Do you have a bank account? Have you become a responsible individual who can live a good life by managing his/her own expenses? If yes, you are all set to have an account of yourself and live your life the way you want to. If you already have a bank account, great; but if you don’t, here is a small guide about how to open an account and get around with your life.

Types of bank accounts
There are two types of bank accounts, checking account and savings account. A checking account is for routine expenditures while a savings account is for saving the money. In addition to these two account types, there is also a salary account, which is created by employers for individual employees for the purpose of salary payment. These accounts, usually, have a high minimum balance requirement.

Opening a bank account
To open a bank account in the country, you will need a social security number along with a photo identification, and an initial cash amount, which is mostly the minimum balance of the account you are choosing. While choosing a bank to open your account, you should consider a few factors like the number of branches in your area, bank’s reputation, the interest rate on the savings account, miscellaneous charges, services like phone banking and internet banking, etc.
Once you know that the bank you have chosen is probably the best in all the terms and conditions, you may go ahead and sign the papers.

Responsible usage
Once you have made a bank account, you have officially opened your credit history books. Now you have to use your bank account responsibly so that you make up positive points, which will come in handy for future loan requests.
Swipe your debit card a fixed number of times in a month so that you do not have to pay a credit card fee, which is implied after a certain number of swipes. Never go for an overdraft on your account. An overdraft looks like a blessing at certain times but it shows a negative sign on the credit score.
If you are applying for a cash advance loan, make sure you are very punctual with the payment as cash advance loans are very costly and missing even a single payment of it may cost you heavily in terms of credit score.
Never go below your minimum balance requirement. The fee for this is a lot. Additionally, going below the minimum balance reflects badly on your credit score.

Getting a bank account is a great idea but you have to use it responsibly. A bank account that is not used according to the rules set by the bank can work against you in the future by giving you a bad credit score, which is good for nothing.