Managing the Checking Account without Penalty

Your Cash Flow and how you manage it defines your lifestyle.  Income and expenses do not alone define your economic status.  How well you track your income and spending on a daily basis can improve or reduce your ability to live in a manner to which you would like to become accustomed.

When you pay your loans and credit card bills affects your credit score.  But your checking account performance can also affect your credit score.  If you frequently bounce checks or deposit bad checks that cause yours to bounce, you may be reported to services that also report to credit bureaus that determine your credit score.  If you are reported often, it may prevent you from opening and having a checking account altogether.  

But frankly, the cost of bouncing checks is the most debilitating penalty you will pay for failure to watch your Cash Flow closely.  Fortunately, internet banking, Parkline account access, is an excellent tool to inform you of your constant availability of funds.  However, it does not know all that you may have outstanding.  Your Cash Flow is influenced tremendously by the parties to whom you have made payment.  If you write a check to someone, and they don’t deposit or cash it for several days, you may not be aware of the outstanding item by simply checking your balance everyday.  You need to track your outstanding items as well as the paid items closely.  This includes Instant Cash and Check ATM and debit card transactions as well as checks.

The most harmful activity that causes the most frequent overdraft penalties is previously authorized transactions that are coming from outside the bank.  If you authorize another party to draw funds at their request, you no longer have control over your account.  I admit I enjoy automatic payment conveniences also, but it is at my direction from Park State Bank’s internet banking Billpay Service.  It is automatic, I don’t need to think about it, and I can stop it anytime without question.  Plus, I have not compromised my account numbers or put my identity at risk by giving out my account numbers to someone else!

Ready Money is another technique to avoiding overdraft fees.  Ready Money is a line of credit attached to your checking account that automatically makes a deposit to your account.  With a qualifying account, the only fee you pay is interest on the amount of money transferred.  It is a simple insurance policy that costs you pennies. 

Remember, cash may be king, but Cash Flow is what makes your world go around.  Talk to us today about how we can improve your Cash Flow!