Have you ever given a second thought to your bank? I mean, really? Have you thought about if your Bank really meets your needs?

I mean, after your house, and maybe your work, your bank is probably your most “important” business relationship. It’s where you keep all your money!

Most of us open a bank account and never think about it again - and this isn’t the best approach. I want today’s article to serve as a little bit of a reminder to think about your bank account again, and hopefully give you some tips for the future.

Let’s face it - the world is changing. The bank account you opened high school may or may not have kept up with your needs. And it’s not scary to switch banks.

Let’s break it down.

If you're just looking for a great bank account, check out the Radius Bank Hybrid Checking Account.

Why Did You Choose Your Current Bank?

Do you even remember why you chose your current bank? For most people I’ve talked to, it breaks down into one of two reasons:

Both of those aren’t really great reasons to open (and keep) a bank account. I know personally that I fall into the first category. My first bank account as at a local credit union that my parents banked at.

And when you’re in high school and living at home, this works well. The only time you go to the bank is with your parents, so having everything in one spot could make sense. This was also in the days before online banking was as mainstream as it is today.

If you fall into either of these two categories, it’s really time to think about your bank. Even if you don’t, you need to think about what you need from a bank.

What Do You Need From A Bank?

When it comes to banking, there are thousands of choices (literally there are thousands of different banks and credit unions nationwide). But, that doesn’t mean that they all meet your needs.

When I think about banking, there are a few things I need:

Your needs might be different. Maybe you need a safe deposit box, or something more obscure. But for most, I think those needs above are pretty standard.

The sad part is, many banks still require minimums, or charge for checking - that’s ridiculous. 

That’s one of the reasons I really like Radius Bank’s Hybrid Checking Account. They meet all that criteria, AND they pay you a solid interest rate on your checking account. It doesn’t get much better than that. 

Check with your bank - see if you can get all that and get paid a high interest rate on your checking account. You likely won’t find it.

Then, come back and open a Radius Bank Hybrid Checking Account.

It's Really Easy To Switch Banks

One of the biggest “complaints” I hear is that people don’t want to switch banks because it’s hard. I want to counter that.

It’s not hard. It takes about 5 minutes to open a Radius Bank Checking Account online. Only 5 minutes. You can get their app installed and be rocking and rolling very quickly.

After that, the only major changes are potentially changing your direct deposit at work, and maybe checking your BillPay if you have that setup.

Two things to keep in mind:

1. Opening a new account doesn’t mean you have to close your old account immediately. You can leave it open to ensure you don’t miss any last despots that you might have missed.
2. If you use a free tool like Mint or Personal Capital to track your finances, having a second account really makes no difference - you can see everything in one dashboard.

While it may sound like it’s a lot of work, if you really look at your day, you spend 5-10 minutes wasting more time on random stuff anyway. Devote some of that to upping your banking game.