Banking

Fire your bank – here is a guide and checklist to help

Recently, Pew Charitable Trusts analyzed 265 different checking programs offered by the 10 biggest U.S. banks and found 49 types of checking account fees in all. I opened a checking account with Wachovia a few years ago. For the first year I “donated” quite a bit to Wachovia due to my own ignorance. Then I [...]

Read the full article →

Online deposits : How to deposit a check online/without an ATM

I love my Schwab account. The only reason I stayed with Bank of America till now is because I wanted a way to deposit my checks without mailing them. I already get ATM fee reimbursement, no foreign exchange, free checks and a small interest for my Schwab investor checking account. I was really waiting for [...]

Read the full article →

Expiry dates for financial records – How long should I keep my financial records?

Tax season has just ended, you have a pile of tax records. How long to keep tax records? We have so many types of financial accounts and the statements that go with it too. We can’t keep everything forever, but if we ever get into an unfortunate situation with Uncle Sam, we need every possible [...]

Read the full article →

Financial Overhaul Bill – What does that mean to me?

President Obama has signed the Wall Street Reform bill into law today. Congress passed the bill last Thursday with 3 Republican senators joining the Democrats to prevent a filibuster. The bill aims to “Create a Sound Economic Foundation to Grow Jobs, Protect Consumers, Rein in Wall Street and Big Bonuses, End Bailouts and Too Big [...]

Read the full article →

Checking accounts – What are my options?

What is the costliest piece of clothing you have? May be its a wedding gown, or an expensive suit… mine is a t-shirt. It cost me $492. No it is not lined with diamond stones, it just a low quality cotton t-shirt with a bank logo printed on it. Everyone has a checking account. For [...]

Read the full article →