College life is thrilling and exciting. Finally, you attained freedom. Now, you will need to manage your studies, social life, and even finances on your own. Finance management is a topic that is not included in your course. Money lessons are not obtained from parents. Besides the personal checking account of parents and college students differ.
Tips for college students to manage to check account
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College life is centered on the school campus, so choose a checking account suitable to your lifestyle off-campus. There are many banks away from the campus that can fit your needs. Choosing a bank on a school campus in terms of proximity even if does not suit your lifestyle is not a wise choice.
Consider the account fees because if they are more than your savings get consumed fast. This can be bad for students who don’t work full-time. Therefore, while choosing to consider and compare charges for –
- Minimum balance
- Monthly maintenance
- New checks
- ATM use
- Online bill payments
- Wire transfers
- Debit card replacement
Students can find a checking account with a minimum transaction number or no minimum balance a good fit. They can concentrate on their studies rather than getting distressed about incurring penalties.
Monitor checking account balance
Technology has made it easy to monitor your account activity and balance. Internet banking allows account holders to log in from their smartphones. They can even pay bills, transfer money and check their balance on the go.
Being familiar with your account balance helps teenagers to avoid overdrafts and lack of fund charges. You can plan a perfect budget. Learning money management in college will help teenagers to follow this good practice during their graduation year.
Secure your account
Account security needs to be the top priority for everyone. Create an exclusive name and password, which is used uniquely for the checking account. Never share your IDs! Two-factor authorization offered by your bank is a great protection layer. It helps to protect your financial data from getting hacked.
Look out for debit card holds
The debit card holds can make finance management tricky. Generally, a merchant places hold on travel-related payments like hotels, gas stations, rental car companies, etc. It is done for protection against errors and frauds. The merchant sends a notification if a debit card hold is placed. The hold gets lifted when funds from your bank get transferred. If your checking account has less balance then always stay vigilant about holds.
In New Mexico, Del Norte Credit Union is a financial institution that offers unbiased and unparalleled advice to its members.