7 most common personal banking mistakes As a personal bank customer today, you need to be cautious and pay close attention to activity in your account. Bank errors and the potential of identity theft have made it imperative that you become proactive and follow simple safeguards. In addition, changes in bank policies can create confusion. Here are a few of the most common personal banking More >>

Savings Strategies Saving money is an ongoing confront for most people. Paychecks, dividends and an occasional bonus go only so far. 1. Follow spending and evaluate results: By tracking your spending habits, you will get an idea of where you are spending money. By evaluating the results, you can see if you are throwing money away. 2. Company savings plans: Many companies offer 401(k) plans. Take advantage of More >>

Personal Banking Summary Review some of the options to look for when selecting your bank. Perhaps the biggest concern among customers is the ever-increasing bank fees. Another growing concern is identity theft, which still limits the number of people who do their banking online. The ease of ATM machines is also a major concern when selecting a bank. Banks are starting to charge for more services, such as More >>

Bounced-check protection plans - new rule Bounced-check protection plans are a form of overdraft protection. You don't have to sign up for them; many banks automatically enroll just about all of their checking account customers. But they differ significantly from traditional overdraft protection where you sign up in advance and agree to have the overdraft paid with funds from a savings account or a credit More >>

Free checking account? Just about every adult needs a checking account, and for most people a free checking account will do just fine. Many people think they have a free checking account, but they don't. They're doing something for it to be free, such as maintaining a certain balance or paying a fee for going over their monthly portion of checks. The federal Truth in Savings Act requires that a free account More >>

Checking account types Selecting the right account isn't as simple as it may appear. Here is a list of the more popular checking accounts available at many financial banks: 1. Basic checking - This is for people who just use a checking account to pay some bills and perhaps use a debit card to pay some daily expenses. Some basic accounts require direct deposit or a minimum balance to avoid More >>

ATM Fees Why pay a fee to take your own money out of your checking account? Many people do just that because they use ATMs that don't belong to the bank where they have an account. In fact, banks collect more than $2 billion every year in ATM charges. If you use a so-called "foreign-international" ATM, you can expect to pay two fees. Your bank will charge a fee because it has to process More >>