What To Do When You Need A Banker (1980)

[Music] n n [Music] good morning morning want some coffee oh please anything in the mail a political ad a flyer from the hardware store another ad here's something from the bank remember tonight we're going to Paul and Debbie's party I think I'll wear the dress I bought last week when we went shopping together maybe I should buy a new pair of shoes and a purse to go with it what do you think what are you crazy what have you done to us what are you talking about what's wrong look at this look what you've done to us check returned insufficient funds check return check returned returned returned returned I don't understand how could this happen I'll tell you how it happened you wrote checks for more money than we had in the bank that's how it happened wait a minute I didn't write this one for 1650 that's for the gas station I think you think how about this one for $10 I needed some new socks how about this one for 25 and this one for 12 I didn't write those banking can be a challenging experience if you don't handle your money properly a simple thing like a checking account can create an embarrassing problem for you and for the person or company receiving your check if it's written for more money than you have in the bank in most cases the check will not be honored when it's presented to the bank for payment and you'll probably be charged an overdraft fee as well okay okay so I wrote a few of them too but it's still your fault you should have told me you were spending all our money I should have told you that's right how about you telling me getting into financial trouble seems to be much easier today than it's ever been before but for the most part problems such as the one Jim and Judy are now experiencing can be avoided if you understand the banking system and the services that Banks offer learning to handle and use your money wisely and learning to deal with banks and bankers really isn't that difficult to master once you've developed the skills to cope maybe the bank made a mistake it's possible it happened to my parents once when they reconciled their checking account they discovered that the bank hadn't given them credit for a deposit that they' made so they took all of their records including their deposit slips down to the bank and everything was straightened out we couldn't be that lucky could we Banks can and do make mistakes not often but despite all of the electronic computers they use keep track of your money the machines are still operated by people and people make mistakes you should always reconcile your checking account records at least once a month some banks offer check writing protection with automatic overdraft accounts the bank with your permission can transfer money from your savings account into your checking account to cover any overdraft you may incur or in some instances you can arrange with your bank to cover overdrafts with a personal note or through your bank credit card now these Services can be very useful but you should know that they cost money either in lost interest on your savings account or the interest charges you'll pay for the loan no such luck we've overdrawn the account what are we going to do now I don't know I guess you should call the bank oh no not me you call them I still say it's your fault you should call them Jim and Judy have created a problem for themselves in their joint checking account by not letting each other know the number and amount of the checks they've written now they must correct their error by making good on the checks you go ahead I'll wait here oh no you don't we agreed we'd face this together now come on come on all right all right I'm coming how do you choose a bank when you decide you need banking services most people go to the one closest to where they live or work it's more convenient but in some instances the convenience costs money all banks within a state are required to pay the same rate of interest on the same kind of account so in that respect there's no difference between them in fact as long as you get the same interest rate compounded on the same basis there's not much to choose from between any two Banks except service and the charges the bank makes for that service morning morning Mr Thomas good morning can I help you we seem to be having some trouble with our checking account what's the problem well we seem somehow to have overdrawn on our account our checks are bouncing around town like a bunch of little rubber balls Jim there are a few banking operations that cost money service and check writing charges for instance can cost several dollars a month but some banks offer free checking accounts you should try to locate one of them and remember checking accounts pay no interest so keep as little money as possible in those accounts put any excess funds in a savings account that will bear interest we don't know what to do about it well the first thing you should do is make a deposit to cover your outstanding checks and the charges we've made to your account for returning them that'll put your account into balance and solve your immediate problem I'm afraid we can't do that right now we're a little short of funds for about another week or so I see would you wait here a moment please sometimes it's helpful to know the process of a transaction to better understand how problems can occur when a check is written and used as payment for goods or services it takes the place of money it is your written promise that you have sufficient funds in the bank to pay for your purchase after someone accepts your check as payment they usually deposit it in their Bank where it is credited to their account the check is then sent to a clearing house where it is sorted and returned to your bank for payment your bank then enters the amount of the check on your account records and deducts that amount from the funds you have in your account at the end of the month your bank sends you a statement that shows the number and amount of the checks you wrote the number and amount of any deposits you made and the balance remaining in your account the statement will also show any charges the bank has made against your account such as check writing or service charges or check return charges like those Jim and Judy have incurred the statement in most cases will also have a place on the back for you to reconcile your account would you come with me please Mr Sloan would like to talk hello Jim Judy hello Mr Sloan listen Mr Sloan we've got a little problem here but I'm sure we can work it out it's not such a little problem Jim you two have overdrawn your account by several hundred I know no but we'll take care of it how I was told you didn't have the money to deposit to cover these checks you've written don't you have a savings account well yes we do but right at this minute there's nothing in it money in a savings account is one of the most important parts of providing for a secure financial future it's a simple procedure to open one and the amount of the initial deposit is unimportant but in picking a savings account that's right for your needs there are a few things you should know for instance Full Service banks pay less interest on savings accounts than saving and Loan associations and both of these institutions will pay postage both ways so you may want to consider banking with them by mail I don't know we'll make a deposit to cover the checks that we've written no later than day after tomorrow I promise how will you get the money well there's lots of places we can get it well lots of places well please Mr SLO all right but no later than day after tomorrow we'll be here thank you Mr Sloan goodbye goodbye and thanks there are three things you should consider when you open a savings account first you should choose the right kind of account for your needs second choose the one that pays the highest rate of interest and third if several Banks qualify and the first two choose the one that compounds interest most frequently then consider any gifts the bank may offer that can be added bonuses it would have been so easy for Jim and Judy to avoid this problem but now they're going to have to do something we all have to do now and then borrow money and they're going to have to do it under the worst of circumstances they don't have time to plan the best way to borrow it and time won't allow them to negotiate the best possible terms where we going to get that much money in a hurry I don't know maybe we can borrow it from your parents oh no not my parents again you'll have to call yours this time we can't call mine we still owe them for the down payment that they helped us make on the TV remember and besides I wouldn't want them to know that you can't keep your checking account straight if you say that one more time I'm going to scream it wasn't my fault hello yes she's here just a minute please it's Mr Whitaker at the drugstore oh no not another one hello Mr Whitaker how are you I bet I know what you're calling about it's about my check right yes well I can explain there was a little mixup at our bank and yes I know that's my problem Mr Whitaker but yes sir I'll be in first thing in the morning no sir no more bad checks yes sir goodbye mean old man that's the third call in the last hour maybe we better call everyone we wrote checks to and try and explain yeah maybe we better wait why don't we call Uncle Bill he'll loan us the money oh we can't do that we borrowed some money from him last month didn't we but I paid him back when last week when we we were over there for dinner I wrote him a you didn't I did come on let's call everyone we know we've got to raise that money there are several sources available when it's necessary to borrow money there are commercial Banks also known as Full Service banks there are Savings Banks saving and Loan associations and for some credit unions but in almost all cases these sources require some form of security before they'll make a loan they'll accept property houses furniture and other tangible goods for security or they'll loan money using your savings account as security which is a good way to borrow money their interest rates are competitive and usually lower than consumer type credit such as credit cards store charge accounts and Finance Company loans which are the least favorable ways to borrow money whenever it becomes necessary for you to borrow money whether it's to buy a home a car household goods or whatever you should always shop around for the most favorable terms and the best time to do that is before you make your purchase if time is not a factor another good source for a loan is your life insurance policy if you've had one in force for a few years it will have accumulated a cash value that you can borrow against remember none of these sources offer the same terms even for loans that are made for the same purpose that's why it's very important to take the time time to determine the best source for your needs well that does it how much do we have now we now have a grand total of $85 so much for our friends things are tough all over I guess Jim I don't care what you say we have only one choice we have to call Uncle Bill and ask him to loan us the money no well then I guess you'd better call your parents I think we better call Uncle Bill another thing you should consider when you borrow money is the length of time A lender allows you to repay the loan the longer you take to repay the loan the smaller your payments will be and that can seem to be very attractive but you'll also pay more interest on the loan in most cases you're better off to take the shortest possible time to repay a loan you save money I'm sorry Uncle Bill but we didn't know who else to turn to thanks Uncle Bill we'll repay you every cent with interest what conditions Uncle Bill that would be so embarrassing what would be embarrassing just a minute Uncle Bill he says he'll loan us the money but we have to go back to everyone we wrote a check to and apologize oh all right Uncle Bill will do it oh but Uncle Bill oh all right we'll bring them over this afternoon when we pick up your check yes both of them yes and thanks Uncle Bill goodbye he said that this is the last time he's going to help us and that he means it this time he's right and I hope you finally learned your lesson me wait till you hear what his other condition is you won't be so smug then Banks and bankers have changed dramatically in the last several years the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation the FDIC has increased the insurance that protects your savings against loss in the event of a bank failure which does occur now and then the banks have extended their business hours to better meet your needs and they offer more services than ever before such as safety deposit boxes certified and cashiers checks money orders and travelers checks savings certificates that pay higher interest rates Bank credit cards and savings to checking transfer but it's up to you to determine how all of these and other services can help you fill your banking needs and help you plan and maintain a secure financial future we're sorry for all the trouble we caused Mr Sloan just try not to let it happen again oh I can guarantee it won't happen again at least for a little while Uncle Bill tore up our checkbooks when he agreed to loan us the money well I'm sure you'll earn them back soon banking institutions can provide many useful services in addition to those we've already seen and you should know about them some can help you with a will or help you set up a trust fund or retirement fund and some provide safe deposit boxes in some cases these services are free shop around get to know your Banker don't think for a minute that preferential treatment isn't extended to some Bank customers it happens every day by knowing your banker and letting him know know you you increase your chances of becoming one of those preferred customers it takes very little time and it might be very helpful to you in the future there's no deep dark secret to getting the most out of banking it's just a matter of Common Sense and a little knowledge about the system once you begin to apply that knowledge you will have taken a big step forward to a more secure financial future we've told you a few ways you can effectively use the banking system how to choose chose a bank what you should expect from a banker and the services the bank provides what your responsibilities are in the process and some things you can do to increase your chances for a secure financial future we've told you these things because this information is important to you as a consumer of banking services and because you should know n n