If you are over the age of 16, it is very likely that you have your own personal checking account. Checking accounts are extremely common; however, some people still have a hard time managing them. From overdraft fees to ATM fees, there are numerous avoidable charges and ways to get the best from your checking account.

Don't opt-in for overdraft protection without collateralOverdraft protection has been a courtesy of most banks, which allows you to purchase items or withdraw money using your debit card, even if you don't have any funds in your account. Unfortunately, they tack on a pricey $30 or more fee per overdraft occurrence. This courtesy is really more of a punishment for consumers who don't balance their checking accounts or don't have collateral in a savings account, home equity line of credit or credit card.

During the summer of 2010, this automatic overdraft protection will be removed and bank customers will have to opt-in for this protection. [Read the full article]

Breathless calls to emergency operators described the shots fired at an Albuquerque business where a gunman last week stormed through a courtyard and into a building, killing two people and wounding four others before killing himself.

Albuquerque police said they received at least 30 calls reporting the July 12 shooting, and they released several 911 tapes Thursday.

When she asks if he witnessed it, he tells her he didn't see it and that he's hiding behind a desk.

Police have said they believe Robert Reza's target at the solar panel manufacturer was his ex-girlfriend, Adrienne Basciano, who was seriously wounded.

The shootings sent terrified employees running to other businesses or neighboring Kirtland Air Force Base, or hiding behind locked doors and under desks.

Police have said Reza fired 21 shots, most of them outside. [Read the full article]

Slick TV commercials and online ads tell delinquent borrowers that they can save their homes by filing for personal bankruptcy. But is it true -- or just too good to be true?

Bankruptcy can bring foreclosure proceedings to a halt, end harassment from debt collectors, and give borrowers time to make up missed payments and reorganize their finances. In some cases, bankruptcy can also help mortgage borrowers save their homes permanently.

It's not, however, going to help every troubled homeowner. If, for example, the homeowner's biggest problem is not enough money, bankruptcy is not going to solve that.

"It's the best tool there is for people behind in payments but who have ongoing income," according to Binghamton, N.Y., attorney Peter Orville, "those who had been making payments and who could be making payments again."

The first thing a bankruptcy filing accomplishes is to stop the foreclosure process. [Read the full article]

Dear Dr. Don,I am considering refinancing my home. My wife and I are 52 and have a mortgage balance of $152,000 at 5.5 percent with 23 years remaining on the loan. Our home is worth about $300,000. We need to do some home improvements -- new windows and a furnace. We're having trouble deciding whether to go with a cash-out refinancing or a home equity loan.

It looks like we can refinance for about 4.375 percent with a 20-year mortgage, paying approximately $2,000 in closing costs. We would like to get about $20,000 for the improvements. Home equity loans seem to be about 5 percent to 7 percent right now.

It seems like a cash-out refinancing would save us thousands of dollars over the long term versus keeping our existing mortgage and getting a home equity loan. [Read the full article]