Money In The Bank...

Banks... - Banks...
@twoey68 (13627)
United States
May 25, 2008 2:53pm CST
Most ppl will say that a bank is the safest place to keep your money and they have all kinds of different types of accounts. The two most common are a checking account and a savings account. Normally when you have money in your account, regardless of which type, it draws a little extra change on it called interest. Opening an account isn’t all that hard to do, you generally need a driver’s license (or state id), proof of address and a deposit (it varies according to the bank). A checking account is usually used for paying bills and such and you actually write checks from it but be careful b/c if you write checks for more money than what’s in the bank you’ll get an overdraft charge (usually $25.00). You can also usually get a debit card on a checking account. A savings account is usually for just saving money and you simply put the money in and leave it there. You don’t write checks from a checking account but you can get a debit card. Hubby and I have 3 checking accounts (there’s a method to our madness). Our primary account is what we use to pay bills from. The second account is only for online transactions and there is a bare minimum in there. The third account is used as a savings account. For us it was a better option to have 3 checking accounts and by having a separate account for online stuff we don’t have to give out our primary account information. How many bank accounts do you have? What are their purposes? Do you think the bank is the safest place to keep your money? **AT PEACE WITHIN** ~~STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS~~
7 people like this
26 responses
@Destiny007 (5805)
• United States
25 May 08
The bank is only as safe as the FDIC... which isn't really saying much. When things work right, then a bank is much safer then stuffing money into your mattress. When things don't work out, then there is no really safe place.
1 person likes this
@tigertang (1749)
• Singapore
28 Jun 08
Well, I guess it all depends on where you live. If you lived in Zimbabwe or anywhere with lots of political instability it would be best not to have any faith in the banks. However, if you live in a place with a normal banking system, you should be able to have some faith in banks. Banks for the most part play a crucial role in being a safe place for your money and make life more convenient for you by allowing you the luxury of not having to carry your money around. Banks can be a bit of a pain. However, they have their uses and you can actually do quite well out of them if you know how to use them. As things stand, I live in a country, where banks are effectively legalised loan sharks. They pay you very little interest on savings account (0.25%pa) and nothing on chequing. They even fine you money for not having a certain amount in your bank account at the end of every month. HOwever, I maintain a savings account that pays me a bit more interest than the usual. This is whenever I get a big job. I try and save about a third of the proceeds in here. Then I have a chequing account for my business. This is where my business funtions take place. Then I have a basic savings account where I try to use as my indulgence money. Finally, I have a natural giro into another special savings account where a small tinny bit of whatever income I have goes into savings. As such, I hope to get two avenues for savings. Sounds crazy. Ontop of that, I do have my online activities that act as another alternative form of savings - my small change savings.
@stephcjh (38473)
• United States
25 May 08
We used to have two checking accounts and a svaings account but it got to be too much for me handle and keep track of. I do all of our finances and banking needs by myself. I now have a checking and a savings account. I used my checking to make purchases and pay the bills and I use my savings to save money for things we want to buy or need or for emergencies.
1 person likes this
@onesiobhan (1327)
• Canada
10 Dec 08
My husband and I each have a chequing account of our own, and we also have a joint account that we use to pay the household expenses. Every paycheque a certain amount of money gets transferred into the joint account to pay the bills. I also have a savings account that a squirrel a few dollars into every month. When I've saved up enough I use it to pay down a debt. The savings account works bettre for that because it's a much higher rate of interest so my savings build up much faster.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
9 Dec 08
I have a regular savings account, two checking accounts (one I use mainly for transferring money into my Visa), one high interest savings account, and one tax free account (just started in Canada), we have a joint checking account and my husband has his own savings account he inherited from his mother. That we use for trips and such. I pay most of my stuff with either Mastercard or Visa, and with the former, write a check after transferring the money from my main savings account. We pay the household bills from the joint account. I am putting so much away into my regular savings account for quick emergencies, but most of my savings go into my high interest accounts, except for the myLot and online savings that goes into my tax free account, since it is not that much yet. So far the banks are the safest place, but you have to just keep as much as the insurance covers. For me, I have nothing to worry about. Not exactly flush with cash.
• Australia
26 Jun 08
I have a savings account. Actually, it is 2 accounts in 1. The main account is where the money comes into and where I pay for bills from while the other is a no touch one. The no touch one has to reach a certain amount before you can draw on it, so is a very good way of saving.
@elitess (5070)
• Ipswich, England
10 Dec 08
Yes i agree a bank is the safest place to keep some money and earn a little extra for them (as interest). I have 2 accounts at 2 different banks and both are very well rated and trusted. One of them is an account that i am not allowed to touch for 5 years (i am only allowed to deposit money) and it's purpose is to raise some money for... well something special - honeymoon or a trip somewhere or.. whatever comes to mind then. The other account is accessible and has a 10% interest at the moment and i have a card so i have access to the money almost 24 hours a day - this accounts destination is mainly for mine and my girlfriend's summer vacations funds.
@mtdewgurl74 (18151)
• United States
28 May 08
I used to have a savings account but now I just have a checking account. I don't write checks anymore since I haven't bought anymore. Which is good for me that means I can only withdrawal money if I am at the bank so I know for sure I can't overdraw. I always call the automated teller before I even go to the bank so I know what I have before hand. Is the bank the safest? Yeah for me it is. I can't spend it if it is at the bank.. I only have one checking account I wasn't aware that you could have more then one at the same bank in the same name. Cool though.Paypal is the only one with my primary account and I trust it so far I have had no problems with it. I hate bouncing checks..I was wrote a check once for $300 dollars and cashed it at my bank and drew the money out and the check bounce leaving me to owe over $300 so now I onl cash checks elsewhere and not my bank so I won't be held accountable for someone elses mistake.
@flowerchilde (12529)
• United States
28 May 08
I have a small account I opened in just my name when I joined paypal, I figured that way if there was ever a big rip off of paypal it would only be my money that got robbed..
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
27 May 08
I am beginning to think that it is not. If things keep going, they will probably go bankrupt also.
@ambkeb (782)
• United States
26 May 08
We have on account...which is alright for us. We have finally foun a bank that doesnt charge outragous fees whenever they feel the need to steal our money. Right nowits a bit rough for us financially so the one bank account works for us...and we are having a rough time keeping money in it. *sigh*
• United States
27 May 08
I certainly do think the bank is the best place to keep your money. I especially enjoy online banking as I can keep my eye on things every day. However there is nothing better for online shopping than the Discover credit card as you get a different account number for each purchase which is linked to your main Discover charge card account but the seller never sees your real account number. I have twice been saved from fraudulent use of my account number because someone in Overstock. com tried to use the same account number again for something I did not order. It was immediately noticed and I did not have any problem disputing the charge. I would never use anything but my Discover card on line.
@jezzmay (1845)
• United States
26 May 08
I have 2 saving accounts, one with a debit card. I have a prepaid credit card that I use for online. I keep my money in the bank it is the only way I can control it.
• United States
27 May 08
I have 3 checking accounts, a savings account, and a certificate of deposit that gives me a higher APY as long as I add funds from a checking/savings account every month. For my online purchases I got a prepaid capital one credit card that I load money onto when I am going to make an online purchase. This way I never have to worry about putting any of my bank information online. I figure if someone gets a hold of my CC# there will never be any money on it for them to use it and it will get tossed before I ever end up having to charge anything back.
• Malaysia
26 May 08
Actually bank is not most safe place to keep our money, but at least more secure to keep at home. Another reason to keep money in bank is to gain the interest, even the rate is lower, but it's consider the most stable investment.
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
26 May 08
i have two savings account myself... one is to receive my paychecks every forthnightly and to pay for all the bills... and the other one is for my investment account which hardly have any money inside it... i keep most of my money in the investment account because i get the most interest from it... when i need it, i can withdraw it anytime i want... take care and have a nice day...
@earn4easy (222)
• India
26 May 08
i have 2 saving accounts. 1 for online transfer and shopping. 1 for saving accounts for my family. Ofcourse keeping money in a bank is very much safe.
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
26 May 08
Just checking and savings and not much in savings. I pay bills with checking Not much left there either . Not sure if banks are safe but beeter than having in the house my father in law kept his money on him he didnt trust banks and he did all dealings in cash
@k1tten (2318)
• United States
26 May 08
I have two accounts in the bank, my checking and savings that I use personally. I think there is another somewhere but I'm not sure. Don't quite remember really. lol. I'm using my checking account for everyday use really. My savings account is that, for saving. For now I think the back is the safest place to keep my money but I never know with how the economy is going.
@moneyandgc (3428)
• United States
26 May 08
Right now we have two checking accounts and three savings accounts. As soon as my husband stops procrastinating and closes the accounts at one of the bank we will have one checking account and two savings accounts. I have my ING savings account which is the one that we deposit money into and don't touch it. It also has a higher interest rate. The other savings account gets spent just as often as my checking account. I just transfer the money over. I like to keep a minimum of a certain amount in each account though. I check my accounts online all the time.
• Australia
26 May 08
I think that the bank is pretty safe but I always have some physical cash just in case. I know this sounds a little paraoid but I like to be prepared. I've been thinking about buying some gold just in case money becomes obsolete. I try to spread out the value I own into different mediums. That is things like cash and investments(including education, skills and knowledge).