Bell Ringer

1. Bell Ringer • Marlin made $557 in gross pay. His employer withheld $88.25 in total federal tax, state tax, and FICA from his check. How much was his net pay?

2. Bell Ringer Answer • $557 - $88.25 = $468.75

3. Agenda • Bell Ringer (8 minutes) • Test Your Banking IQ (15 minutes) • Checking Accounts Lecture (10 minutes) • Writing Checks and Numbers Practice (30 minutes)

4. A guide to smart banking solutions Checking Accounts

5. Let’s Test Your Banking IQ • The next series of questions will be TRUE or FALSE. If you believe the statement is TRUE, then write TRUE on a blank sheet of paper. If you believe the statement is FALSE, then write FALSE on the blank sheet of paper.

6. True or False? • People are able to make deposits to and withdrawals from both savings accounts and checking accounts.

7. Answer: • TRUE • You are able to make deposits and cash withdrawals from both a savings and checking account.

8. True or False? • Check-cashing services charge minimal fees for cashing checks.

9. Answer: • False • The fees for check-cashing services vary, but these companies charge either a percentage of the check amount or a minimum fee to cash a check –typically $10 each time a check is cashed. If your check is for $100 and you have to pay a $10 fee, then you are paying 10% of your earnings.

10. True or False • Usually people are able to cash checks for free or for a much reduced fee (less than a few dollars a month) at the bank where they have a savings account.

11. Answer: • True • Most students are able to open a free checking account with most banks. This option allows you to cash checks for FREE at any of their facilities.

12. True or False? • There are fees or costs associated with checking accounts.

13. Answer: • True • There are fees associated with checking accounts, such as overdraft fees, fees for ordering checks, stop-payment fees, etc. • Some of these fees are avoidable with SMART FINANCIAL decisions.

14. True or False? • Savings accounts pay interest on the balance in the account.

15. Answer: • True • Keeping your savings in an account that earns interest is a way to make your savings grow.

16. True or False? • It is illegal for companies to require employees to use “direct deposit”.

17. Answer: • False • Direct Deposit – money is electronically deposited in your bank account instead of distributed checks. • Companies are legally able to require an employee to have direct deposit. Businesses actually consider it to be more convenient, safer, and more efficient than cashing paper checks.

18. True or False? • With a checking account, you can write checks to pay for many types of goods and services.

19. Answer: • True • If you want to write a check to pay for your school yearbook, insurance, bills, or so forth you may do so.

20. True or False? • There are no fees associated with savings accounts.

21. Answer: • False • There may be fees associated with a savings account. You may be required to keep a minimum balance and if your account falls below that amount you may be charged with a fee.

22. True or False? • You may use an ATM or debit card with both savings and checking accounts.

23. Answer: • True • You can make arrangements with your bank to have a debit card that you can use to make withdrawals and deposits for both accounts.

24. True or False? • Banks are a safe place to keep your money.

25. Answer: • True • The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures deposits in bank accounts up to $100,000 per person per institution.

26. Checking Account • An account held at a bank, credit union, or other financial institution in which account owners deposit funds. Account owners have the privilege of writing checks on their accounts and are able to use ATM cards and debit cards to access funds.

27. Parts of a check:

28. Parts of a Check • 1. Date - Enter the date on which you are writing the check. • 2. Payee - Enter the name of the person or the company you are going to give the check to. • 3. Amount of check in numerals - Enter the amount of the check, in numbers. Don’t leave any space between the pre-printed dollar symbol ($) and the numbers indicating the amount of the check; there should be no room for someone to add in extra numbers. • 4. Amount of check in words - Enter the amount of the check in words. Start writing at the far left side of the line. Follow the dollar amount by the word “and,” then write the amount of cents over the number 100. Draw a line from the end of the 100 to the end of the line.

29. Parts of a Check 5. Name - Your personal information is printed here. Never list your Social Security number on your printed check. 6. Signature - Sign your check exactly the way you signed your name on the signature card you filled out when you opened your account. 7. Memo - Use this space to note why you wrote the check. If you are paying a bill, this is a good place to put information requested by the company. 8. Identification numbers - These numbers are used to identify the bank, your account number, and the check number. They are printed in a special magnetic ink that machines can read.

30. Endorsements: blank endorsement Anyone can cash check restrictive endorsement More secure than blank endorsement special (or full) endorsement Transfer check to another party

31. Check Writing Tips: • Write in INK. • Fill in all the line so that no one can add numbers later. • Consider buying duplicate checks. It costs more, but your always have a copy of the checks for your record.

32. Check Writing Tips • You do not have to buy your checks at the bank. You just have to give a company your bank’s routing number (9 digits) and your account number to have them print your checks. • Carry a card with the numbers written out in your checkbook. On the other side, write names and words which you often need to write checks.

33. Check Writing Tips

34. Practice Writing Numbers: • On a scrap piece of paper try writing out the following numbers: • $41.00 • Forty-one dollars and 00/100 • $23.67 • Twenty-three dollars and 67/100 • $11.45 • Eleven dollars and 45/100

35. Practice Writing a Check: On a scrap sheet of paper, draw a sloppy copy of this check. Write the check using the following scenario. Use just purchased a new pair of Lebron’s from Foot Locker yesterday, for $135.63

36. Practice Time: • Worksheet 1 – Practice Writing Numbers • Practice your number writing skills by completing this worksheet. • This will be graded based upon CORRECT answers. • Worksheet 2 – Check Writing Practice • Front Side – Practice writing checks using the three scenarios. • Back Side – Find at least two errors that occur in each of the following checks.