There are a lot of banks all over the country and a lot of them are different than the others are. They have different fees and some fees are lower or higher. You can get a checking account, savings account, bank loan, home loans, small business loans, bond, T-bills, IRAs, and Christmas saving accounts. Banks can help you save money and they will also hold checks to see if they are good or not so if it is not, the money will not be taken out of your account and break you. Banks can help you buy a home or get into your own business, but the interest on them depends on how much you need and how much they change.
Checking accounts are for you so you can cash your checks, put money in your account, and so you don't have to carry all your money around or keep it in your house. You get a statement every month from the bank for your checking account to show you what all was put in and what was taken out. If you don't have a checking account, a bank will not cash your checks but if you go to the same bank that the check came from, they will cash it because of the account that is through them. Some checking accounts have fees with them like the bank fees for if you get checks.
Saving accounts are to save money for kids, for when you get older, and to save up to buy something, and it earns interest for you. The interest makes you more money than you will have with the money you have saved. The more money you have in there the more interest you will get and the more money you will have over time. But it only gives you a percent of interest of the money you have on there, and it can take a long time for you to make a lot of money.
Bank loans can be used to help fix up your home, to get things your kids may need for school, get a car, or you can get loans to start up your own business, or to buy a house. But with a bank loan, you have to be approved for it to get any loan that they offer. It can take a few days to see if you are approved for the loan you are trying to get. Lately, it has been getting harder for people to get bank loans due to the economy and the way it is.
Bonds are pieces of papers from the bank, and they can be any amount of money and you have to hang on to them for seven years. You cannot cash it in until after the seventh year, and until then, the bond is worth the money that you pay for it. After the seven years, you can cash them or you can keep holding on to it. If you hold on to them, the more they will be worth. Bonds are good for family members when they grow up or anything you want to use it for later in life. A lot of people say that bonds are a good thing to get because they will be worth a whole lot more when you get older.