Stave off New Bank Fees
You may have noticed that among the mortgage mess and the European debt crisis, there are plenty of small scale changes to banks that are making it harder to save money. One hitting regular people the most is new fees from banks, like the Bank of America debit card bump that caused an uproar last year. While Bank of America decided not to engage that fee, there are plenty of other ways financial institutions are trying to charge you to use your own money. Eve Becker explains how to avoid some of the new fees in a post on the Equifax Finance Blog, “Saving Money On Banking Fees.”
The first way you can avoid new fees is to switch banks, or swap from a bank to a credit union, community bank or online bank. Different institutions have different rules, and its pays to shop around as you can find free checking and other bonuses out there.
If you want to stay with your current bank, you should carefully review the new policies. In some cases, you can change your buying habits to avoid fees. Depending on how your bank works, direct deposit may save you from monthly fees. If you have multiple accounts, you can link them in order to avoid the newer balance requirements. Finally, keep track of your account balances to avert overdraft fees.
For additional information, including the full article with expanded information about the new fees and news that you can use about personal insurance matters, taxes, retirement and more, be sure to see the Equifax Personal Finance Blog.
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