When choosing a checking or savings account, many of us opt for a bank that has convenient banking hours, is close to where we live or work and has many available branches. But choosing the right checking or savings account means going beyond the convenience factor. Your money matters. Research is vital if you intend to make the most of every dollar.

Some common banking myths

Checking accounts and interest

All checking accounts are alike and pay little or no interest. It's true that many checking accounts pay no interest and merely give you the freedom to pay bills and obligations.

However, there are many "high-yield" checking accounts that could make you reasonable money. Most of these checking accounts will offer interest rates between 3.5% and 6%.

If you tend to keep larger balances in your checking account, instead of transferring excess cash (if any still exists) to your savings account or money market account, one of these high-yield accounts might be a welcome addition to your bank account portfolio.

CD terms and conditions

Once you've purchased a certificate of deposit (CD), you are forbidden to touch those funds until your CD matures. Even if you've just purchased a CD, you are not prohibited from getting your funds back. You will, however, pay an early withdrawal penalty, which may be rather high. However, your money is never locked in a mysterious room for which you do not have the key.

When you need cash and your savings account or money market account cannot get you what you want, you can cash in your CD to get your funds right away.

Money market accounts

A bank money market account is similar to those money market accounts (MMAs) offered by investment companies. Bank and credit union money market accounts have little in common with those similar sounding accounts offered by many investment firms.

Bank MMAs are like a hybrid combination of a checking account and a savings account. They offer you some flexibility to add or withdraw funds on a restricted basis – typically up to 6 transactions per month. In return for these access restrictions, your bank or credit union will offer you a premium interest rate, higher than most other savings accounts, except for certificates of deposit.

The accounts offered by most investment firms are small ownership stakes in one or more mutual funds. Interest rates and earnings are not guaranteed as they are with banks and credit unions. Also, these investment accounts have no federal account insurance, currently up to $250,000 per account, offered by banks and credit unions.

Some common banking facts

ATM security

ATM transactions are safer than ever with new third generation security software. As evil hackers continually made strides with cracking the first level security procedures installed at most ATMs, the industry stopped working on second generation measures.

The banking industry and ATM manufacturers developed wonderful third generation security codes and procedures. Please note that there are still ATMs in the field that continue to run first generation protection, but all are being converted, making your transactions very safe from identity theft.

FDIC insurance

Should your bank not recover from a severe down economy, you'll receive your insured balances quickly. Many people are skeptical about the deposit insurance offered by FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) and the NCUA (National Credit Union Administration) because they are unsure of when they will recover their funds.

In most cases, should your bank suffer from a terminal disease, another financial institution will purchase them, at least their deposit accounts, so you'll never need to receive insurance funds. In rare instances, when FDIC cannot find a qualified purchaser, they typically begin to process the insurance payouts almost immediately.

Check deposits

When I deposit an out-of-state, often called a "foreign" check, I must always wait at least seven days to get access to my money. While the Federal Reserve allows banks to place a seven day "hold" on the deposited funds from foreign checks, this rule is flexible.

Should you have a long and successful relationship with your favorite bank or credit union, you should bring the check to your preferred branch and ask if they would waive the hold or place a shorter block, say three days, on these funds.

This is particularly important if you are a freelancer and get regular checks from companies around the country or if you are a W-2 employee paid from your company's home office, which might be located many miles away from your workplace.

Public information

You can find all the financial information you need to reassure yourself that your bank or credit union is safe and secure on the Internet. The financial reports of all federally insured banks and credit unions are public information.

If you are basically accounting and financially literate, you can perform your own investigation quickly, anonymously, and effectively by visiting the FDIC and NCUA websites.

Most financial institutions must report all operating and financial data quarterly to their federal insurers, for obvious reasons, and you can access this detailed (very detailed) information at any time. You can quickly learn about the stability of your financial institution easily and for free.