Don't you mean "If the date on that check is Dec 31st and you mail it on Jan 2nd, you effectively "lost control" of that money on *Jan 2nd.*"?? After all, if you write Dec 31st on the check and mail it on Jan 2nd, you lose control on Jan 2nd, not on Dec 31st: "the day you drop that check in the mailbox you have effectively lost control of that money". I assume you mistakenly wrote "Dec 31st" instead of "Jan 2nd" in the next-to-last sentence.
