King~s Guide To Financial Freedom

There are many benefits to opening and maintaining a checking account. Having a checking account allows you to write checks to pay bills or buy groceries. Checks are cheaper and more convenient than buying money orders and with the popularity of debit/ATM cards, you don’t even have to go to the bank to withdraw money. In fact, you can use your debit card to make purchases online and in-person. A checking account also gives you the added benefit of having written proof that someone was paid. If there is a dispute, you can produce a cancelled check in your defense - something that carrying cash doesn’t provide. Having a checking account is also safer. Instead of carrying cash, you carry a checkbook. If you lose your checkbook, you can call the bank and it will secure your account so that no one can write checks against your account.

Before opening a checking account, however, you will need to decide what type of account will provide you with the most benefits. Some checking accounts have no minimum balance requirements while others charge you if your account falls below a certain amount. There are checking accounts that allow you to write an unlimited number of checks each month and others that charge you for each check you write. Some checking accounts pay interest, others do not. The key is to find the checking account that best fits your needs and requirements.

Once you open a checking account, you will need to maintain it. Keeping good records is vital. Use your check register or a computer software program to keep track of deposits, withdrawals and checks written. The key is to make sure you record each action made against your account so that you know exactly how much money is in your account at the end of the day. You’ll also need to balance your account when you receive your monthly statement from the bank. It’s much easier to do this if you’ve kept good records. Sometimes the bank makes mistakes. Sometimes you might have forgotten to subtract a fee from your account. You’ll only discover this by comparing your check register records to your monthly statement.

Another key to good checking account management is to never write checks if you don’t have money in your account to cover the check written. Even if you think you’ll deposit money before the check is presented to the bank, don’t do it. If the money isn’t there to cover the check, your check “bounces” which means it is returned to the presenting bank. You’ll be charged a fee not only by your bank but by the presenting bank as well. More importantly, your bank may close your checking account or you may lose your check writing privileges with certain merchants