5 Tips How To Outsmart Your Bank
Saturday, August 30, 2014, 1:00 AM | Leave Comment
There are ways to outsmart your bank but you have to be organized and go an extra mile to avoid giving it extra fees. Banks will charge you extra for overdraft that can cost you $35. An item from a dollar menu can cost you $36 if you are not careful or just simply lazy.
Some folks will go out of their way to get an extra eighth of one percent on a CD, and then pay their banks much more than that in such exuberant fees they have been told are unavoidable.
Of course some fees, especially the $35 overdraft fee, are avoidable if you are not like one of those lazy dogs the brown fox jumps over all the time from left to right and up and down.
Here is how to minimize and eliminate ATM fees altogether, your overdraft charges and the penalties for falling below the bank’s minimum banks requirements:
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Choose a small bank
A big bank may not need your business and won’t go the extra mile for you. A small bank, on the other hand, will be flexible because it needs satisfied customers and attract new ones for its growth.
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Don’t use another bank’s ATM
Always use your own bank ATM. Mostly they are free. However, to have a good customer relationship, go inside, talk to the teller and cash your check. In future, that can help you get better rates and terms on loans and other services.
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Avoid minimum balance charges
Ask your bank to send you an alert just before the minimum balance is reached on your account. Besides, many banks will waive minimum balance requirements only if you insist.
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Plan before you borrow
Every six months or so, go into the bank and update your personal financial statement even if you don’t need its extra services such as a loan.
Strike up a conversation with the people who help you. Have at least one teller, one loan officer to get to know you by face.
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Refuse unnecessary products and services
Banks are sometimes intimidating to average customers who are in turn afraid to ask questions about the products and services that are put in front of them.
For example, most people are so happy to get a car loan, they are just simply afraid to refuse the hugely overpriced credit life and disability insurance the bank often adds to the loan.
In a Nutshell
Learn to deal with your bank. Get to know the personnel as well as be aware of what kind of accounts you have. That way you are in a lot better position to avoid the extra charges that you don’t need to incur and pay.
