There are many reasons for opening a bank account, including:

• Saving money. You are less likely to touch your savings if it is in a bank or similar institution.
• Earning interest and watching your money grow.
• Ease of tracking your money and how you spend it.

Consider the following to determine the types of accounts and services to meet your needs.

• How much money, on average, can you afford to keep in your checking account each month? Approximately how many checks will you be writing?
• The size of your account balance does not necessarily translate into additional services. Consider, however, whether you would be willing or could afford to invest more money in an account if it meant you would have access to more services.
• What time of day do you do most of your banking? Some people prefer standard banking hours, while others don't have the time during the week and prefer weekend and evening access.
• Do you need access to telephone banking in order to manage your account free of charge, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? This service allows you to transfer funds, check accounts and track most loans with one phone call.
• Do you like the convenience of automated teller machines (ATMs) and online banking, or do you prefer to deal with a live bank representative? While many banks will have branch locations and online banking services, some banks only offer online banking.  In these cases, live representative service may be limited to telephone conversations, and correspondence may primarily be email.

The answers to these questions will help determine if you should be looking into a financial institution with an extensive branch network that offers convenient locations, regular hours and personal service or one that focuses on ATMs and online and telephone banking. Also, relationship banking, or one-stop shopping, whereby a bank encourages its customers to keep all of their bank accounts, credit cards, mortgages, etc. within that particular bank, may be a plus because it may make you eligible for better rates, better service delivery and no-fee checking. While it sounds appealing, make sure you are getting the best deal on your accounts.