Personal Finance Courses: Managing Your Money at a Bank or Credit Union

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Belonging to a bank or credit union can give you the advantage of lowered fees on which of the following?

Monthly service charges

ATMs

Check orders

All of the above

All of the above. Financial institutions can often give you lower fees on all of these.

You can cash a check for free at a _______.

Bank

Credit union

Check cashing store

Bank or credit union

Bank or credit union. If you have an account at a bank or credit union, you can cash or deposit checks for free. Check cashing stores charge a fee on average of $5-7 dollars per check.

You will likely be charged an ATM fee if you _______.

Have a small balance in your account

Use an ATM from a different financial institution

Withdraw more than $200

All of the above

Use an ATM from a different financial institution. Most banks charge a fee for transactions completed for non-customers. These can range from $2-6 per transaction.

It is good to be reported in the ChexSystems database.

True

False

False. ChexSystems is a database that banks and credit unions use to track people who mishandle checking and savings accounts.

Suppose your balance at the end of the month in your check register is $98. Let's say you would like to have a little more of a cushion and would like your balance to be at least $200 at the end of the month. What are your options for accomplishing this?

Reduce your variable expenses, like entertainment

Eliminate a 'want' like cable

Consider reducing a fixed cost like housing/rent by moving to lower-cost housing or getting a roommate to share the rent

All of the above

All of the above. Reducing your expenses is all about making choices. What tradeoffs are you willing to make to free up additional savings dollars?

To avoid a monthly maintenance fee on your checking or savings account, you should _______.

Limit your transactions to six or fewer

Not write more than six checks

Maintain the account's required minimum balance

All of the above

Maintain the account's required minimum balance. By maintaining the account's required minimum balance, you generally will avoid any type of monthly maintenance fee on the account.

Good habits for monitoring and managing your accounts include _______.

Reviewing your balance 2-3 times each week or before making large purchases

Reviewing your transaction activity to be aware of your spending habits and to check for accuracy

Comparing the checks you have written to those that have been cashed per your statement or online transaction activity

All of the above

All of the above. All are good habits to incorporate into managing your daily finances.

What is one possible danger of having a joint account with someone?

It will charge higher fees

It will pay less interest

Both of you can perform transactions

None of the above

Both of you can perform transactions. This is why you should trust the person with whom you are sharing the account.