We normally think about our banking and financial accounts on our own terms. We decide when we want to open a new account, what financial institution we want to do business with, how much and how frequently we deposit funds into and withdraw funds out of our accounts, and when we close those accounts. But that’s not always the case. In fact, there are some situations where your accounts can be frozen, accessed or even shut down. Most of these occurrences are likely to be fairly rare, such as having your assets seized in connection with a lawsuit or tax...

Read More »

Safe deposit boxes are a common bank and credit union offering, yet they’re often misunderstood. Many of us are only familiar with safe deposit boxes based on what we see on television and in the movies, and on that basis we might think their primary use is for storing priceless jewelry or stacks of cash. In truth, safe deposit boxes may be useful for everyone who has something important that they want to keep secure. This might include jewelry and financial documents, but it might also include irreplaceable personal items. Here are answers to some of the most common questions...

Read More »

Whether you’re moving to a new neighborhood or city, you’re tired of your bank’s policies or fee schedules, or you’re just looking for additional account benefits, sometimes it makes sense to switch banks. But it can take a bit of time and effort to make the switch (particularly if you’re using your current bank’s online bill pay service), so it’s important to make sure you’re making the right decision for you and your money. It’s also essential to make sure that you’re basing your decision on solid financial reasoning before you go through that time and effort. Ask...

Read More »

Moving to a new home or apartment can be an exciting development in one’s life. Of course, along with all the planning one has to do for the move itself, consumers also have to do the other things that are necessary to set up a new household; things like opening new utilities accounts in their name, getting new cable television service and the like. Most consumers will probably also need to find a new local bank to do their banking at. Even if they are moving to a small town, they are likely to have multiple options available to them. Here’s...

Read More »

Debit cards and credit cards certainly appear to be quite similar. They both carry a Visa or MasterCard logo, they both allow purchases of products and services without having to carry around large amounts of cash or hassle with a checkbook, and both contain some degree of protection against fraud or unauthorized account use. But there are also some significant differences between the two types of cards. In fact, there are some situations where using a debit card comes with a higher degree of risk than using a credit card. Here’s a list of some of the riskiest places when using...

Read More »

Long gone are the days when we could effectively run our households with the cash from just wallets or purses (after cashing our weekly paycheck), or perhaps by using a simple checking account. Instead, consumers now have multiple financial accounts, likely including one or more checking accounts, bank accounts, and brokerage accounts. And we probably end up having to spend time and effort transferring money back and forth between these accounts. Even if one doesn’t have a large number of different financial accounts, it’s still important to make sure that you are doing these transfers as efficiently as possible, without...

Read More »

With the prevalence of online banking and electronic funds transfers, as well as the large number of automated teller machines that are available, there are more ways than ever for us to access the funds in our checking accounts. One of the most common ways for people to gain access is through the use of a debit card. Debit Card Basics. A debit card is a banking card that provides direct and immediate access to the cardholder’s funds. The most common type of debit card is one that’s linked to a checking account. This allows the account owner to spend...

Read More »

We can count on a certain degree of assistance from our banks and brokerages to help us keep our finances secure. Long gone are the days when we could simply access our accounts online by logging in with our account numbers and a simple five or six digit password, as more of these institutions are now demanding multi-factor logins, and that we change our passwords at least every 90 days. We can also protect our finances by creating a few positive banking habits. It might seem like a lot of work to implement some of them, but doing so will...

Read More »

As new regulations come into force, many banks and credit unions are changing their fee structures. Sometimes fees will be increased, occasionally they’ll decrease, and sometimes new types of fees will be created. At some point you may decide that your current bank’s fees are too high, and that you want to pay less for the services you use. Or you may decide that you’re dissatisfied with the level of service that you’re currently receiving, and want to take your banking business elsewhere. In either case, you need to make sure that when you change to a new bank you...

Read More »

Bouncing a check doesn’t make you a bad person. It usually occurs as a result of a miscalculation or a scheduled deposit being credited later than anticipated. And with the use of debit cards, we are even more prone to such mistakes due to poor recordkeeping. Most banks offer overdraft protection these days. This service can save you money in overdraft fees and save you the embarrassment and fees associated with having a check bounce or having a debit card transaction denied. But in order to get the most out of overdraft protection, it’s important to understand what it is,...

Read More »