Comments on: Money Basics: Checking Accounts

By: Doctor S

Doctor S — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:31:12 +0000

I love the fact that April is Financial Literacy Month, but do the college students know about this? I wish I opened the doors to such blogs and financial education materials when I was in college a mere 5 years ago. I would have been that much more better off for the present time.

I think, in targeting the current Gen Y, the use of financial software would be the most effective. Just as @Tim mentioned above how it was an eye opener for him, this would be a very common result when working with many of the younger generations today. Going back to basics is the way to go. Some people may think that articles like this just state the obvious, but kudos for Flexo for doing it anyways b/c it is totally necessary.

By: Tim

Tim — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 22:39:08 +0000

Nice intro. I like the mention of Quicken. Using software to do my personal accounting has been a real eye-opener for me. It takes away the hassle of accounting by hand each month (and the procrastinating that comes along with it) and it lets you see very easily where you’re spending too much and where you’re not.

By: CJ

CJ — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:47:17 +0000

I use Online Bill Pay all the time with my checking account. This way I can send a check, but still have it tracked by my bank. Now I never have to worry about whether I forgot to track a check or not. I have written maybe 1 actual physical check this year so far.

By: John J

John J — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:03:28 +0000

Thank you for this article!

I’m part of that “End of X – Beginning of Y” generation where they didn’t teach us one mote about chequing accounts or finances as a whole in secondary school (Canadian).

I find myself using my slick reporter’s notepad to keep track of my balances and such, but I suppose I could just go out there and buy a proper booklet. Before my notepad, I just tried to keep track of my spending in my head — this is *not* a good idea.

I have two chequing accounts, one for bill payment and one for general use. I have one savings account, but the only thing that seems to go in there is my rent payment until I need it at the end of the month. Oh well, debt reduction > savings, at the moment…

By: SteveDH

SteveDH — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:28:13 +0000

I realize this may be a bit off-topic but it is about Banks and in some ways might temper recent news. Last week Banks started their reporting cycle and lo-and-behold profits are being made. Today Bank of America says they are profitable again. How did they recover so quickly… let look at some history. One of the greatest accomplishments at Enron (in their eyes) was the government’s approval of Mark-to-Market accounting. Why did they want that: because there was NO market for their “deals”. The value of the asset in the deal was in effect – whatever they wanted it to be. Flip that coin over and look a our banks. The government dropped some Mark-to-Market requirements for the banks and approved Mark-to-Model accounting. So what’s the big deal? Well, there IS a market for the assets the banks hold, but it’s depressed and they have to (make that had to) account for the losses. Now they use a model rather than the market and guess what – their assets values can be – ready – “whatever they want them to be!” We got profit. Think about that awhile – Enron style profit – oh great.