How to Cut Your Banking Costs
Monthly Service Charge |
$2.50 - $9 |
Check Printing Fees |
$9 - $15 |
Minimum Balance Penalties |
$3 - $15 |
ATM Charges per Use |
$0 - $1 |
Bounced Check Charges |
$7 - $20 |
Stopped Check Charges |
$10 - $25 |
More Cost-Cutting Tips
The two most common areas where a bank hits you up for extra dough are automated-teller machines and check overdrafts. Here's how to eliminate both fees:
1. Switch to a "no-fee" ATM card. Switching banks just to get a no-fee ATM card may seem like a drastic measure, but we're not kidding here. If you're getting charged $1 a pop to use your ATM card just once a week, you're forking over $52 a year for the convenience of accessing your own money. Come on, when are these guys gonna wise up? Probably long after you've hit the high road.
2. Have your bank account "sweeped." We don't want you to clean out your checking account. We just want to ask your banker to automatically move, or "sweep," money from your savings account into your checking account if your checking balance is too low to cover a check that is drawn against it. Why should you pay the bank a $20 overdraft fee when you've got money in the bank that will cover the check? If your bank doesn't offer a sweep, your banker should at the very least be willing to call and alert you to checks coming in, so you can transfer funds by phone to cover the check.
Continue to keep your banking costs down with these tips on hidden fees:
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Debt Management
Invest Wisely
A Great New Way to Fight ID Theft
Think ID theft happens to other people and not you? Think again! There's a new, more powerful weapon in the fight against ID theft, and it's just now becoming available to most of you. Get all of the details in this important video.04:32
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Child Savings AccountsWhen opening a savings account for your child, make sure their Social Security number is used as the account's tax identification number. That way, as long as your child is under age 14, interest earned will be taxed at your child's lower tax rate, not at your tax rate. This rule holds true as long as your child earns less than $1,300 a year in interest. |
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