Even though banks make money off their customers by lending out the money you deposit and charging other customers interest on it (think mortgages, small business loans and more), they've realized that they can make even more by charging customers fees for services at every turn. This article will teach you avoid some of the most common bank fees.
Instructions
1. Plan ahead to reduce your ATM fees. You can't always predict when you might need cash, so when you're near one of your bank's ATMs, go ahead and take out some cash if you're low. When you do take out cash, take a little more than you need so it will last a while. If you're afraid you'll spend the extra cash if it's in your wallet, stash it in a drawer at home until you actually need it. If you're out and need cash, you can always stop by a store that offers cash back with a debit card purchase. Buy something inexpensive, like a candy bar, then get cash back when you pay. The $1 or less you spent on the candy bar will be cheaper than the fees you'll pay at an ATM, and you'll get something in return, too.
2. Avoid monthly maintenance fees by signing up for an account that doesn't have them in the first place. If you already have an account that charges a monthly fee, or if the bank has tacked on a monthly fee to your formerly free account, contact the bank and ask if there is something you can do to have the monthly service charge waived. Often, by establishing direct deposit, keeping a certain balance or making some other concession, you can save yourself the $5 to $12 a month that banks are commonly charging customers these days merely to have an account.
3. Look up your bank balance daily and keep extra money in your account to avoid overdraft fees. If you don't have enough money in your account for one or more of your checks to go through, chances are you'll be paying around $30 for each transaction that can't be completed due to insufficient funds. Online banking makes it easy to look up your balance once a day, and keeping a cushion of at least several hundred dollars in your account means that you, not the bank, will absorb the blow of any transactions you forget about (and you won't have to pay overdraft charges on them). If keeping a cushion isn't realistic for you, you'll need to learn balance your checkbook so that you always know how much money you have and how much you have written checks for that haven't yet been deposited.
4. Eliminate teller visit fees by making sure you stay within the limit each month and/or getting comfortable with online banking. Some banks will charge you a fee if you visit a teller more than a certain number of times per month. If you're not ready to change your habits and want unlimited access to a real person, see if your bank has a different account you can switch to that offers this feature. Otherwise, consider switching to a bank that provides this service for free.
5. Learn to bank online in order to avoid paper statement fees and check fees. Some banks charge fees to customers who want to receive paper bank statements in the mail each month and fees for checks (usually to buy checks or to write more than a certain number of checks per month). In the long run, your best bet is probably to adapt to these changes and learn view and print your statements online and pay bills online. But if you're not ready to change, you can always switch banks or, again, even switch to a different type of account within the same bank.
