Finding the Right Bank
When you’re searching for the right bank to put your hard earned money away in, it’s important to really read between the lines and comparison shop with other banks on a couple different key issues that I like to think are the foundation for whether you are getting a good deal with your bank or not. I remember my first checking account, which incidentally happens to still be the regional Cleveland area bank that I bank with today.
I had gotten the original checking account in college, it was my first checking account ever, and I got it because it was the only show in town pretty much in the town of Kent Ohio, back then that wasn’t a credit union or a bank that was really hard to find anywhere else if you happened to be out of town. It was totally a pick out of ignorance and convenience, however for me, it ended up that the bank treated me really well and offered some incentives to stay with them over the years. So I stuck with them.
Lately, they are also the lender for a personal loan that my fiance and I decided to take out to help with some of the bills around the house and consolidate, which we got a great deal on and saved a lot on interest, so it pays to be loyal to a good bank, because they will definitely cater more to you for your lending needs should one arise – especially if you’ve been a good customer that doesn’t bounce checks or have other bad credit issues.
The first thing to look at is as I mentioned earlier, are these banks going to be easily located throughout the country, or at least in the areas of your current state where you happen to frequent? This means that you won’t be paying outrageous fees to get money from a non bank owned ATM and you can make deposits at several locations. Don’t underestimate the power of convenience!
The next thing I’d concern myself with when searching for a bank would be what kind of interest rates do they offer on their checking, and more importantly their savings accounts? You ideally would like one that is on the higher end of the spectrum. Checking accounts don’t matter so much unless you happen to be one of those people that keeps tons of money in there at once, which is unusual, but the savings accounts certainly will make a difference.
The most important thing to me is the fees they charge. Nothing irks me more than banks that charge outrageous monthly maintenance fees. Or if they charge you exorbitant amounts for overdraft fees and things like that. Get a full description from them of the fees they charge before you make the leap, you’ll be happy you did because there’s nothing more irksome than seeing large fees every month.
