Commercial Banks
These are the standard banks. They offer savings
accounts, checking accounts, ATM cards, debit cards,
credit cards, certificates of deposit (CD's) and money
market accounts. They even give loans, like auto
loans and mortgages (house loans).
Hey, if you don't know what half
of this stuff is, you're at the right site. Just
keep reading!
And, yes, you really do have to watch out for hidden
fees. Those commercials aren't exaggerating!
You can even get charged $3 for just talking to someone
at the bank... And you can get charged for just
asking how much is in your account! Yikes!
Credit
Unions
These guys offer all the same great things as commercial
banks, but they are non-profit organizations. All
you need to know about this is that they don't have to
pay federal taxes, so they'll usually give you better
deals on stuff -- higher interest rates on your
accounts, lower interest loans and fewer fees.
This is a great place to do
your banking, but not everyone can just walk into a
credit union and open an account. You have to work
at the right kind of place. Teachers and
government employees, for example, get to be in credit
unions.
If you live with a family member who's in
one, you'll probably be able to get in too. You
also might be able to get in through your school or
church. If you can, go for it!
Savings & Loans
These aren't nearly as popular now since a good chunk of
them went belly-up in the 1980's. But, there are
still some around and they've really worked hard to
forget the past. And your money is safe with them
too. They're covered under the FDIC (really the
Savings Association Insurance
Fund (SAIF), which is part of the FDIC.) Savings
and Loans (called S & L's) gave us a really good lesson
on making sure that the place you put your money is
insured -- not all are, so you do have to check!
Internet Banks
These are pretty new (duh), but as long as they are
insured, they are a great option. Since they don't
have a bunch of buildings you can walk into, they save a
lot of money and pass that along to you in the way of
good interest rates.
With
Internet banks, you do almost everything electronically.
You can make deposits through the mail, have the
internet bank connect to your regular checking account and do
transfers, or have your employer just do a direct
deposit (put your paycheck in there for you). You
can even get checking accounts, ATM cards, credit cards
and everything else through these guys.
Virtual Bank is
a good one to check out. |
