As we get increasingly busier in our professional and personal lives, we have to find ways to save time on mundane tasks. Banking is on the top of my list. It's impossible for me to make it to the bank during the week, and it must be the same for everyone else judging by the lines on Saturdays. Luckily, with the advent of the ATM machine, direct deposit and electronic fund transfers I rarely have to step foot in my bank.

Now there is one more technological advance that is sweeping the country: online banking. Sounds easy doesn't it? Let's go over the advantage and disadvantages and what exactly happens when you bank online.

One of the biggest advantages of online banking is that the bank is open 24/7. I love things that are open 24/7. You can also access your account from any computer and you have a very wide range of services available to you. The bare minimum services like checking your balance, transferring money, and automatic bill payment services are included with most companies. Other services that are often included are online loan applications, stock trading, information downloading, and you may even be able to view a scan of your canceled checks and deposit slips. Transactions are also executed very quickly.

The big downer is that you have to at least own a computer, or have a lot of access to one, and you have to be able to use it. (There's the catch!) Another drawback is that even though it seems like things will take a lot less time, there is a lot of time that must be put into the process in the beginning.

When you open an online banking account you can also open a bill paying account. It's like taking electronic fund transfers to a whole new level. It works like this, all of your bills will be sent to the bank, they will scan them so you can see them online, you press a button when you want to pay them, the bank sends them the money electronically or an actual paper check if the company doesn't accept electronic funds. Once you get all the work behind you, you can see how easy it will be to bank. But first you have to switch all of your bills to the bank and learn the system. (You want to make sure you pick the right bank first so you don't have to switch your bills again!)