Banking fees eating you alive? Let us help find you a bank that will keep more money in your account and less in their bottom line.
Is your money in your bank safe from their new fees the top banks have imposed over the last few years? Since all the mergers and small banks about to close their doors from huge monopolies taking over all the banks are looking for all the money they can squeeze out of you. If you are sent a check and it bounces you may have to pay a few of $20 or sometimes $35 (a greedy bank in NYC). The check bounce is not your fault but the unorganized person that sent it to you. The awful thing is that the banks only incur an expense of around $1 from that bounced check if even that much so why do they have to charge your bank account?
The banks also have ATM fees that will eat you alive unless you are using their ATMs or the supermarket stores that use incentive machines with no-fees to bring in your business. But we are all aware of the ATM fees since its what we see all the time. We know of the cash advance fees from credit cards and the extra ATM charge we get on top of the daily accruing interest. But do you know of the fees that some banks now charge you if you close your account? Yes there are some banks that charge you to close your account if its only been onen for a few months. There are so many fees now that cannot be stopped because of those fine print letter we get in the mail all the time and the government allows it. The fine print letters are normally telling us the changes, privacy notices, and INCREASE and ADDITIONS of fees. Look for these in a mailbox coming soon to you and make sure you read all the terms and be aware. Also, make sure you check out our website monthly and watch which banks we consider the low fee banks vs the high fee banks.
You will see us use Bank One or Chase for Credit Cards but not for actual Banking. So don’t put all your financial fun in one basket, just because they are good with credit cards doesn’t mean they will be a good bank to escape the checking fees. It is also those small banks that really hit you wth charges. They thrive off the local presence of small towns and smaller communities where people do not have a major bank that has to compete with things like “free checking”.
Tips on avoiding bank charges
• Make sure you check out several banks including online banks before you open a new account. The bank should be there to please you the customer. Research on bank websites and compare.
• Do not be confused by all the banks that say they provide “free checking”. It only means certain balance or direct deposit, etc…
• If your opening up a basic checking account make sure you balance your checkbook each month and use their online bill pay to make recordkeeping easier
• Make sure you do not send too many checks per month if you have a money market account or savings account that may have a maximum amount before fees are applied
• Keep in mind the bank does not have to be in your neighborhood or town to have a bank account with them. You can put you money in any bank in the US no matter where you live in the US. Banking online is normally the cheapest and less fees than a traditional bank and they normally send you postage paid envelops to make your deposits so you do not even have to leave your home.
• Try and find out your banks ATM locations before you withdraw or deposit funds to avoid extra fees.
• If a bank charges you a fee on your monthly statement call their customer service and it was your first time then call and ask for them to debit your account that amount. They normally will do this as a courtesy, especially when someone sends you a bounced check.
• Set up a savings account connected to your checking account so you do not accidentally overdraft the checking. It is easy to overdraft using your debit card and writing checks and purchases add up fast.
• Keep your check ordering down to a minimum. Who needs checks anymore? Use online billpay and only write checks if a company takes no other form of payment, even then you can normally use billpay because the bank sends the check for you.
• Plan ahead when you open up an account. Know your income and expenses knowing what kind of account you can work with.
• Compare Banks Online
Banking Links:
Help With my bank – a government site set up to explain some consumer questions such as fraud, forgery, interest rates, and bank fees.
