If you pay for your checking account, please stop.

There are way too many banks offering free checking for you to continue paying for it.

At Washington Mutual, you can open a free checking account with a $1 deposit.

You'll get free checks for life, free outgoing wire transfers, one get-out-of-overdraft-free card and breaks on ATM fees anywhere in the world. WaMu won't give you the cute Charlie Brown or Anne Geddes checks you love, but who really cares since you'll just be giving them away?

At Wachovia, free checking only comes with one free box of checks. But if you open an account with at least $100 and set up direct deposit, Wachovia promises to give you $100.

Frost Bank won't give you money to bring your business to them, but they will give you a free cooler. Frost doesn't require you to maintain a minimum balance, but it also won't give you free checks or free ATMs outside of the Frost system.

USAA, on the other hand, offers free ATM use just about anywhere. The bank gives you 10 free ATM withdrawals each month and refunds up to $15 a month in other banks' ATM fees. USAA offers free checks for life, but to get invited into the USAA family you'll have to be military, a former member or the child of a member.

These aren't the only players battling to give you a free checking account. Bank of America, Chase, HSBC, First National Bank, US Bank, Capital One, credit unions and just about any other financial institutional you can Google is willing to give you a free account.

If you're wondering why, here's your answer: Free checking gets you in the door, giving banks a perfect opportunity to sell you the other products and services you may eventually need. It's a relationship-building move, but beware: Free checking isn't always free.

When opening a free checking account, always read the fine print. Just because the big letters say free doesn't mean the small ones won't spell out exceptions that'll cost you.

Watch for minimum balance requirements and service fees. Some banks will make you pay a service charge if your account drops below a certain level. Some banks, like Chase, require direct deposit for free checking.

If you have a ton of money in the bank, free checking could actually cost you.
Most free checking accounts don't pay interest to account holders or make tiny payments. So depending on how much you have in the bank and how much interest you could earn on that money, a no-fee, no-interest checking account could actually keep you from making money.

For most people, though, free checking is perhaps the best gift a financial institution can give.

After all, why pay for something you can get for free?