Ten Things to Do While Chase Bank's Online System is Down

Today makes the second day that Chase's online banking system is down, but that doesn't mean you can't keep track of your money or still continue to do transfers and check your balance. The online banking crash can also give you the opportunity to make sure your banking activity is safe. Here are 10 things to do in the meantime until Chase.com is up and running.

Activity One: Balance your checkbook. If you're not one of those people who keeps up with your balance on a daily basis, this is the time to do so. Always know how much money you have in your checking and savings account before you pull out your Chase card. Don't wait until you get check return announcements or a cell phone alert saying your balance is under $0 before you finally look at your check register.

Activity Two: Locate at least five nearby Chase banks. Going to Walgreen's to take money from your Chase account doesn't count. Finding a nearby Chase ATM to withdraw money can work sometimes, but what about when you want to make deposits? Keep track of nearby Chase banks that you can walk to and record their banking hours.

Activity Three: Look on the back of your Chase statements to see what transactions require fees and which ones don't. Since the site is down, you should be able to do phone transactions without paying a fee. Some banks charge fees for having a phone banker complete the transaction. Others don't. Get familiar with what Chase does and does not do online versus over the phone.

Activity Four: If you do a lot of online bill pay and have no idea how to get to other websites, this is the time to check. Chase.com should not be your only method of paying bills. Know the companies' websites online payment options, too.

Activity Five: Read your Chase policy brochures. You get them in the mail and ignore them. This is your chance to read them over to make sure there are no surprise fees or interest rates you don't know about. Find out what Chase is doing with your confidential information.

Activity Six: Store Chase's online phone number into your cell phone, home phone speed dial and a print address book. If your cell phone ever dies on you, you'll want to have a back-up plan to call Chase should you need an emergency transaction. And do you know what number to call if you lose your debit or credit card without going to Chase.com to check? This is the time to find out.

Activity Seven: If you have a Chase loan through Affiliated Computer Services (ACS), visit that site. Become familiar with it. Chase used to let you pay your student loans through their site and in the middle of the year switched to ACS. While you may think there aren't many differences between the two, check anyway. You can't make an online transfer with ACS the way you used to with Chase student loan payments so that's difference number one.

Activity Eight: Get rid of old Chase receipts. If your statement reflects the same amounts that are on your printed statements, it's time to shred the old paperwork. Give your receipts at least a year in the file cabinet but after that, it's time to clean house.

Activity Nine: Recycle your Chase envelopes. If you still get printed statements, you probably get blank envelopes. Don't throw the paper envelopes away or the deposit envelopes. Use blank labels to cover the company name and use them for your regular mail. Why waste paper when you don't have to?

Activity Ten: Verify your balance on other types of accounts, like CDs. Make sure the interest rates match the money deposited. Check for expiration dates and make sure you're getting the best rates in comparison to other banks.