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Everett Maclachlan -- Today's virtual world offers many faster, more efficient means of handling our daily affairs. Handled properly, online banking can save you time when it comes to transfers, payments, and payroll deposits.

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For most of us, banking is not necessarily fun -- but is rather a necessary chore to be endured. We need banking because we need checking (and sometimes savings) accounts. Checking accounts allow us to go about our daily lives in today's consumer-based world: using credit and debit cards, writing checks, and withdrawing money from ATMs.

Still, banking can take up a lot of your time. Going to and from the bank, in particular, is a time-waster. In today's virtual world, any time you have to get into your car or walk more than a mile to get something done, there is usually a faster, more efficient alternative.

In the world of banking, that alternative is online banking. With online banking, you are able to transfer money, pay bills, and check your balances -- pretty much everything you used to do at the ATM machine.

Of course, you still need a way to get your paycheck into your bank account. Deposits made via paper check or sometimes cash are still the most common, since most wire transfers require that you pay additional wire fees. However, if you have a steady paycheck from the same employer each month, you can take advantage of payroll direct deposit.

Here are the advantages of payroll direct deposit:

1. Signing up for direct deposit means you never have to visit the bank or ATM again to deposit your check.

2. Your check is deposited automatically every time you get paid -- there is nothing you need to do to initiate the deposit.

3. Because everything is handled electronically, nobody will see your personal information. This can reduce the chances of identity theft happening to you.

Direct deposit is smart for anyone with a steady paycheck. And, it is an especially good idea if you are interested in online banking. Online-only banks often a lower fee structure than do brick-and-mortar, traditional banks. Some even feature accounts that do not charge overdraft fees (really!) -- which is a relief to people who know that overdraft fees have become a huge problem for many banking customers, young and old, well-off or those with modest incomes.

If you are interested in the convenience that comes with reducing the number of trips you make to the bank to a bare minimum, consider opening an account with an online bank that never charges overdraft fees, and be sure to set up your paycheck to be deposited via direct deposit.

Everett, or "Ret" to his friends, is a full-time day trader living in Tempe, Arizona with his Golden Retriever, Brandy. For more information about an online checking account with direct deposit that doesn't charge overdraft fees (ever), check out: http://www.escape-overdraft-fees.com.

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