1/4th of Americans do not have Bank Accounts
That is a crazy number to swallow. The reason is because I am imagining how much those people spend on services like cash checking, pay day loans, etc. The main thing I am focusing on is the expenses those people pay to have their checks cashed. Some places will charge you $7 to have your checks cashed, and wal mart will charge you $3 to have your checks cashed. That will add up over the year. If you get paid bi-weekly and cash your checks at Wal Mart, you will pay $78. If you go to other check cashing places that charge $7, that is $182 that you blow on check cashing fees! You can get a free savings account that earns interest, and you pay nothing to have your checks cashed. I never really thought about how many people do or do not have bank accounts, but after reading the news article that says 25% of households do not have an account, I am stunned.
I am wondering what is stopping these people from opening a savings or checking account. Are they not finding free accounts to bank with, or do they simply not care for a bank account? If they are paying fees for alternative banking services like check cashing, they are really doing financial harm to themselves. Fees can eat up money and you won’t even realize it until you think about it.
