Regular interest-bearing checking accounts pay a minimal interest rate. If you leave funds in such an account for very long, you are likely to lose considerable purchasing power – this money would usually yield more interest in a savings, money market, or certificate of deposit account. High-interest checking accounts pay a little more. They provide an above-average interest income for your money. However, this increase in interest may be offset by fees, and you typically have to keep a much higher balance to qualify.

Note that if you deposit checks into your account, your bank may hold the funds (or part of the funds) until the checks clear. Check with your bank to be sure.

Date. This is self explanatory: fill in the current date. Pay to the Order of. On this line, write the name of the check’s recipient – it can be a person or a company. $ Amount. Use numerals here. Write the number on the left most part of the field, taking care not to leave any space – these minimizes the risk of people fraudulently writing additional numbers. Dollars. Write the corresponding amount, this time using words. Start at the left side, and write any cents as a fraction – the number of cents over 100. If there is extra space, draw a line straight through to the end of the field. Signature. Sign your name here. Memo. This field is optional. If desired, write a note to indicate what the check is for. If you are paying a bill, this is a good place to include your account number.

Get in the habit of looking over your monthly statements carefully and comparing them to your own records. Errors sometimes occur. Checking account statements are often available by email instead of on paper. Check with your bank.

Passbook accounts give you a bank book, where all deposit transactions are recorded. You can add and withdraw money only at the bank during regular business hours. With the prevalence of ATMs and electronic banking, some banks no longer offer this type of account. Statement accounts are more common. You are issued an ATM card and provided with monthly or quarterly statements. You can withdraw money at any time from an ATM. In some cases, your ATM card functions like a debit card as well, and can therefore be used to pay bills and make purchases. Check with your bank.

Keep in mind the savings accounts typically pay less interest per year than money market or certificate of deposit accounts.

With MMAs, your money will be invested by the bank, but you will receive your interest no matter what. This makes MMAs different from money market funds, which may lose money if the investment does not perform well.

A basic money market account simply requires a minimum deposit (at some banks, it might be as low as $100) and pays interest based on your balance. A tiered MMA offers higher interest rates for higher balances.

In general, unless you tell your bank that you want to withdraw the money, they will roll the CD over automatically. Check with your bank to see what you need to do to withdraw the funds.

Liquid (or “no penalty”) CDs can be withdrawn at any time with no early withdrawal penalty charges. You can therefore choose to move your money to a higher-paying CD if the opportunity arises. Bump up CDs let you maintain an existing CD but move it to a higher rate if your bank has one to offer. This will not typically happen automatically; you have to request it from the bank. Brokered CDs are CDs found by a broker or financial advisor, who scouts the marketplace for the best CD rates.

The length of time is key. The longer you agree to keep your money tied up, the higher the interest rate will be. Economic rates play a role. When rates are generally high, so are CD rates. Credit unions often offer slightly higher rates. Because credit unions are non-profit institutions, they typically offer slightly higher rates than banks do. Short-term opportunities sometimes occur. Occasionally, banks will try to win business by offering higher rates on CDs for a short period of time.