What Bank Account Is Right For Me?

 

We know that when it comes to your money, you don't want just any old account. You want an account that's tailored to your needs and your lifestyle, and we're here to help you find it.

You should consider all of your options before making a decision. There are a lot of banks out there, but not all of them offer the same deals or services. Some might have a higher minimum balance requirement than others, or they might have fewer locations where you can open an account.

Some might allow you to deposit checks by taking pictures of them with your phone (which is awesome if you're always on the go). Some might have an app that makes it easy for you to transfer money between accounts (and earn rewards for doing so).

You get the idea—there are lots of different things to look at when choosing an account, so we've created this guide to help walk you through all the choices!

First off: what kind of bank account are you looking for? Do you need one where someone else can manage your money for you? Or do you want one with no fees and low rates?

That's why we've created this guide to help you find the best bank accounts for you. It will walk you through the different types of accounts, what they offer, and how they work. You might even find an account that can save you some money on fees (and who doesn't want that?).

So let's get started!

Checking Accounts

You can use a checking account every day to make purchases and pay bills. Checking accounts are easy to access, usually with a debit card or checks, and they're liquid — meaning you can withdraw your money at any time without paying fees or penalties. 

They also offer overdraft protection, where the bank will cover a purchase over your balance for an additional fee. However, you'll need to keep track of your balance to avoid overdrawing your account and incurring the fees that come with it!

Checking accounts typically offer the lowest interest rates of all bank accounts. If you want savings options that provide higher interest rates in exchange for not being able to access your money as easily, consider a savings account instead.

Savings Accounts

A savings account is a bank account that pays interest on the money you have in your account and typically does not allow for checks to be written or debit cards to be used. The interest paid on these accounts is often higher than other accounts, such as checking accounts. 

If you’re looking for an easy way to keep track of your money, or if you have a large sum of cash sitting around that needs a home, then opening a savings account may be useful for you.

Savings accounts are designed with convenience in mind. They can make it easy to save money – especially if you don’t have the discipline to save on your own – while also allowing funds to grow thanks to interest rates charged by banks. 

These accounts are particularly good at helping out people who are saving up for something specific – like when they know they will need a certain amount of money by a certain date, like 6 months from now or 1 year from now.

Money Market Accounts

One of the first questions on my mind when I was starting out as a student was "what bank account do I need?" There's something about a savings account that makes one feel really obligated to use it, and not using it seems to have a way of making you feel bad. But there are plenty of different options for your money: checking accounts, money market accounts, high-yield savings accounts, and certificates of deposit (CDs) all offer different ways to invest your money.

For someone with a job and who doesn't want to invest their money in stocks or bonds like I did, CD is the best option. If you don't plan on having much in the way of investments over the long run, then consider choosing a money market account instead since it pays more interest. 

It may not be as exciting as putting your hard-earned cash into stocks or bonds but at least you know that none will go down the drain if something goes wrong with your job.

Bank accounts can come in many forms. Learn the different types.

Bank accounts come in a variety of forms, but the four most common types are checking, savings, money market, and certificate of deposit.

• Checking accounts are designed for everyday transactions like paying bills, buying groceries, and taking money out of an ATM.
• Savings accounts are available at nearly every bank or credit union. You can’t use a savings account as easily as a checking account because there’s usually a limit on the number of times you can withdraw cash over a certain period of time. However, to encourage saving money (and not spending it) many banks offer higher interest rates on savings accounts than they do on checking accounts.
• Money market accounts are similar to savings accounts in that they offer higher interest rates and have transaction limits. However, they typically have higher minimum balance requirements and more restrictions around withdrawals than traditional savings accounts do.

There is another type of account called “certificate of deposit” (CD), which is another type of savings vehicle where your deposits earn interest at a fixed rate for a predetermined amount of time (usually anywhere from three months to five years). CDs usually require larger initial deposits than other types of banking products because once you put your money in the CD, you cannot access it until the fixed term is up without paying penalties.