Savings Accounts - beat the fees
One thing that gives everybody some angst when looking at their bank statement is those fees and charges that we all incur for having a savings account.
Unfortunately, sometimes you just have to incur a fee by using an Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) at a convenient location rather than at your bank which may be out of the way.
Banks and other financial instituitions continue to announce record profits and one of themain reasons for this is the amount of money that we justgive them by not being a little better prepared.
If you are going out it may pay to ensure you have enough money on you. You may find that you don't have access to your own bank ATM and need funds quickly and the service of using another bank ATM to bail you out is going to cost you $3. You do that once a day it's $21 a week, just to draw on your own money.
If you can't stop at an ATM on the way to where you are going, then before you use another bank ATM, don't forget to check if you can use an EFTPOS facility to pay your bill or make your purchase.
Many people think that theyneed cash to buy a round of drinks, most bars, clubs and resteraunts have an EFTPOS facility that will not cost you $3 as another bank ATM will.
Another option is to borrow money off a friend or family member until later in the night when you can get access to your own bank ATM. This will obviously make some people feel awkward but it is a good option if you are serious about saving as much money on your savings account as you can when it comes to fees and bank charges.
Your Savings should be earning you interest. Many people have everyday transaction accounts that cost them a small fortune in bank fees and charges but earn almost nothing in the way of interest.
Check with your bank about upgrading your account to a higher interest account that provides the same facilities.
Many accounts that earn you .01% interest can be changed to an account earning 6% with the same minimum balance requirements.
While the banks make fantastic profits for their shareholders, they do offer their customers good products if they are willing to enquire about them.
Some people can't get away form the fact that they incur large monthly fees for ATM transactions at other bank ATM's. You may be a small business owner and time is money, convenience is more important. Fair enough.
You may enquire about a savings account that has a capped monthly fee and allows you to make as many other ATM withdrawals each month as you like.
If your fees are over $12 for ATM withdrawals each month then the NAB has a Gold Banking Account which charges you a flat rate of $12 per month with unlimited other bank ATM withdrawals.
Be sure to check the terms and conditions of any bank account that you may wish to switch to. You may find that you need to have your wages/salary paid into an account to reap the benefits.
There is certainly no need to be helping the banks make more money that they need to make for just having a bank account.
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