Banking fees have been climbing at an alarming rate over the years. These days, it is common to learn about a bank charging $36 for one returned check, $25 for a money transfer, $150 for a consumer loan application, and $10 per month for checking.
Thankfully, some financial institutions have gotten smart, realizing that customers do not want to be overwhelmed by fees. While many of the charges mentioned aren’t about to disappear, checking account fees can go away if you follow a few simple rules.
How To Avoid Monthly Checking Account Fees
Minimum Balances – Most banks that charge for checking accounts help you to avoid fees if your balance stays above a certain amount such as $1000. While you essentially forfeit $25-30 annually by not investing a thousand dollars in a money market fund yielding 3% interest, you could save yourself $100 or more in banking fees by maintaining the required minimum amount in your direct deposit account.
Plus Accounts – Offered under a variety of names, plus or “package” accounts allow you to avoid checking account fees if you bundle together several different accounts. In addition to opening a checking account, you might have a line of credit, a credit card, or some other consumer account which would cancel out the fee. In most cases this type of account involves you opening up a credit card with a credit line of $1000 or more.
Free Checking, No Strings Attached – Yes, some banks still offer these types of accounts though they may be temporary bargains for the first year, with fees following in subsequent years. For example, if you were to open an account with $100 in it and maintain a balance of at least $1 from that point forward, your account is free. Credit unions and some online banks are offering free checking as are some locally based community banks. In addition, look for a bank that will give you your first set of checks for free and one that offers free online banking with their plan.
Free Checking, With Strings Attached – Some banks will offer free checking as long as you have some other account with them. This works somewhat like the bank’s “plus” account, but without account minimum balances.
Most certainly, free checking hasn’t disappeared completely and some of the larger financial institutions have responded by offering their own no fee direct deposit accounts. Not sure that your own banks offers this kind of deal? Just ask — sometimes they have an unpublished plan for customers, especially for those people who have been banking with them for many years.
Adv. — Save even more money when you shop for those things you use around the house or yard. Shop for discount priced water fountains, serenity fountains, air purifiers and much more!
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