Common mistakes to avoid while maintaining a checking account

A checking account is very much necessary for both private individuals as well as people who are running a business. But before you open an account and start running it, you will need to ensure that you do not end up in debt. There are a few common mistakes that you can avoid at the beginning itself to save your self from lots of trouble later on in the tenure of the account.

We shall now discuss a few common mistakes that are committed by individuals who are first time investors.

• Making withdrawals from ATM’s belonging to other banks

This is a very common mistake that people make. Doing this can create hundreds of dollars of debt in your account. External ATM’s charge fees for each time that you make a withdrawal from their branch. And even your bank might charge you an extra processing fee based on the ATM at which you make a withdrawal. Ensure that you make withdrawals at your bank only or you can use checks. Take some time to find out about other banks that do not charge fees.

• Do not bounce checks

Insufficient funds fees are very hefty. If you happen to get one of these, it will eat into your savings. It can be around 50 dollars or more at times based on the duration for which you have not repaid the excess money. And an insufficient funds fine can harm your credit record too if your social security number is attached to the bank account number. The best way to avoid it is to post date checks. And if ever you end up with an overdraft fee, go to the bank immediately to sort it out. If you repay the amount within two or three days and talk to them nicely you will get back the fees in most cases. And if it is your first or second time they will easily give it back to you since they will want to generate good will.

• Mathematical or calculation errors

There have been lots of instances where people end up adding the checks to the balance in the place of subtracting them. Take some time to read and understand your balance accounts. Fully comprehend any bill before making a payment.

• Never make automated withdrawals from your account

There is a very great possibility that you might forget how much money you have in your account. And in such cases, if you are automatically withdrawing money from the account you will end up paying insufficient funds fees. This will eat into your hard earned savings. Cancel all automated payments and write checks whenever you want. Or get banking software’s to enter your automated payments and keep track of them. This way you will know what’s happening with your money.

• Never throw bank receipts

It’s wrong to throw them away. Banks will inevitably commit mistakes. You need to be in a position to get it easily sorted out. The more organized you are, the easier it will be to sort things out. This is not to say that the bank will not have a record, but still it is better to do as much as you can to be safe.