Checking Account Options
Some people don’t pay much attention to the details of their checking accounts. They spend a lot of time laboring over which credit card to choose, what auto loan to apply for, and which investments to make, but the very core of your financial health - the account where your money comes in and goes back out - needs some attention too.
You have a lot of options when it comes to checking accounts. You can choose an account at a bank, a credit union, or even at a financial institution that is Internet-based and you won’t ever be able to talk to a customer service representative face to face. While you can find some great options online, some people just aren’t comfortable with not being able to walk into a financial institution and get a matter resolved.
Other factors about checking accounts you should consider include whether or not you want to earn interest on your balance and what types of fees you might encounter. Most financial institutions offer interest-bearing checking account options, but some of them require a minimum balance before the interest starts to accrue. Unless you carry a large balance in your checking account you probably won’t earn as high an interest rate as you would with a savings account.
What you should really pay attention to are the fees that some financial institutions charge for checking accounts. Some of these include:
- Monthly fees
- Insufficient funds fees
- Customer service fees
- Fees resulting from the balance going below a certain limit
- Check printing fees
- Inactivity fees
Never assume that your bank or credit union doesn’t charge fees associated with checking accounts. You might find yourself in a situation where you request a new debit card and the next thing you know there is a $10 fee on your statement from the institution for issuing the card.
If you encounter something like this then you should know that calling the financial institution and asking for the fee to be reversed is usually pretty simple, but if it becomes apparent that your checking account is destined to be riddled with fees you may want to consider shopping for somewhere new to put your money.
Don’t let your checking account balance disappear to a slew of fees. There are simply too many financial institutions offering feeless checking for you to keep your money somewhere charging you fees left and right.
