Get Finances

Checking accounts have changed and you may want to spend some time checking out the changes and how they affect you.

To start, checks are being processed more quickly these days. This means that when you write a check the money may be deducted from your account sooner. To avoid bounced checks, be sure you have enough money in your account at the time you write a check. A bounced check charge could cost you $25 per check or more.

Here are some other changes you should make note of:

• Some of your checks may be converted to electronic funds transfers from your account-called electronic check conversion. Your check is now like a debit and the money may come out of your account sooner. If you don’t want the checks you write to pay bills converted, contact your creditors to find out how to opt out. If you need a copy of a check that was converted, you will have to contact your bank, which will then contact the creditor who converted your check.

• Some of your checks may be processed as a check (instead of being converted), but the banks may exchange payment information electronically. Banks do this by creating “substitute checks.” Substitute checks are special paper copies of the front and back of the original check. When banks use substitute checks, the money may come out of your account sooner.

• The items listed in your checking account statement may look different from one another. Some items may be listed by check number and others may be listed by the name of the company you paid. Always review all of the charges listed on your account statements to make sure they match your receipts or records.

If you have questions about how your checks are processed, contact your bank, savings and loan or credit union.

Remember, under federal law you are protected against errors in your account when electronic funds transfers are used. But you have to read your bank statements each month or go online to check your account transactions. And you need to notify your bank as soon as you spot an error.

Whether buying or selling real estate, you will inevitably deal with an escrow account. If you are not familiar with an escrow account, here is an overview.

An Overview of the Escrow Account

A real estate transaction is a high dollar transaction. In fact, you will probably never make a bigger one in your life regardless of whether you are buying or selling. Given the high stakes and the fact that feelings can sometimes get ruffled on each side of the fence, the escrow account was created.

An escrow account is really a part of a larger beast known as escrow. To keep the real estate transaction running smoothly and organized, escrow is undertaken. A third party, known as the escrow agent, is retained to collect documents, money and such. Since people can be tense during transactions involving large sums of money, it is important to have a party involved that is not emotionally attached.

The escrow account is an industry term that can mean a few different things. In its strictest sense, the account is a trust account opened to hold monies deposited by the parties for appraisals, inspections and remedial work. It is also used to hold the money provided by the buyer for the purchase. This is true regardless of whether the money is submitted directly from the buyer or a mortgage lender.

In a larger sense, an escrow account refers to the total services provided by the escrow account. In addition to finances, the escrow agent will collect contracts, documentation set out in the purchase agreement and so on. In some sense, this makes the escrow agent the referee for the real estate transaction. That being said, an escrow agent does not call penalties, to wit, they will never determine that one party or the other is in the wrong. They will simply facilitate the requirements of the contract. If one party fails to comply with those requirements, the escrow will not close and lawyers typically get involved.

Escrow is standard operating procedure for nearly all real estate transactions. In the end, it is an effective way to get the transaction closed.

Direct deposit is an excellent feature offered by many banks all around your area. Banking is supposed to be convenient and easy, it has been made that much easier and more convenient with the offering of direct deposits. When thinking about direct deposit, consider many of the things that could apply to you. Have you found yourself hurrying off to make the cutoff point for bank deposits? Do you travel to your banking institution on a weekly basis to deposit a paycheck? Have you found yourself losing a check you intend to take to the bank to deposit or cash? If you have answered any of these questions with a yes, it may be time to consider direct deposit.

Direct deposits are the action of your employer depositing your paycheck directly into your bank account by electronic means. This is extremely safe and easy for you to do, all you simply have to do is first, ensure that your employer offers direct deposits (many employers now days ONLY offer direct deposits to their employees). The next thing you will have to do is fill out a form that supplies your employer with your bank routing number, account number, and bank information.

By choosing direct deposits, you are ensuring easy and safe transfer of your funds to your bank account. It is reliable and your paycheck is deposited into your bank account on time, you no longer have to keep track of the banking hours or hurry to meet the deposit deadline. You also decrease the risk of losing your paycheck by using direct deposits. There are other benefits to direct deposits including, when your funds are deposited directly the funds are available to you immediately upon completion of the transfer. Occasionally, some banks require you to wait a specified number of days before the funds will become available, to wait for check clearance.

Another excellent benefit, is if you are away from your home on business or on a vacation, you will not have to worry about your paycheck coming in the mail or being stolen, your money will be in your account safely. They are also extremely secure, stolen, misplaced, or lost checks will become a thing of the past. Direct deposits leave such a trail behind it that tracking these are much easier than tracking a paper check.

As you can see direct deposits can make your life much easier and reduce the number of trips you will need to make to your banking institution.

All About Grants (And No, President Grant Didnt Invent Them!)

Grants are gifts of money that are given to the recipient mostly based on the merit or the need of the recipient. There are many types of grants and all are used for the greater good. Many are given out by the government as aid or as a way to feed a lackluster economy and in so doing raise the tax revenue for the government. One can think of both purposes as investments by the government because in both cases the stability or boost given to the recipient will get them back on their feet and being productive again which is better for the government than that area becoming a perennial drain on the economy.

Governments arent the only institutions that give out grants. Private organizations can give grants out as philanthropic sorts of gifts to the community in which they are located. The great thing about the grant for the recipient is that they are under no obligation to pay back or work off this money. The only requirements come on the front end in the form of eligibility requirements. There is generally a certain list of things that are considered appropriate uses for the money and will not be given out unless the benefactor of the money is sure that they will be used in this way. This whole process is carried out through applications.

People seeking grants will write a grant proposal or fill out an application detailing their eligibility and in many cases making a statement concerning their specific needs. There is often a certain form in which the benefactor expects these to be written, and in lieu of this there are often special positions held by employees of certain types of institutions that are responsible for all of the grant writing in that area.

The most common types of grants are student aid. These grants subsidize the cost of education for students who are either very talented or very needy. The idea is that the institution will only benefit by making a relatively small investment in the students future productivity. Other grants include public educational grants, research grants, product and technology development grants, relief aid grants, small business grants, and on and on. Again dont think of these as free gifts that the government gives out of the generosity in their hearts. Rather this is money that the government is hoping will by helping its recipient on the front end reap major savings and/or profits on the hind end.