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Advice on How to Protect Your Banking Account from Unauthorized Use

walter — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:27:27 +0000

Banking accounts, and especially checking accounts, are the backbone of most people’s finances. We usually deposit our paychecks into our checking accounts and then use that checking account to pay our bills, and to fund our savings and investment accounts. But like other modern financial accounts, particularly in the age of the Internet, our checking accounts are vulnerable to attack from thieves and vandals. If someone has your checking account number, plus some other personal information about you, then they might be able to access not only the funds in your checking account, but potentially the funds in your other...

Paying Yourself First – The Key to Saving Money

walter — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:48:22 +0000

There are many different ways to build your savings and secure your financial future. Reducing your highest interest debt before paying down other debt, setting and sticking to a budget and reducing unnecessary costs are all important pieces of meeting your financial goals. One concept that isn’t quite as well known, but which is very effective (as well as being very easy) is the idea of “paying yourself first.” The basic idea is to characterize your savings or investment plan as a “bill” that needs to be paid just like any other. Below is banking advice you can use to...

Setting up Direct Deposit is Easier than You Think

walter — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:47:07 +0000

An important part of taking control of your financial health is recognizing the value of certain types of automatic payments and money transfers. For example, when you set up your checking account to automatically transfer a specific sum into your savings account each month, this “forced” savings habit keeps you progressing towards your goals. A foundation for these automatic transfers is direct deposit. With direct deposit, rather than receive a paper paycheck from your employer every pay period, your salary or wages are automatically transferred into whatever checking or savings accounts you specify. Setting up direct deposit is a straightforward...

How to Find a Truly Free Checking Account

walter — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:43:00 +0000

We’ve all read about the changes to the financial industry over the past few years. Perhaps we’ve even experienced some of these changes ourselves firsthand in the form of increased fees for common banking services, as well as new fees for common products. New and increased bank fees seem to be proliferating across just about every type of product. Even products that were commonly available for no charge just a few years ago are becoming harder to find these days without fees. Even the free checking account, which used to be a standard offering at nearly every bank, seems to...

Why You Should Consider an Internet Bank Account

walter — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:33:48 +0000

Recent controversies over new bank and debit card fees have many people wondering whether it’s time to move their accounts to a new bank. Many consumers have also begun to consider the possibility of joining a local credit union to conduct their banking business. Another option, and one which isn’t getting quite the same amount of press coverage, is to use an Internet only bank. Internet only banks are different from your local banks in that most do not have any physical locations whatsoever. Deposits are handled either through electronic transfer, or by sending deposits in via the mail. Withdrawals...

Strategies to Manage Your Financial Filing and Organization System

walter — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:26:52 +0000

For many people, organizing personal finances poses the biggest challenge in managing their lives. Sometimes it feels like there’s an overwhelming amount of documentation and other paperwork that needs to be managed, including budgets, accounts, receipts, and tax records. But putting a financial filing and organization system in place can help you reach your financial goals. The good news is that organizing your finances isn’t as difficult as you might think. It requires two things: a workable plan and actually taking steps to follow through on that plan. The easier your systems, the easier it is to follow through. Here's...

Can You Afford to Save for Your Child’s College Education?

walter — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:11:23 +0000

If you have children, you probably want them to go to college one day so that they can get a good education and prepare for the profession of their choice. But college isn’t cheap, so unless you’re independently wealthy you can’t count on having the money sitting around to send them to college when the time comes. What’s a good parent to do? Ask a financial advisor if you can afford to save to college, and he will probably tell you that you can’t afford not to. But if you’re scraping just to get by, it’s not necessarily that cut...

5 Budgeting Tools You Can’t Live Without

walter — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:01:36 +0000

Let’s face it – budgeting can be a real chore. But if you want total control over your finances, it’s an absolute must. Without a budget, it’s next to impossible to keep track of where your money is going, find ways to cut back, save up for future needs or even make sure you’ll have enough money to pay your bills each month. You don’t have to be a financial guru or even good at math to budget successfully. There are plenty of tools available online and off that will help you create a budget tailored to your income, expenses...

How to Switch Your Bank and Checking Account

walter — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:13:15 +0000

Setting up your first checking account is a simple process. You simply fill out a form, deposit some money and wait for your checks and debit card to arrive. But you’ll most likely switch banks at some point in your life, and that’s where things can get complicated. When you switch checking accounts, it’s important to take the right steps to ensure that the transition is smooth. A mistake could leave you with overdraft charges, missed direct deposits and a number of other unnecessary headaches. Here’s some information and advice to guide you through switching bank accounts with as little drama...

5 Simple Budgeting Tips

walter — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:14:18 +0000

Coming up with a budget can be a challenge for just about any household. Preparing a budget requires you to make assumptions about your future income and future expenses, and to get those numbers into some type of balance. As an added challenge, it’s usually necessary to include some extra room into your budget for unexpected expenses. Since you’ll certainly encounter unexpected expenses at some point, it’s important to incorporate a financial buffer to account for those types of expenses. Traditional financial advice can get you most of the way there, but you might need to use some additional...