Don’t Let Bank Fees Take a Bite Out of Your Wallet

Do you feel like you’re paying more to do your banking? You probably are since many bank fees for everything from ATM withdrawals to bounced checks continue to rise.

Many banks have seen business decline due to the credit crunch. Raising fees is one of the areas where banks can still make money.

If you need to withdraw money from an ATM, stick with machines owned by your bank. Otherwise you’ll be charged an average of $1.46 per transaction to use an ATM out of your bank’s network. Also, monthly service fees on interest-bearing checking accounts rose to an average of $11.97. The average minimum account balance needed to avoid service fees is $3,461.84.

In this tough economy it’s important to keep as much of your take home pay as possible. Banking smart can help you avoid being hit with a lot of unnecessary fees. If you are dissatisfied with your current bank because of rising costs, then it’s time to shop around for a better deal. Not only are some banks offering no-fee checking and savings accounts, but some of the Internet banks actually reimburse you for ATM fees.

Make sure you ask upfront about a bank’s fee policy before signing up. And if you are offered a no-fee checking account or other special deal, just make sure you won’t be surprised by hidden charges down the line. Other ways to avoid fees include:

—Having your paycheck direct deposited
—Balancing your checkbook to avoid overdrawing your account
—Receiving email or text alerts when your balance drops to a certain level.

But there is some good news in all this. Despite the fact that bank fees are on the rise, many people are handling their money wisely and avoiding a lot of these charges. The American Bankers Association recently found that 52% of bank customers don’t pay any bank fees, while 13% pay fees of $3 or less each month.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 22nd, 2008 at 7:46 pm and is filed under Reverse Mortgage . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.