<p>not maybe, thats how it works.</p>
<p>The bank takes your money and invests it and then gives a small amount of those returns back to you. This is why banks can crash, they can either lose too much of their investments or have too many people take out money at once (because only a small amount is stored in cash, most is in the stock market). </p>
<p>So many bank accounts have no fees (except for minimum value and overdraft type fees...see a pattern? they only charge you when they dont have lots of your money) because you are essentially giving them free reign with your cash. You give them $1000 and say "here, hold on to this for me and you can do anything you want with it as long as I can get it back." The Bank then tries to earn as much as possible on that money and then they pass a little of that on to you as well as keeping the initial value available for withdrawl (not neccesarily at any time though in the case of CD's or Money Market accounts which is the price you pay for more interest).</p>
<p>There are many free checking accounts, if your parents have an account for Bank of America you get free student checking, no minimums, not limits, free to do whatever you want.</p>
<p>sure but my parents dont.</p>
<p>so I will pay the fee.</p>
<p>I have a checking account linked to my parents and I hate it! I can't have a card since I'm only 17 and my mom always takes my money. Like, I've saved up $1040 for a laptop and my parents said they'd advance me the other $100 so that I could buy it on thursday. Well, I found out today that my laptop will only be about $1050, but that I have to buy it by Wednesday or the deal I'm buying it with will have expired. So, today my dad tells me that they spent my money and that they don't get paid until Thursday. This just really makes me mad! My parents just should NEVER touch my money! Urgh!!! I wish I just had my own savings account that wasn't linked to anyone.</p>
<p>They are your parents, so what.</p>
<p>Keep the money in ur draw or somthing.</p>
<p>The "so what" is that when they take my money and spend it, causing my plans to be messed up, they forget how much they took, or forget during the never ending "I'll pay you back later process" and I end up never seeing my money again.</p>
<p>Uhhh, some checking accounts are free. Completely free.</p>
<p>Banks make virtually no money off checking accounts. Like Otto said, they're offered as a service to entice you to do other (profitable) business with the bank such as invest or take out loans.</p>