Your Checking Account
Your checking account might merely be the place your money temporarily sits until it pays the bills, or you might instead keep a hefty balance in it all the time. Whatever the situation, you should know that different financial institutions offer different products when it comes to checking accounts. There is no reason why you should maintain a checking account at a bank or credit union if they are charging you an unreasonable amount of fees and not offering you the type of features you deserve.
Keep in mind that checking accounts are products, just like any other product by a merchant. You wouldn’t buy an inferior product from a merchant, so why settle for an inferior product when it comes to your checking account?
What kind of features should you look for in a checking account? Ideally, you should have a checking account that has some or all of these features:
- No recurring fees
- Visa or MasterCard debit check card
- Easy ATM accessibility
- Accessible customer service representatives
- Interest on the balance
- Internet access for the account
- Free bill pay services
Plenty of other features are offered by financial institutions. While some banks and credit unions might offer free access to brokerage services for checking account holders, other financial institutions might offer rewards programs for debit card purchases similar to a credit card program. You might get access to special features by having a checking account with certain banks or credit unions. For example, checking account holders with USAA have free access to limited financial advisor services.
You can pick and choose what features you would like to accompany your checking account. You may not need all the features offered by the various banks and credit unions, so be sure to find the account that is right for you. For example, don’t worry too much about whether a checking account offers interest on the balance if you don’t keep money in the account very much. If you never use an ATM then you should not worry about whether there are fees charged for using foreign ATMs. Do keep in mind the things you do need. If you always keep a large balance in your checking account then you should get an account with generous interest rates. If you write a lot of checks you should get a checking account that offers free checks. Figure out what you need, and then find an account that suits your needs.
Don’t settle for a checking account full of fees and with no extra features.
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