Avoid Interest Accounts

• Many people like the idea of being able to earn interest on the money in their checking account. At the same time, it often ends up costing you more in fees than you make in interest. Instead of getting an interest bearing account, get a free checking account. These accounts do not come with any inactivity fees or fees for using too many checks in a month. You simply get the basic checking services that you need without any costs.
  
  

Know Your Balance

• When you have a checking account, you need to know what the balance is at all times. Many people do not keep track of their checking account balance and it ends up costing them a great deal of money in fees. Instead of randomly spending money and paying for it later, keep track of your account balance. This way, you can avoid insufficient fund fees which can be substantial with many banks in the industry.
  
  

Avoid ATM Fees

• One of the most common fees that people have to pay is an ATM fee. When you need to get cash out of your checking account, avoiding a fee can save you a few dollars per transaction. Most of the time, if you use an ATM that is sponsored by your bank, you can avoid the fee. With some banks, you can use any ATM across the world and you will not have to pay a fee.
  
  

Overdraft Protection

• You could set up overdraft protection. By doing this, you can avoid the large insufficient funds fees that come with bouncing checks. You usually do this by setting up a savings account and having money automatically transferred from your savings account if you bounce a check.