The Ultimate Guide to Personal Financial Wellness

The term “personal banking” can seem a little generic...and very unclear. So what is personal banking and how does it impact your financial wellness?

What is personal banking?

Essentially, personal banking encompasses the products and services the banks provide to individuals and families to meet their primary financial needs. The needs of each person and household can be very unique, and for that reason personal banking includes a pretty diverse array of products.

Most commonly, personal banking includes checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit (CDs). Personal banking even includes things like mortgage loans, auto loans, overdraft lines of credit, credit cards, and personal loans.

Personal banking does NOT include business banking solutions, which are not geared towards individuals and families. Most banks do not include things like investment real estate loans, establishing a business line of credit, or capital markets in the category of personal banking.

Control over your money

To manage your finances effectively, you’ll need visibility, access, and functionality. Vast Bank gives you complete control over your funds by providing account options that meet your needs as well as online and mobile management capabilities. That means you’ll be able to choose where your money goes, check on it in real time, and make changes on the fly.

Organized spending and saving

Did you know that your bank accounts provide the perfect foundation for effective budgeting? You can use your accounts to monitor your spending, meet your savings goals, and improve your overall financial wellness. Here’s how it works:

1. Establish one account for paycheck deposits recurring expenses. This will help you establish your money in/money out baseline and minimize late payments, overdraft transactions, and extraneous spending.
2. Maintain a savings account with interest: Once you’re in the groove with your income/expense checking account, autodraft a monthly contribution to your savings account. All financial experts advise having a savings account for your big-picture goals and to cover emergencies such as job loss or health-related events.
3. Open a “fun money” account: Do you know what’s left after your bills are paid and savings are socked away? Take out the guesswork with a third account dedicated to leisure, dining out, shopping, etc. 

Preparedness for unexpected costs

Knowledge is power! When your personal banking tools are accessible and simple to manage, it’s easier to prepare for the unexpected. Your savings account becomes a sigh of relief when disaster strikes, and gives you the confidence to make secure financial decisions when the waters are calm.

Ability to produce extra money

Rewards checking accounts, savings accounts with interest, CDs, and money market accounts give you an opportunity to earn money by doing, well, nothing. Banks use the money you deposit and store to finance profitable endeavors, and the institutions pass some of those profits back to you when you entrust them with your funds.

Rewards with select accounts

Some accounts offer rewards that are not interest-based, such as points. Points and their values vary from bank to bank. For example, some banks offer travel miles and others will allow customers to redeem points for gift cards or account credits.