ery very small question.

[masfenix]

Hey i was wondering, is it better practice to include checks before doing something?

for ex

 If InStr(payamt.Text, "$") > 0 Then
            payamt.Text = payamt.Text.Replace("$", String.Empty)
            MsgBox(payamt.Text)
            Return False
        End If

as opposed to taking out the if, and doing a straight replace
obviously something like that wont hurt performance, but still.. you know? lol

Note: THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE. Please do not say "it will throw an exception if you try to replace something thats not there". I am talking about a general case

[FourBlades]

Yes!
Foolproof you applications.
You should catch all expected errors on your own.
Users have a way of inadvertantly testing your application for you.