Services like credit cards, saving & checking accounts, loans, etc., are provided by banks and hence we choose to use their services. However, the services level ranges widely with every brand in the US. However, the decision of switching a bank or a bank account is influenced by number of factors. Higher Interest Rates This doesn’t necessarily mean only interest rates. I am talking about general monetary benefits offered by a bank. Though interest rate given by banks, which is 0.5% currently, is governed by the Fed to a larger extent, other benefits are not. Frugal people select a bank that offers $100 with every new account, or something like that. However, monetary benefits remain to be the most influential factor in switching a bank. Service level Most of us love exceptional [...]

Are you planning to save up for your retirement? Your Roth IRA account may offer you tax deductibles for you to save up a lot but the money saved may be well spent on other areas like too many bank accounts! Ask how? Banks charge fees for maintaining those accounts and you as a client lose out on a good amount of money paying up these fees. You might want to purchase a new car, a new washing machine or a sound system. One common strategy that we all apply when we don’t have enough money for a new household expenditure is to open a new account to save up money specifically for any new kind of expenditure that might crop up.  But maintaining so many small accounts is pretty expensive as many banks charge fees for maintaining accounts with low values. These accounts usually happen to be [...]

My son didn’t really need a checking account until he started going to college. It wasn’t a necessity when he was in high school because he wasn’t working. To cash the checks he used our checking account and kept all his savings in his closet. So, I didn’t bother about opening his bank account. Or rater, I didn’t allow him to do so. However, a month before he went to college, we planned to set up a checking account for him. We randomly picked up a bank and noticed that it offers excellent service in one category and poor in other. Same happened with the other pick. So, I and my son decided to jot down the list of services that would be quite helpful, convenient, and economical for Richard. That’s his name. Availability of ATMs in the university campuses so he can withdraw [...]

A 6 % on your checking account looks impossible when managing a 2- 3 %seems to be a difficult task right? Well, it might, but these days there are quite a number of community banks and credit card unions offering you that amount on your checking accounts. According to Randy Rosen, market researcher, Informa Research Services, reward accounts have now become very common, though they were offered by just a few companies before. You might think why reward checking programs are gaining popularity with banks. This is because of the symbiotic benefits that can be achieved by the banks as well as the account holder in such a situation. The bank benefits doubly with people who hold reward accounts than with people who hold normal accounts. This is because people with reward accounts maintain higher [...]