Fees, fees, and more fees. If you have the wrong bank account for your needs, you could be paying a small fortune in fees. That could be monthly base fees, EFTPOS withdrawal fees, branch deposit fees, transfer fees and all manner of other fees.
It’s not always necessary to pay fees though.With a bit of thought, planning, and juggling you should be able to say “goodbye” to most bank fees.
Step 1:Get the facts
The first thing to do is look at your bank statements and add up the myriad of fees that you may have paid over the past twelve months.
It’s a really good idea to ask your bank for a fees brochure, or ask the bank’s staff where to find the relevant information on the bank’s website.
Make sure you take time to digest and understand all the fees that are charged before making any decisions. Your bank may, for example, be very vocal that it doesn’t charge honour and dishonour fees. It may, however, have a monthly fee for unarranged overdrafts, which has much the same effect!
Also be aware of those occasional fees. If, for example, your bank is charging you to set up automatic payments or to receive text alerts, make sure you include these in your calculations.
Step 2: Understand your banking style
Look at each and every fee and ask: “how could I have avoided this?”
Some fees, such as honour and dishonour fees, are behaviour related. Perhaps you are regularly overdrawing your account, or getting stung for costly ATM withdrawals, or perhaps just using the wrong account for the wrong type of purchases. Whatever your expensive habits are, look to avoid the associated costs by changing your behaviour and finding ways to be more financially organised.
Step 3: Look at the options
As consumers we don’t tend to change our bank accounts as often as we change our transacting habits. There may well be fantastic new and great value products out there, if only we took the time to look. Switching banks doesn’t have to be difficult “”“ and nor does finding a new bank account. Put aside one lunchbreak this week to research your options.
Step 4: Make the change
Whether you need to change accounts, change banks, or change behaviour, take the plunge.
If this all sounds like hard work then call your bank and ask a staff member: “”how can I save money on fees?”” They will often help you do the hard work, if you’re prepared to ask the question.
Once it’s done, make sure you make a diary note for six or twelve months or a year ahead to review your progress and make more changes if necessary.
Finally: happy free banking from Canstar.
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