Best Checking Account
Best Checking Account When it comes to finding the "best" of anything it is really more about what is best for you. Keep that in mind when looking for the best checking account. What is best for you and what is best for me may be two totally different things altogether. You can visit the banks and credit unions in your home town to find the best checking account. You can get a sheet that shows you what fees you will be charged for the account. Or, in many cases, you can do this type of legwork right online. Most financial institutions will have a website and you can find most or all of this information out right on their website. Find out if they offer debit cards for free as part of your account. Also find out if they offer online checking. Many banks will also offer some type of overdraft protection which is usually tied to another account like a savings account. Find out what the minimum amount you will need to open the account as well as any minimum balance requirements you will need to maintain to keep the account open. Many free accounts will require you to maintain a minimum balance, usually around $100. This money cannot be used. If you use that minimum balance amount you will be charged an overdraft fee. This sounds odd, and I think it is, I have never really seen the point in having to keep money in an account without earning interest and that I can't touch. It is also nice to keep track of the cost of ordering checks. This won't be a big expenses but it is something to be aware of. There are some credit unions that will actually check your credit score before allowing you to open an account. If you have bad credit, you won't be able to open your account. Keep this in mind especially if you are considering opening an account at a credit union. Many banks will charge you a small fee if you don't use your account during a certain time period, say every month. If you know you won't be using the account very often, check to see what these fees will be and compare them from one bank to the next to find the best possible deal. Also, make sure you carefully look over all the terms and conditions before you open an account. Banks can be a little on the sneaky side sometimes. For example, in order to get more fees they will return all the checks on a certain day if there is an overdraft rather than processing as many as possible. Here is what I mean: let's say you have 4 checks each for $25. But let's say you only have a $90 balance in your account. Even though you have $90 which would be enough to cover 3 of the checks, the bank is within it's rights, and they often do this exact thing, to return all of the checks even though there is enough money to cover at least 3. Most people would consider that a little sneaky and not terribly ethical but the banks do that type of thing all the time so make sure you fully understand the overdraft policies of any bank or credit union before you open an account. All of these tips will help you find the best checking account for you and your financial needs.