I just saw the commercial of that bank down our street. It is offering a free bank account! Lets take it, my wife cried out. It sounds like a great idea but before you go sign up for that account and start banking with any specific bank you should know that bank accounts are not one size fits all.
When you understand the different types of bank accounts you can actually make your money work for you in the best possible way.
Different Types of Bank Accounts
The accounts offered on those commercials are usually the checking accounts. These are the most common type of bank account as they allow you to withdraw money from your account by writing checks and with a debit card.
People generally consider this as a great option as they get access to their money without having to jump through hoops or wait for a check to be cut, etc. Some checking accounts pay interest, allowing you to take advantage of average daily balances, but most typical checking accounts, also known as a demand deposit account, will not pay interest.
Money market accounts are those that offer interest on the accounts. It also allows you to write checks on it. A money market account allows for you to benefit from a higher rate of interest than your typical savings or checking account, but they do require that you have a higher minimum balance than you would have to have with other accounts.
Withdrawing funds from these accounts are not as easy as it is with a checking account. But you can still write checks on these accounts. In addition, there are usually more fees associated with this type of account, making it a good option for those that don't necessarily need to access the cash.
One common type of account is the savings account. This is the type of account that most people use to keep the bulk of their money in. The difference is not having the benefit of being able to write checks. The benefit of interest still holds in these accounts. You may be limited as to the number of withdrawals or transfers that you are allowed to make each month and if you go over you may be charged a small fee.
Some of the other options include time deposit accounts, or certification of deposits or CDs. These accounts offer guaranteed interest rates and allow for the account holder to choose how long they would like their money to be on deposit, you can generally choose anywhere from a few days to a few years.
This account is not appropriate if you want to access the money but if you are looking to earn a high rate of interest on a specific amount of money then it might be the ideal type.
As you can see, there are many different account types for you to choose from. There are various choices of accounts that you ask your bank and then choose from them. If you still aren't sure let them know what you will be using your account for and they will likely be able to help you make the right choice for your financial needs.
