HOW TO AVOID PAYING BANK FEES!

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Wonder how to avoid paying bank fee? Any kind of fee? Know they are stealing your hardworking money. Let’s dive on into how to avoid fee with 4 simple easy ways!

Do not get me started on how much I hate fees!  They are horrible!  They steal your money!  They should not exist.  Ever open a bank account where you have to jump through hoops to get it to be free and not pay fees?

Yep! Us too!

They are the WORST! Hello…Wells Fargo and Bank of America! 

We are not a fan of those two banks, but this is not an article about them!  It is about how to avoid fees and if you have a fee how to get rid of it! So let’s get rolling…

Look for a bank without fees (FREE checking!) It is out there!

Yes, free checking usually comes from local banks.  Where I am originally from, good ole Nebraska, I have free checking with First National Bank of Omaha.  Atlantic Union Bank is offering free banking in Virginia now. These banks usually have the best deals to as far as mortgage loans too! Do some research around from where you are from to avoid having these nasty fees and have a free checking account.  CapitalOne we use their Capital One Quicksilver Rewards Card, but we also know their CapitalOne 360 is a free checking account, but it is an online bank and only has bank locations in big cities usually. 

If you bank with a bank with fees, ensure you play their rules

While having a free checking account is nice so you do not have to play their rules to avoid the fee sometimes you cannot get away from them.  Before you sign up for the checking or savings account ensure you read their information about fees.  Check off their rules to avoid it.  Most of the time you can get a fee pass if you have direct deposit into their checking account or if you have a certain amount of money in the account. 

Do not be afraid to shop banks!

Got hit with a fee?  Call the bank and ask for forgiveness!

Got fee?  Get it…got milk? Only I would do this funny humor.

Let’s go ahead and try to get the fee taken off.  Most of the time they will remove one or two in a 12 month period, and some will even remove it in a 6 month period.  

When you call say something like this, “Hi, I am a loyal member of your bank and I was just charged a fee of $— would you be able to remove it?”  Silence… Silence… let it be.  Remember do not let them give you the spin around if of “No, we are not able to do this”. Ask to talk to a manager.  They will be able to!  You have to be firm and remember it is just a worker.  They do not care about your finances.   No hard feelings here! They will go about their day the same way charging more fees and getting more customers to pay fees.

Even I’ve messed up before and it was in the last couple of weeks!  While I was changing my payments around from my personal bank to our joint account after getting married.  I forgot my one credit card that I do my monthly donation to sponsor my child was on auto payment with my personal account.  I was doing the end of the budget and saw a $20 F*&#@#*@ fee – I was so mad at the moment plus they charged me interest on it!  I thought to myself, Kailey, just calm down and call!  I called and they waived it for me and set up my auto payment for me too!  I killed two birds in one shot.

Other articles you will enjoy:

• How to Organize your Budget Emotionally
• 10 Steps to Cleanse Your Budget
• Get Me Out of Medical Bills!

Multiple fees? Change banks now!

If month after month you are charged fees because you cannot keep the balance or you use an ATM in the same location each week or you just lost your job and do not have a direct deposit.  You need to take action now and change banks!

Do not let them steal your money!

$3 fees can add up!  Want me to show you?

• $3 x 52 weeks = $156 in fees
• $3 x 12 months = $36 in fees

You get the picture! 

But lets take my fee for example earlier.  If I was late on that credit card every single month.  They would charge me $20 + 6.25% rate (this rate is an employee rate) Most rates are 18.99% – 25.99%.  That would add up to $240 a year plus interest, so my automatic donation comes out $39 per month.  $39 *.0645 = $29.25!

$269.25 per year in just fees and interest!  

Let’s do a comparison with a non-employee rate.

$240 + ($39 * .2599) = $361.63 in fees and interest! 

I am doing this comparison to make you angry at fees! Get mad at them.  Do not let them ruin your financial journey.  Do not let one fee take away any money from you!  You earn that money and you work hard for that money!

Now say with me, “I am going to call the bank and get that fee removed!”  “I am not going to let the bank have one more fee from me!”  “A little fee makes a huge difference and I will get it removed!”

Know you are a pro at avoiding bank fees and you can ensure you do not get those nasty money stealing monsters again!  Again, you work hard for your money so do not let a big glass building in a city steal it with fees. 

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A little add on this article today, just because it is Christmas time and if you have a credit card that is not maxed out.  Please do your family a favor and do not add anymore to it.  Work on paying it off.  This quarantine Christmas is a PERFECT one to start because family and your friends will understand!  They will be okay with it.  You do not even need to tell them you are in financial trouble. You can say to them, “This quarantine Christmas, I think we are just going to enjoy each other’s company rather than getting a bunch of presents”. If you haven’t read yet, read our holiday savings for tips and tricks to save money for the holidays.