Whether
you choose to use paper checks , plastic
debit card
or pay your bills online an individual needs to know and understand the
importance of balancing their check book and how to properly write a
check
(just in case).(In a separate
link
you can find checking terminology).This
list will hopefully provide you with helpful hints for balancing your
checking
account.
Checking Accounts need to be
properly balanced
and maintained. (It can get expensive if you don’t have enough funds to
cover
the bills you have paid).Also, check
with the financial institute, they only allow a certain number of days
to
report fraud on an account.
The financial institute sends a statement of all
activity in a certain
time frames, generally 30 days.The
statement needs to be balanced or reconciled with your check
register.Check
registers or included with a customer’s order of checks or you can
choose to
purchase a software program and maintain your checking account on a
computer.Quicken is just one of many
programs that is relatively inexpensive and allows you to reconcile
your
account.Quicken will also allow you to
download your transactions from your financial institute (ATM
withdrawals and
electronic funds transfers).Checking
accounts can come with online access.This allows you to daily check the activity in your account.(Remember, the bank doesn’t know the checks
you have written until they clear the bank).
Cost of checking accounts varies
from financial
institute.This depends on factors such
as balance in account and age of account holders.
Checks can be ordered from the
financial
institute or online (generally, these are cheaper).ATM cards can only be obtained from the
financial institute.Check the fees
associated with using these cards, they vary depending on financial
institute.
ATM or debit cards require a pin
number.Do not write the pin number on the
card.
Electronic Funds Transfers generally
do not
incur a fee.These can be set up online
and a specific date of payment given.Some financial institutes offer free checking if your payroll
check is
automatically deposited into your account.
Savings accounts can be linked to
the
individual’s checking account.This
helps avoid costly overdraft fees.This
needs to be done prior to overdrawing.
When writing a check the bank
employees look to
the line with the amount of the check spelled out for the final
authority on
the amount of the check (not the numbers written).
You can postdate a check, this is
for later
payment (hold my check until xx/xx).
Checks generally are void six months
or 12
months after written, unless the face of the check states differently.
Only the person on the signature
card at the
financial institute is allowed to write a check.
An individual can issue a stop
payment on a
transaction for a fee.This is usually
in the case of a lost or stolen check or the individual changed their
mind.This has to be done prior to the
check clearing the bank.
A financial institute can issue
‘counter checks’
if the individual runs out of checks.Note however, that all merchants will not accept counter checks.
Deposit slips come with each check
order.Deposit slips can be ordered
separately as
well.Deposit slips also come in
‘counter deposits’.