Tips for Smart Banking

Tips To Avoid High Bank Fees

Everyone's experienced it: the multiple overdraft charges or late fees. It's heart-sinking and budget-busting at the same time. However, many people don't realize that these are just a symptom of a larger problem of excessive fees being charged by the banks. You are charged a fee when you are late for a bill, and sometimes you can avoid that by finding a payday lender to cover the gap. However, you are also charged other fees by your bank that are more difficult to avoid like withdrawal fees, transaction fees, and monthly service charges. Shopping around for a bank or system that keeps these fees at a minimum can literally save hundreds a year.

Smaller Banks Are Better

Larger banks tend to charge more fees than smaller banks. Credit unions also either don't have as many fees or their fees are less. Shopping around for a bank that will have reduce fees and give better service is a great way to get a handle on your budget and avoid nasty, surprise, fees on your account. If you do have fees show up, negotiate with your bank to have them removed if you are a new customer. Often, you can get this done as a courtesy for a short while.

Going Cash Only

Another way to work with a budget can be to sidestep the bank and it's overdraft protection program all together. Instead, you can get a secured debit or credit card and put your money there. If the money runs out, the overdraft doesn't kick it because there isn't one. You don't need a checking account anymore to pay most bills, it's all done electronically. You have no overdraft fees, but no overdraft protection either. It's sort of the electronic way of going cash only, in such a manner that you can still use the debit card to make payments electronically to your service providers. Just watch for any withdrawal fees that might be incurred by the secured debit or credit card provider too.