Savings accounts:  This is where you put your money if you want to save it, not spend it.  If most of your money will be in a savings account, you need to look for a bank that pays the best interest [still in a bank close to you].  Interest is money that the bank PAYS YOU!  Banks earn money by using your money while it is in the bank.  They pay you extra money for allowing them to do this.  It is called interest.

Checking accounts:  If you are expecting to have bills to pay, you might be interested in a checking account.  These accounts are for people who are earning quite a bit of money and will need to pay out money each month.  For example:  Imagine you are starting up a small school supplies business.  You will be buying pencils, cool erasers, and really great notebooks that you plan to sell during lunch at school.  You have gotten permission from the school and your parents and are ready to go.  You borrow money to buy supplies and begin your business.  A checking account will allow you to write checks to pay back the money you borrowed and to buy supplies.  Always look for free checking, although you usually will have to pay for the printing of the checks.  Free checking means that the bank will not charge you money each time you write a check.  If your business booms, you will be writing even more checks and you don’t want to be paying lots of bank fees.  The object is to KEEP what you make! 

ATM (Automatic Teller Machine):  ATM cards are really neat but you only need one of these if you are going to have a lot of money in the bank.  These cards allow you to take money out of your account by using an ATM machine which is usually on the outside of the bank building.  Most ATM cards work anywhere in the United States, at any bank with an ATM machine.  When you take money out of your own bank with an ATM card, most banks don’t charge you extra money.  When you use another bank, sometimes there are extra fees to take out money.  If you don’t have much money now, but have a new job where you expect to earn more, pick a bank that has ATM services.  Remember:  You have to have money in the account to use an ATM card.