Articles Tagged ‘atm fees’
Questions To Ask Before You Switch Banks
Tuesday, August 27th, 2013
Whether you’re moving to a new neighborhood or city, you’re tired of your bank’s policies or fee schedules, or you’re just looking for additional account benefits, sometimes it makes sense to switch banks. But it can take a bit of time and effort to make the switch (particularly if you’re using your current bank’s online bill pay service), so it’s important to make sure you’re making the right decision for you and your money.
It’s also essential to make sure that you’re basing your decision on solid financial reasoning before you go through that time and effort.
Ask...
Checking Account Mistakes That Should Be Avoided
Tuesday, June 5th, 2012
Checking accounts are essential to managing our day-to-day personal finances. We deposit most or all of our paychecks into our checking accounts, and we use that account to pay our bills, manage our households and conduct practically every other financial transactions we make.
Given how important checking accounts are, it’s a bit surprising that we don’t always do the right things when it comes to how we manage them. People make far too many mistakes when it comes to their checking accounts, and while the consequences of a single mistake might not be too serious, the total effect of multiple...
Banking Fees Continue to Rise
Monday, July 25th, 2011
Banks are in business to make money. They accomplish this in a couple of different ways. First off, they earn interest on the money that they loan out. They pay part of this interest to their customers who have money market accounts, CDs and other interest-bearing accounts. They also make money from the fees they charge customers for things like checking account maintenance, ATM withdrawals, overdrafts and cashier’s checks.
It’s no surprise that banks rarely lower their fees. But fees have been on the rise lately due to lower profits. The recently passed Great Recession and Credit Card Act includes...
Finding the Hidden Fees in Checking Accounts
Friday, November 12th, 2010
Many of us have our checking account in order to make our lives more convenient. For some transactions, writing a check is still preferable to pulling out our credit or debit card. Because our checking accounts are so utilitarian in nature, we probably don’t expect to earn much (or perhaps earn any) interest on our account balances. But we also don’t expect to pay much in fees, either.
As part of your diligence in maintaining control over your financial situation, you should always be fully aware of all the fees and charges you’re paying (not just on...
Watch Out for Banking Fees
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
As we all know banks have been hit very hard with the economic downturn and they are searching for more and more “nickel and dime” charges to pass along to consumers to increase their earnings.
Here are some suggestions for avoiding two of the more common fees that banks assess:
Don't use another bank's ATM. Over 99% of ATM's now impose a surcharge that now averages almost $2.00 on cash withdrawals if you are not a customer of theirs. To avoid these ever-growing fees, use your debit card to make a purchase, and just ask for cash back.
Keep your check book...