cjb
|
A checking account is used almost like a credit card only you already have money in your account. When you have a checking account, you put money in the account, then use your debit card (as if it were it to be cash) to pay for things. You can also write out checks to people using your checking (not with savings) - used similar to a check card only it takes a few days to come out of your account. However a savings account is when you just put money in the account and keep it there(save it). Ideally you want both. The checking is to pay bills and such. The savings is for you to put money in there monthly and keep it there, so after a while you have extra money saved up for emergencies and what not. Some savings they even give you interest, but I think you have to have a lot of money and put a lot of monthly money in there.
Basically: similarities - both hold money you put in there
differences - checking you use to pay for things and have it come right out of the account, checking typically doesn't earn interest, checking you get a card and checks, savings used for saving money(you don't get a card b/c otherwise you'd use the card and not save, thus the reason they call it a checking account)
sorry so long, hope it helps. That's all you really need to know.
**oh yeah, when you open your checking account they give you what's called a check register (looks kinda like the checkbook). Make sure you use that to keep track of how much money you have in your account. It may take a while to get used to it. What I do is whenever I put money in my account I write it in there. Then whenever I use my card/check, I'll write that in there right away and subtract to find the remaining balance. You always want to know how much you have in your account b/c you don't want to spend more than you don't have. If you go negative in your checking account (like you spend more money than what you had put in there) they'll charge you overdraft fees! It's not like a credit card where you can charge X amount of money and pay parts of off later. fyi, you can't overdraft in your savings though, b/c the only way to get money out of there is to 1)go into the bank and tell them you want to take out money from the savings or 2)put your check card into your bank atm and select from the savings withdrawl instead of the checking(it tells you how much you can/can't take out.
good luck, you'll get used to it, almost everybody has them...then later you'll learn about opening up IRA's and stuff... |
|
e3_e3_e3_e3
|
Checking account is so you can write checks. For instance, if you go to buy clothes, and you don't have enough cash on you, then you can whip out your check book and write a check.
Then the amount you write the check for comes out of your checking account.
Also, with a checking account, there is usually no interest being added to your existing amount of cash in the bank.
But with a savings account you get interest. That is like making money without doing anything. For instance, you place $1000 into your checking account. You go 12 months without touching that $1000, and your account balance is still going to be $1000.
But if you take that $1000 and place it into your savings account, and then you don't touch that money for 12 months, it will have accrued interest. That means you would have more than $1000 at the end of 12 months. You might have $1020, depending on the interest rate.
So keep only enough money in your checking account to pay your montly bills (food, gas, cell phone, movies). Then transfer the rest into your savings account.
You can do all your transfering of money between accounts ONLINE, so go to your bank website and sign up. It's a great way to keep track of how much money you have, and how much money your spending. |
|
G$
 |
savings is where you just leave your money to earn interest on it and eventually use it in the future.
and a checking account is one you can use with checks or an atm card for money you dont need to save and want to spend now.
i think that makes sense... ? ha. hope i helped. |
|
Master Roshi
|
Well a checking account allows you to draw funds, write checks, and transfer electronically. Savings typically have higher rates and have a low balance threshold. I would recommend putting your money in a brokerage savings account (I use E-Trade personally, 4% high yield interest). Once you have about 2-3000 saved up, invest it in an All-Star Mutual Fund. I know E-Trade has free help with that sort of thing. That way your son can be sitting on a pile of money, instead of a lump from checking. |
|
Em
|
A checking account is used for "spending money" and is the account your money will be drawn from when you write a check or swipe your debit card. You do not acquire interest on monies in this account.
A savings account is a place for you to save your money. It acquires interest every month. If your checking account is running low, you can transfer money from your savings account into your checking account so you can spend it. |
|
jaime
|
when you use a debit card, the money in your checking account automatically comes out from there. Your savings account is almost like a safe haven where you can accumulate interest by leaving your money in there. |
|
src50
 |
Wanna get financially literate with an easy-to-read book? Read "Personal Finance For Dummies." |
|
Rachel S
|
A savings acct is there to put aside money. You can withdraw it, but after like 3 times they charge you a few dollars for doing it.
A checking acct is money you would handle all of the time I guess. |
|
kaadish
 |
First of all, don't follow the link above. Second, I believe a checking account gives you easier access to your money. You can write checks to get money from it, and some banks will give you a debit or check card so you can use it to buy stuff. My bank gives me a higher interest rate on my checking account so I earn more money the longer I leave it in there. |
|
ABCDEFGHIJK
 |
Savings Is Your Savings. Cheque Is Where You Have A Cheque Book And Can Write Cheques To People. |
|
scott r
 |
they pulled one over on you. see if you get charged monthly for having a checking account. some do if you have a balance below a certain limit. |
|
Sudi
|
A checking account you can draw money out of daily. That is the amount of money you allot yourself to spend daily or weekly or whenever. And it is also there for internet and business access. If you want to purchase something over the internet, like something from Old Navy (the clothing store), they would take it directly out of your account if you wished to purchase your clothing directly through your checking account. Sometimes if you work for a business they will do an automatic checking deposit, where they deposit your paycheck directly into your account without you touching it. You can of course retrieve it from your checking account.
A savings account is just there for you to store your money in as it draws a bit of interest. While it sits there, it gradually (and I do mean gradually) increases. |
|
steve08080808
|
A savings account has a higher interest rate and won't charge you fees.
A chequing account usually costs something and won't give you as good an interest rate but you can cash cheques from it.
Get both if they're free. |
|
Nicholas F
|
Savings generally pays a little bit more in interest. The higher the amount you have in savings, the more interest you get. However if you go below a certain amount, you get charged a "monthly maintenance fee" say $5. Each bank is different, so you will have to go on line to check out what the terms and conditions are. |
|
luvys20
|
savings account is to save money and a checking account is an account you can use to make checks or use a debt card when you go out shopping. they were probably just trying to meet their sales quota. you can cancel your checking if you want but its free so don't worry about it. |
|
badbender001
|
A checking account is used for day to day transactions. A savings account is supposed to be for saving money. The difference is sometimes, depending on the bank, you can earn interest on a savings account. Normally banks have unlimited withdrawals on a checking account BUT many limit how many withdrawals from the checking account (6 per month is what I have seen). It costs nothing for a bank to open an account, they stand to get some money from you from over draft charges or charges when you go over the 6 withdrawals per month limit. If I were you I'd go with a Credit Union if I could. |
|
Bri
 |
usually checking accounts depending on the bank have no minimum balance. Savings accounts may be free to open, but if it doesnt maintain a $300 balance they start charging service fees. Just keep an eye on your account and when when/ or if you are already 18, make sure youre in an account that continues to be free of service fees cuz sometimes they set up the accounts specifically for minors! Good Luck! Hope that helps a little bit! |
|
me
|
checking, u get a checkcard, n checks so that instead of using cash u use ur checks n checkcard instead.
savings is just that, a savings account, be careful, because there are laws as to how many times in a month u can withdraw money from it (savings)or they'll charge u a fee |
|
Sports
|
a checking account is 4 when ur going shopping u can write checks and they will take the money right out of that account. |
|
tweety
 |
with a savings account every so often they give you money, because it builds interest checking account doest do that. |
|
| |
|
Homepage 
Financial
Forum 
Personal Finance 
No Spam
Adult 
Gambling
Unfinished
Deception
Plagiarism
Not English
