| What Does Free Mean? | | | | costs. Banks that have few physical locations but a |
| Some free checking accounts online say they are | | | | large amount of assets, are able to use economies of |
| free, but that doesn't mean they are really free. | | | | scale to lower their operating costs. This savings is |
| Unfortunately, a lot of times "free" ends of costing you | | | | passed on to you in the form of an increased interest |
| a lot of money. The purpose of this article is to explain | | | | rate and lower fees. |
| what to look when searching for free online checking | | | | Brick and mortar banks, carry a lot more day to day |
| accounts. In the last ten years, banking has changed | | | | operating cost. Therefore, they can't give their clients |
| dramatically. Some banks have adapted to the new | | | | as high of an interest rate. However, brick and mortar |
| consumer demands. Many banks have not. | | | | banks, also have someone you can talk to face to |
| You now have the ability to set up your bank as your | | | | face if you have problems. |
| personal accountant. With just a little work up front, | | | | Tips to Using Your Free Online Checking Account |
| you can have many of your monthly transactions on | | | | The goal here is to put your finances on autopilot. |
| autopilot. The best free checking accounts online, | | | | Investing and paying off loans are a lot easier when |
| worthy to be your free personal accountant, should | | | | done automatically. Here are just a few tips to |
| then have the following characteristics. | | | | optimize your online checking account. |
| - FDIC insurance | | | | - Use direct deposit |
| - No fees or minimums! | | | | - Create a savings account for an emergency fund, |
| - Automatics transaction to other financial institutions | | | | and earn interest on it |
| - Direct deposit | | | | - Set up your investments or loans to automatically |
| - Easy to use website | | | | withdraw after your paycheck hits |
| - High level of security | | | | - Automatically pay your credit card bill or other bills |
| - High interest rates | | | | each month |
| - Large ATM network | | | | - Set up sub-accounts for short term savings goals |
| - Free bill pay | | | | - Send paper checks for free |
| - Outstanding customer service | | | | - Escrow your taxes into a sub account |
| - Overdraft protection | | | | As for the best free checking account online, I |
| Advantages and Disadvantages to Online Banking | | | | recommend using the same bank as I use. They have |
| The advantage that online banking has over these | | | | no fees. There interest rates are always high. They |
| brick and mortar banks is they have lower operating | | | | have great customer service. |