A Solid Checking Account

Cheques. Or better know as us Americans as Checks is a very important part of a personal financial portfolio. Yes, checks are quite old fashion but checking accounts still have a very important function. You may be like me and never use paper checks, but the actual account serves many important functions such as:

- Keeping your connection to a physical bank where you can cash checks, withdraw money, or deposit money.
- It serves as your link to your savings and investment accounts.
- You can directly deposit paychecks into your checking account.

Checking accounts come in many different forms.  The first is the traditional one, which I prefer for the ease of use, and the amenties that come with it. These checking accounts can be easily opened up in person either at your local Chase Bank, US Bank, Wells Fargo, etc. Most checking accounts are free to open for college students and/or are free if you set up direct deposits to the account.  Some require minimum balances, others do not, so that may be a factor in selecting your traditional checking account.

Some of the amenities that I enjoy that come with these type of accounts include:
- A Debit Card
- Free Checks
- Online account access
- Readily available FREE ATM machines (those transaction costs do add up)
- Convenient locations for depositing and withdrawing money.

This option may be the most popular due to its convenience, however the only problem is that most checking accounts do not accrue any interest.  This means that the bank gets to hold your money without paying you.  However, for me this is fine, as the conveniences of the bank holding my money for free outweighs the potential interest that I may earn.

However, if convenience is less of an issue and every penny truly matters to you, another place to look for a checking account that accrues interest is Credit Unions. Credit Unions were first developed as membership banks where ordinary citizens were able to pool there money together.  The benefit this pool of money was not to make a profit, but to yield the best interest rates for savings and lending purposes.  Traditionally, Credit Unions are based around some type of function or organization (teachers association's, government association, university, etc.). The downside is that these Credit Union's may not have the widely available amenities as stated above. They may have some, but not as many as any national bank.  However, the trade off for conveniences may be more worth it, as these checking accounts yield less than 1% per year and most of the time event less than 0.5% annually.

Finally, the last option is a new emerging option for savvy online individuals. It is called an online checking account. ING is one example and offers one of the best online options in what it calls an Electric Orange Account. It yields 1.75% annually in interest and includes ammenities such as:

-  No paper checks (rather checks are ordered online when they need to be written)

-  A debit card

-  Free ATM withdrawals in the Allpoint Network. 

-  Deposits are done  via mail (so it could be more or less convenient)

 You can check out more information at their website here. The downside and upside is that banks like ING have no physical bank locations, however that is the reason they can give much better interest rates. Therefore, if you are comfortable with online only locations, this checking account may be for you.

Overall, there are many options for checking accounts, however the bottomline is that you must have one, as it is the first line in a personal financial portfolio. There are many great options and there is something for everyone - so don't delay!