Balance That Book

Balancing your checkbook may seem like a hassle at times, especially when you're busy, but it's actually quite helpful when it comes to avoiding fees from your financial institution. By balancing your checkbook meticulously, you will always know exactly how much money you have available, as well as how much has been spent. You will also know which bills have been paid, and which haven't, which will assist you in figuring out who needs to be paid what. Balancing your checkbook doesn't have to be difficult, and if you're serious about keeping track of your spending, it's an absolute necessity, because there's no way that you can effectively manage your money by "guessing" how much money you will have left after spending.

Much-needed Protection

You don't have to have good credit in order to have some type of overdraft protection on your checking account. It's always a good idea to have overdraft protection because anything can happen at anytime. You could forget that you wrote a certain check, have an unexpectedly larger bill electronically withdrawn from your account, or any number of other problems could occur. One option for overdraft protection is to apply for a small line of credit to be connected to your checking account. If you choose not to apply for a line of credit or aren't approved, another option is to have a savings account connected to your checking account. Most banks will charge a fee if it's necessary for them to withdraw money from your savings account in order to pay a check or other transaction, but these fees are usually only a fraction of normal overdraft fees. There may be other options for you when it comes to overdraft protection, but you need to contact your particular bank or credit union.

Maintaining a Big Balance

Many banks and credit unions will charge you a monthly fee unless you maintain a certain amount of money in your account. A way to avoid being charged these monthly maintenance fees is to either ensure that the expected amount of money is available, or choose another type of checking account. Many banks either offer totally free checking accounts, or will not charge you any fees as long as you receive payments into the account through direct deposit. It's important that you double-check the amount that needs to be maintained as well as the fees, because if you're not careful, these fees could possibly cause your account to become overdrawn.

Automatic's Not Always Better

Many consumers appreciate the option of being able to pay certain bills by "easy pay" or automatic electronic withdrawal that is offered by many companies. This method of payment is an easy, worry-free way to make sure all your bills are paid on-time, but isn't always foolproof. Electronic payments have been known to be inaccurate, and many consumers have been double-charged, charged a wrong amount, or even charged too often. Not only can these types of mistakes cause your account to become overdrawn, but if certain payments are returned by your bank for insufficient funds, you'll be charged a fee by the bank as well as the company that the payment was intended for. You definitely don't want such a mistake to occur, so it's wise to be careful which companies you sign up for automatic payments with. A safer option would be to save your debit card or checking account on file with the companies of your choice, and when you're ready to pay you can either go online or call to make a payment.

Having a checking account should be a convenience for you, not a hassle that is costing you a great deal of money. If you find that you're being charged an extremely high amount of fees with your current bank, there is always a way to eliminate them. If you realize that you can't eliminate the fees then you can always choose another financial institution to bank with. Perhaps choosing a neighborhood credit union would be a less expensive option for you, but if not, ensuring that their overdraft fees aren't outrageous is a good idea, just in case you make a mistake one day. If you do happen to overdraw your account, many financial institutions will be more than happy to reverse the charges, provided you contact customer service, either by phone or in person.