Sharon wants to open a checking account from which to pay bills. She wants online services, and a debit card, which both banks provide for free. Based upon past experience, she expects to accidentally overdraft the account 1 time per year, due to unexpected charges and miscommunications. She expects no 2nd copies of statements, and to use network ATMs 4 times per month with either bank. She has $3300 in an emergency savings account at First State Bank, and thinks that the balance will be enough to cover overdrafts in the future if automatic transfers are made when needed.

Question

A 4-column table with 5 rows. Column 1 is labeled First State Bank with entries monthly fee, non-sufficient funds fee, second copy of statement, network A T M usage, non-sufficient funds protection from a First State Bank savings account. Column 2 is labeled Description with entries 4 dollars, 36 dollars, 7 dollars, 3 dollars each transaction, 4 dollars on each day that a transfer occurs to cover an overdraft. Column 3 is labeled Common Bank with entries monthly fee, non-sufficient funds, second copy of statement, network A T M usage, non-sufficient funds protection from a Common Bank savings account. Column 4 is labeled Description with entries 0 dollars, 24 dollars, 4 dollars, 2 dollars each transaction, not offered with this account.
Based on the tables of fees, above, if Sharon chooses First State Bank, will it save her money over choosing Common Bank?
a.
No, Common Bank will save Sharon more money.
b.
Yes, First State Bank will save Sharon money.
c.
No, First State Bank and Common Bank would have the same costs for Sharon.
d.
No, costs cannot be estimated in advance, so this information cannot be used.

Answer 1

To determine if Sharon will save money by choosing First State Bank over Common Bank, we need to calculate the total annual costs associated with each bank based on the provided fee structures.

First State Bank Costs

1. Monthly Fee: $4/month x 12 = $48
2. Non-Sufficient Funds Fee: $36/year
3. Second Copy of Statement: $7/year
4. Network ATM Usage: $3/transaction x 4 transactions/month x 12 = $144
5. Non-Sufficient Funds Protection: $4/day x 1 (assuming 1 overdraft occurs once a year, and it's covered from savings without fees) = $4 (but we assume this only applies when an overdraft occurs, so we won't factor in any additional monthly fees on this).

Total = $48 + $36 + $7 + $144 + $0 (assuming the protection just comes from the savings and no additional fees are charged on that day) = $235/year

Common Bank Costs

1. Monthly Fee: $0/month x 12 = $0
2. Non-Sufficient Funds Fee: $24/year
3. Second Copy of Statement: $4/year
4. Network ATM Usage: $2/transaction x 4 transactions/month x 12 = $96
5. Non-Sufficient Funds Protection: Not offered (so $0).

Total = $0 + $24 + $4 + $96 + $0 = $124/year

Comparison of Costs

• First State Bank: $235/year
• Common Bank: $124/year

Conclusion

Since choosing First State Bank results in higher annual costs than choosing Common Bank ($235 vs. $124), Sharon will not save money by choosing First State Bank.

The correct answer is: a. No, Common Bank will save Sharon more money.