conversion to convert checks to electronic payments. So even if a merchant doesnt have an instant debit terminal at the checkout counter, they can essentially do the same thing in the back office when they gather checks for the nights accounting.

The float, for all intents and purposes, has been reduced to a few hours or overnight at best.

And those who need next weeks paycheck to pay this weeks bills have fewer options available.

Living paycheck-to-paycheck has never been easy. Now it just got even tougher.