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When it comes to building and managing wealth, a bank can be a great partner or a horrible obstacle. Finding the bank that is right for your needs is one of the most important things you can do in your quest for financial security. For some reason, the financial world seems to be almost as opaque as the medical and, in order to manage it, you have to find a bank that is willing to be transparent and spend time explaining their policies to you. If your bank doesn't seem interested in cooperating, it is time to find a new bank that offers Milwaukee checking services. Read Your Contract The absolute most important thing you can do when choosing a bank is to read your contract! While they are far from exciting literature and can take quite a bit of decoding, they spell out how your bank functions. If your bank is trying to hide fees, you can bet you'll find them buried deep in this document, but you have to read it to find them. If you sign a contract without reading it, you're locked in and there is nothing you can do about it. So, be sure to read it, even if it takes you a couple days. You should also be warned that just because the employee selling you the account says there aren't any hidden fees, doesn't mean there actually aren't any hidden fees. Request a Fee Schedule In addition to reading the contract, you may want to ask for a fee schedule. Not all banks have a document with that information ready to go, but some of them do. The fee schedule should include things like monthly maintenance fees, overdraft charges, and transaction fees. If the bank doesn't have a document that addresses those concerns, you are perfectly within your rights to blatantly ask about them. No one, not even a bank is entitled to your money without you knowing about it. The Golden Egg Truth be told, there are many banks out there that, honest to goodness, have no hidden fees. They let you keep your checking account without charging you a monthly maintenance fee, they let you make as many transactions as you need without charging you extra, and they allow you to use your savings account to cover your own overdraft charges. If you can find a bank that operates like that, the chances are high that you've found the right bank. However, you should always keep in mind that not all banks are created equal and while one may have a great fee schedule, it may not have all the bells and whistles you'd like. Have Realistic Expectations If, however, you can't seem to find a bank that lets you do all of those things sans fees, you might want to take a look at what they're charging and if there is a way around those charges. For example, it is really common for a bank to require that you maintain a minimum balance in your checking account in order to avoid a monthly maintenance fee. The plus here is that you can avoid that fee, the bad news is you have money tied up in your account. Now it is up to you to decide if the minimum balance is something you can live with. Minimum balances that are $100 or less are generally considered reasonable and you don't lose very much by having that much tied up in the checking account. The other thing to look at is the monthly fee in case you aren't able to keep that much in checking. If it's $3, you really don't have anything to lose. If its $20 and you live paycheck to paycheck, you might want to consider taking business elsewhere. All of these factors play an important part in how happy you will be with your Milwaukee checking services.
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