I was thinking it would be cool if I got a Checking Account. Now, I’m only 14, but do you think that I should have a checking account? Do you think at my age I could be responsible with one? – Stephanie
This is a great question not just for students but for parents, since ultimately they are the ones who will have to help you set up the account. Let’s basically cover 3 parts to the question: need, responsibility, and setting it up.
The only real need for a checking account is if you have two sides to the equation…income and expenses. The amounts for either don’t matter. So even if you get $10 a week as an allowance and occasionally spend a few bucks at the mall, a checking account is worth having. But if you don’t have an income (job, allowance, selling your sister on eBay, etc) and you don’t have any expenses, you really don’t have a need for a checking account.
So assuming you do need one, then you have to determine if you can keep up with it. You and your parents have to decide if you’re responsible enough to handle it. Someday when my daughters are your age, I’ll allow them to have a checking account under a couple of conditions.
It’s their responsibility. I’ll help them and support them, but it’s their account, not mine. Meaning if they need to make a deposit, let me know and I’ll happily take you to the bank. It’s their responsibility to keep track of how much is in that account and if they spend more than what’s in there and have overdraft fees, remember what we established: it’s their account, not mine. Now I don’t want to sound like some mean, jerk-face dad, and I’ll definitely give them all the help they need, but they have to learn to be responsible with that account if they want to have one.
So assuming you need one, are responsible to keep up it, then you need to actually set it up. I’d recommend just setting up an account at your parent’s bank. You can probably get a free checking account with a debit card and no minimum balance requirements. Because you are under 18, your parents will need to sign some of the account paperwork as well.
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