Banking Advice | BankingAdvice.com » saving money

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...

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...

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...

5 Reasons Online Checking Pays Off

walter — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:28:50 +0000

For decades the checking account has been the cornerstone of many personal financial plans. Many of us have our paychecks deposited directly into our checking accounts, and we use our accounts to pay our bills, move money into our savings accounts and fund our IRAs or other retirement plans. In recent years, a new checking account option – online checking – has matured to the point where it can be a viable alternative to the traditional way of accessing our checking accounts. Online checking accounts are offered by most local banks, as well as by a number of online-only banks....

Tips for Making the Most of Your Checking Account

walter — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 17:04:20 +0000

Your checking account is more than a place to store your money. With all of the different accounts and options in today’s banking world, most people give little thought to their checking accounts. With paper checks becoming practically obsolete, they’re just a place to hold our money until we withdraw it from the ATM or spend it with our debit cards. Right? Not really. While a checking account’s primary function is to store money until it’s needed, it can do so much more if you know how to use it. Here is some advice and tips to help you get...

How to Find High Yield Bank Certificates of Deposit

walter — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 14:30:19 +0000

Just a few years ago, it was relatively easy to find a five-year CD that would pay a healthy 4 to 5% interest rate. The savings landscape is much different today, as those long-term CDs are now likely to have interest rates around 2%, and even a one year CD is not likely to break the 1% interest rate level. Even with these lower rates, there are many people who still want the security of insured CDs for their savings. This particularly true for individuals who want to reduce their exposure to the sometimes violent swings that we’ve seen in...

How to Compare Checking Accounts and Find the Best One for You

walter — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 14:15:25 +0000

Did you know that the checking account dates all the way back to the early 1500s? It has come a long way since then, but it’s still based on the same idea: the bank holds the depositor’s money and distributes it on demand. Today’s banks are much more complex than they were back then, and so are checking accounts. They come with various features and fees, and are often combined with other types of accounts. A single bank may offer numerous types of checking accounts, and some individual banks offer features that can’t be found elsewhere. All of these options are...