How to Pick the Best Personal Checking Account for Your Needs

When it comes to keeping your money in a safe place, a bank is the best solution. With the help of their checking accounts, you can easily deposit and withdraw your money as you wish. Here are some must-dos when looking for a personal checking account that will fit your needs the best.

No Minimum Balance Required

One fairly newer addition for some banks is to require patrons to have a minimum balance in their checking account. Anytime a patron goes below this minimum balance, they’re charged a fee. You don’t want to be charged for using money that is yours. So, ensure that any personal checking account you’re looking for doesn’t require any sort of minimum balance.

No Monthly Maintenance Fees

Another fairly new fee that is being tacked onto many checking accounts is a monthly maintenance fee. The bank will charge you a small amount of money, usually $5 to $10, each month. 

Their reasoning is that they have to handle all the record-keeping for your account and other maintenance tasks. Not all banks charge this and you shouldn’t have to pay to have an account. After all, most banks make money by using your money to lend and invest.

ATM Fee Reimbursement

If you’re like most individuals, you use your ATM card to get cash when you need it. Each bank works with a specific network of ATM providers. Traditionally, if you went to an ATM that wasn’t a specific provider of your bank, then you would be charged a fee to withdraw cash. 

Now, banks are seeing how important it is for people to have access to ATMs without needing to pay fees. Therefore, many are offering ATM fee reimbursement. Any time you use an ATM that is not from your bank’s specific provider, a good bank will reimburse you the ATM fee that you were charged. So look for checking accounts that offer ATM fee reimbursement.

Ease of Check Cashing

In the digital world, people may tend to forget about check cashing until they’re written one. Since most people get direct deposit, they don’t consider checks when it comes to setting up a checking account, especially at an online provider. While a mobile deposit is possible for some, it’s not always accurate. 

Having a banking provider that is within your local area where you can physically cash a check is ideal. If you opt for an online checking provider, they’ll require you to mail the physical check. This could take up to a week to get to the bank and get you the money you need.

The best personal checking account will be different for everyone. Understanding some key factors to consider when choosing the right type of account is a necessity. The above factors should help you to narrow down your list of checking account providers.

Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most of her time hiking, biking, and gardening. For more information, contact Brooke via Facebook at facebook.com/brooke.chaplan or Twitter @BrookeChaplan

How Do You Start a Kickstarter Campaign for Your Business?

Kickstarter is one of the most well-known crowdfunding companies out there. Many people can use the site to help them build funds for individual needs, projects, or startups. 

Business owners need to know some of the most efficient ways that they might use Kickstarter to move their big dreams from theory to reality.

Refine Your Big Ideas

Most Kickstarter projects are not meant to be sustained solutions to funding issues. A Kickstarter campaign is a way for individuals or businesses to get the resources they need to get off the ground or complete a particular project within a specified window of time. 

In addition to being able to provide some kind of window to your donors, there are some possible barriers to entry. 

The platform is open to everyone in theory, but broad topics with unclear end goals may not be approved by Kickstarter's administrators. Provide clear details as to the nature of your business, what you need funds for, and the kinds of rewards your donors will receive.

Explore Options for Expansion

Using a Kickstarter campaign is a great first step for fledgling business owners. 

However, combining the platform with other things can provide you with more resources to get the word out about what products and services you offer. 

Examine some of the best practices crowdfunding to find out what you can do during the initial stages and how to maintain momentum in the next phase of a project. 



Any existing social media business page that you have is yet another way to get the word out about your plans and your Kickstarter campaign. Devote some attention to how you are going to be categorizing and delivering the rewards you promised to your backers.

Ask the Site

Some people might be put off by the initial barriers to entry or the overwhelming nature of a project. However, Kickstarter maintains that it is here to help and to be a useful resource. 

Founders and administrators of the site enjoy working with potential projects and the people behind them. They can offer tips on how to get started and coaching techniques that can help a new business get through the whole process. Don't be afraid to ask for some assistance.

Master Self-Promotion

Just as your business will need a home online, your Kickstarter campaign needs a presence that shows you take it seriously. The site will provide you with a landing page for descriptions, photos, videos, and donation links to help you hit the ground running. 

If necessary, read up on tips for taking good photos or shooting professional videos that look great. Excellent content like this can boost your visibility and get your project on the Kickstarter homepage.

Kickstarter has helped thousands of people realize some of their goals and dreams for over a decade. With the right ideas and attitude, the platform may be just what a business needs to get a world-changing project off the ground.

How to Ensure a Solid Investment When Buying Property

Real estate always seems to be a popular investment. It is, however, not always as solid as some might think. It's very possible to lose money on real estate, especially if you don't go into the process with an understanding of what types of properties are the most valuable. Below are a few of the factors you should keep in mind when trying to ensure a solid property investment.

Lot Size

No one is making more land. This makes the size of a lot especially valuable, with a premium paid for every square foot in those cities that have experienced rapid growth. The goal is to find a property with the right kind of space for your ideal buyer or renter - big enough to seem impressive, but no so big that the acreage seems like it would be a burden.

Home Size

At least as important as the size of the lot is the size of the home. When you look to buy property, you want to buy the kind of home that your prospective tenants or buyers would want to move into. 



While you can never tell exactly what size a given customer might want, you can figure out what size of property tends to move the most quickly in the area in which you buy. Going too big or too small can leave you with a money-draining property on your hands.

Age of the Home

Older homes can have a great deal of appeal to some buyers, but with age comes problems. If you invest in an older home as a rental, for example, you can expect to have to deal with more repairs. 

If you're buying an older house to flip, you'll need to not only spend more money on rehabbing the property but also on adding upgrades. Unless you're buying in an area that tends to prize older homes, it's best to try to stick to something that's a little more modern. 

The Neighborhood

You can't change a property's location. Your goal should always be to find a property in either a neighborhood that is stable or one that is in the middle of a growth pattern. If you can do this, you can expect your property and rent values to rise until they reach a stable plateau. 

You might want to risk buying cheap in a rougher spot, but realize that you'll be betting on a kind of growth pattern that is never guaranteed to occur.

Do some research before you buy real estate. Find the right size, the right place, and the right age for the best results. With a little effort, you can make a great investment that will be there for decades to come.

Mistakes Most People Make When They Buy a New Car

Buying a new car or truck is a very exciting process, but there are a few potential pitfalls many buyers fall victim to. Luckily, with a solid plan in place and a little bit of patience, you should be able to avoid some of the most common mistakes that people make when buying a new vehicle.

Not Doing Enough Research

It is an unfortunate fact that many people head to car dealerships without spending any amount of time researching the makes and models that they are interested in. Well before you even think about applying for a loan or signing a pink slip, you should first research the pros and cons of each type of car you are considering.

You could find that a vehicle that you are interested in is riddled with expensive mechanical issues that you want to avoid at all costs. Dealerships aren’t likely to tell you these sorts of negative facts when they’re trying to make a sell so you need to do your research first.

Getting a Loan from the Dealership

While it might be tempting to get a loan directly through the dealership, those companies don’t always have the best rates. The dealer is going to do everything in their power to get you to sign paperwork on the first day, and they could offer you a seemingly good loan that will end up being very expensive in the long run. 



That is why you should shop around for auto loans before you head to the dealership. Know how much you can get approved for and what the interest rates will look like, and compare the offers from multiple lenders before you accept any loan.

Not Accounting for Ongoing Costs

Your monthly payments will only be one of the many expenses that you are going to run into as a car owner. In addition to the loan payment, you will also need to consider maintenance costs, potential repairs, and the fuel efficiency of the vehicle. 

Products like tires must be regularly purchased as well, and the replacement parts might be prohibitively expensive.

Trying to Lower the Monthly Payments

Getting your monthly payments as low as possible probably seems like a great idea, but you need to consider how much the loan is going to cost you over time. With low monthly payments, the life of the loan is going to be much longer, and that means the interest will build up. 

Your lender should be able to tell you exactly how much the car is going to cost once you are done paying off the loan.

The final step in this process is taking the vehicle out for a test drive. Even if the car or truck is brand new, you should still spend a little bit of time behind the wheel to make sure that you love driving it. Once you’ve found the right car, the right loan, and the right price, you ready to sign.