A lot of us think that putting our money in the bank is a secure and wise way of saving. Yes, this is correct if we are wise in working with banks. Banks are not charitable institutions, these are profit-driven entities which charge different types of fees and do a variety of schemes to take away a number of your money.
The savings that you could get in being wise for making bank transactions can add up as time passes and let you use your hard earned money where you want to.
Below are my tips on how to effectively cut costs in the bank:
Mind the opportunity cost.
Think about the factors which are inside your money in the bank. Are there fees how the bank is suggesting that you purchase keeping and using your own money? Just how much? Could they be requiring a minimum balance for holding an account?
You may be interested in other options that are available available, waiting for your investment. You should always factor in the opportunities that you are missing out on since you are putting your hard earned money within the bank. You could also want to consider taking a look to the terms of other banks. Probably the bank that may best suit your needs is out there waiting for you.
Book balancing.
Always keep in mind to have your checkbooks balanced at the end of each and every month. Issuing bounced checks can cost you a lot. The typical fee for issuing checks with insufficient funds is $20.
Should you do not know the problem, you are able to easily issue several bounced checks in a certain time period and this is extremely costly indeed.
Tame the ATM machines.
The very best practice in using ATM machines is to avoid using ATM machines of other banks. By doing this, you will save on ATM fees. However, it wouldn’t hurt should you also knew the ATM machines of other banks that do not charge fees.
E-banking.
Using the advent of globalization, everything is becoming electronic. This is also true in the banking world and technology is quickly being a benchmark of competition. E-banking can help you save some money from transportation costs and more importantly, it will save you time. The time spent waiting at the bank may be used for some other productive activities.
Truly, putting your money within the bank is a wise method of saving cash, but only if you are wise enough to avoid the financial institution from chipping away your wealth.
In preserving, it is not only the benefits such as annual returns which you should consider, it is best to think about the costs involved in the process.
Image via Flickr by Alan Cleaver
