A good checking account is cheap and easy to use.

If you have tens of thousands of dollars to invest, you can benefit from the high-yield or reward checking accounts some small banks are offering.

They're paying the best interest rates around -- higher than any CD, savings or money market account -- if you're willing to follow the rules.

But most of us need a traditional checking account that just allows us to pay our bills and tap nearby ATMs for a little cash without draining our balance with lots of fees.

These six simple rules can help you find a checking account that does just that:

Smart move 1. Avoid these fees.

Don't sign up for any checking account that imposes:

Monthly maintenance fees. These will eat your account balance alive. Whether they're $5, $6 or $7 a month -- typical service charges from large banks -- they add up. Think about it. A $6-a-month maintenance fee on your checking account socks you for $72 a year.

Per-check fees. There should be no charge and no limit on the number of checks you can write each month.

Starter check fee. Any bank that charges you for the blank starter checks that tide you over until your personalized checks come doesn't deserve your business.

Fees for paper statements. If getting a monthly statement in the mail is important to you, you shouldn't have to pay extra for it. (If you're happy with electronic statements, ignore this.)

Check image fee. There should be no stealthy charges to display your check images online or in your paper statements.

Smart move 2. Don't sign up for an account with a minimum balance requirement.

"Free checking" shouldn't be dependent on keeping $10,000, $1,000 or even $100 in your account -- or a combination of accounts. You want a checking account that imposes no monthly fees, even if your balance is $1.

Smart move 3: Get free use of any ATM.

When you use a debit card at another bank's ATM, you can be charged a fee by the other bank and your bank. It's now an average of $3.50 and increasing every year.

The most consumer-friendly checking accounts impose no fees for using another bank's ATM and reimburse you for the fees other banks impose on you. In other words, you get to use pretty much any ATM for free.

The next best deal is where your bank imposes no fees for using a so-called "foreign ATM," but won't reimburse you for the fees the owner of that machine might impose.

Smart move 4. Forget about earning interest.

You can earn 4% or more with a high-yield or reward checking account -- a worthwhile return if you have $20,000 to invest.

But the best traditional checking accounts are paying interest rates of less than 1% right now. Usually a lot less. Think 0.10% or even 0.01%.

You'll be making nickels and dimes with rates like that. Literally. A balance of $1,000 earning 0.10% will earn 8 cents a month even if the interest is compounded daily.

So don't give anything up to get a traditional "interest-bearing" checking account.

Most banks have many different types of personal checking accounts, and you should be wary of customer service reps urging you to "move up" to an interest-bearing account. It probably comes with more fees and is a bigger money-maker for the bank.

Smart move 5. Opt out of overdraft protection.

When banks introduced debit cards, they wouldn't allow customers to overdraw their accounts. Try to spend more than you had and the purchase was rejected.

Then the banks discovered they could make a fortune by allowing those sales to go through and charging customers a fee for every overdraft -- an average of $30 per transaction.

The costs have been so outrageous that the Federal Reserve and Congress are working on new regulations that will limit overdraft fees and may be in place by the beginning of 2010.

But why settle for that?

Look for a bank that allows you to opt out of overdraft protection and avoid those fees altogether. Having your debit card declined is an unavoidable warning that something has gone wrong with your checking account.

Smart move 6. Make sure transactions are fairly processed.

Banks and credit unions use several systems for processing checks and debit card transactions.

The worst way is to pay the day's biggest checks and debit card transactions first. If they overdraw your account, the bank can bounce all smaller transactions, charging an insufficient funds fee for each of them.

You want a bank that processes payments smallest to largest.

Look for a checking account agreement that says, "Items presented for payment on the same day will be paid in amount order, smallest to largest," not "We reserve the right to honor checks in any order we may choose."

An acceptable although less desirable alternative is a bank that processes transactions in chronological order.

Smart move 7. Shop around for the best deal.

You don't have to run all over town to compare fees and minimum balance requirements.

Our extensive database of checking account terms has that information for scores of banks in your area and Internet banks.

Then call a local credit union. These member-owned cooperatives usually have great checking accounts and are particularly helpful to low- and middle-income families or 20-somethings just starting out in life.

You'll have a good idea of who's offering the best deal before you leave the house.

By Craig Guillot

Interest.com Contributing Editor