Why Do You Need a Checking Account?
A checking account serves a variety of useful purposes. Of course, it is a requirement for getting and maintaining a loan at Waldo General (and almost any other loan company), but it also provides an invaluable set of opportunities and protections for your money.
A checking account is a safe and secure way to pay for things. Certainly, we all know carrying a big roll of cash with you to pay for rent, utilities, gas, groceries, etc. is not a safe or smart way to manage money. Beyond the obvious of it possibly being stolen there’s the chance you could lose some or all of it, or lose track of how much you are spending and wind up short at the end of the month. A checking account lets you pay bills and manage your money using paper checks, debit card or online transfers and bill payment.
Almost any bank or credit union will offer consumer checking accounts and you usually have a choice of several types of checking accounts from the simplest type that allow you to draw money out of the account with paper drafts (checks) to more elaborate types of accounts that require maintaining minimum monthly balances, pay interest, offer overdraft protection, etc. For the majority of people, a simple free checking account is the way to go. Although each financial institution is different, a free checking account should offer the following:
- No Low Balance Fees
- Free ATM and/or Debit Card
- No charge for ACH and Direct Deposit transactions
- Free online access to your account
- Unlimited monthly check writing
- No minimum check writing amount
- Free or low cost initial paper check supply
It’s important to note here that having a checking account is an important responsibility. If managed correctly, it can be one of the most valuable tools available to any of us to manage our money and keep up with obligations. If it’s not managed correctly, the financial and even emotional costs can be devastating. If you don’t keep track of your money and you wind up bouncing checks you could be paying as much as $37 to the bank for each bounced check and it can turn into literally hundreds of dollars in fees in no time at all. By not managing a checking account responsibly, you can be subject to a bad impact on your credit score, bills that you have to pay with money orders or expensive cashier’s checks, the closing of your account and even the possibility of arrest for passing bad checks. To make it all much easier here’s a great link to a page that will help you balance your checking account properly each month
Overdraft fees and bounced check charges are way more than the interest charged by Waldo General for a loan so don’t hesitate to call us or stop by a location to discuss your needs. In the long run taking a little time and effort to manage your money properly by working with the banking system can save you money, save headaches and keep your checking account open!